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  • Why?!

    Why would I want to, after having spinal fusion, see advertisements for minimally invasive surgery on a forum titled "Surgical (First-Time)? Maybe I'm wrong, but I assumed these people could not do this type of thing.
    Dolores A
    June 4, 2009 Anterior L3 - S1
    June 8, 2009 Posterior T4 - Pelvis
    Mark Agulnick, MD FAAOS
    NY Spine & Scoliosis Center

  • #2
    Originally posted by dolores a View Post
    Why would I want to, after having spinal fusion, see advertisements for minimally invasive surgery on a forum titled "Surgical (First-Time)? Maybe I'm wrong, but I assumed these people could not do this type of thing.
    Dolores,

    I agree it's a bummer that we had to go through the whole big open us from top-to-bottom surgery and then read info about min. invassive surgery. I read it myself as well. But as for me right now, I have no physical problems related to my surgery, so I guss I can't complain. Just think however, how much luckier we are than patients from back in the mid 70's when my original scoli Dr. wanted to do the Harrington Rod surgery on me, and my parents said no.
    __________________________________________
    Debbe - 50 yrs old

    Milwalkee Brace 1976 - 79
    Told by Dr. my curve would never progress

    Surgery 10/15/08 in NYC by Dr. Michael Neuwirth
    Pre-Surgury Thorasic: 66 degrees
    Pre-Surgery Lumbar: 66 degrees

    Post-Surgery Thorasic: 34 degrees
    Post-Surgery Lumbar: 22 degrees

    Comment


    • #3
      Dolores A,

      As far as I can tell, these are experimental surgeries in various stages of clinical trials.

      Would you have signed up for experimental surgery?
      Sharon, mother of identical twin girls with scoliosis

      No island of sanity.

      Question: What do you call alternative medicine that works?
      Answer: Medicine


      "We are all African."

      Comment


      • #4
        minimally invasive surgery.......

        From my understanding, minimally invasive scoliosis surgery is performed and perfected by very few doc's in the country. Yes, it would have been great not to have been sliced open from top to bottom and the side to boot, but at least I know that my doc used the technique that he is most successful with. I take comfort in that. I do hope in the future that more doc's can perfect this surgery and patients can successfully take part and have a quicker recovery. What a wonderful thing that would be!
        Susan

        Diagnosed at 10, Boston brace from 11-13 yrs old.
        50* Lumbar w/ 5 centimeter shift to the left and slight rib hump...
        Surgery Date: April 15 and April 22, 2009
        X-LIF approach for disc repair L5,L4,L3,L2
        Posterior Approach for fusions L5-T5
        Dr. Fox @ Naval Medical Center Portsmouth
        Nice and straight now!!!!!

        Comment


        • #5
          i have not had surgery yet, but every surgeon i have consulted with, including dr boachie, dr lonner, dr neuwirth & a few others of less note all said i am not a candidate for minimally invasive anything...that anything less than what they recommend(all have same opinion of what i need) would not be stable ...i WISH i were a candidate...also, when i asked my husband's question of why rods cant be flexible, they said something like such rods would not give support..now, this "new" surgery that this doctor talks about....i realize the rods wouldnt bend after surgery...but i dont know that they would give enuf support...?...some comments on one of websites that discussed his procedure said they had alot of problems after surgery & alot of continuing pain that did not resolve over time...?

          anyone know of patients who had minimal invasive surgery who had large curves...with a good outcome...?
          anyone hear of patients this doctor operated on...?

          would be interesting to hear about how his patients did...ALL his patients...

          i dont know if i want to contact this guy...out in CA...to be disappointed one more time...i guess i have trust issues...

          jess

          Comment


          • #6
            I am very interested in minimal invasive surgery, but I see everybody on this forum, who are all very knowledgable have a lot of questions. I wish we could create a new threat with all the questions we have for Dr. Anand, so he can answer them

            Comment


            • #7
              Hi all, I think what I was very surprised about, was that anyone was allowed to advertise on this forum, but after reading everyone's interest, especially those who have not had surgery like Rich, and still considering their options, it probably was something for them to look into. You're right Debbei, I count my blessings everyday that I had a successful surgery so far! I am able to most of what I could do before, but without that debilitating pain. And yes Pooka, I can see that these were experimental procedures, and no I would not have signed up for anything like it.
              Dolores A
              June 4, 2009 Anterior L3 - S1
              June 8, 2009 Posterior T4 - Pelvis
              Mark Agulnick, MD FAAOS
              NY Spine & Scoliosis Center

              Comment


              • #8
                Originally posted by dolores a View Post
                Hi all, I think what I was very surprised about, was that anyone was allowed to advertise on this forum, but after reading everyone's interest, especially those who have not had surgery like Rich, and still considering their options, it probably was something for them to look into. You're right Debbei, I count my blessings everyday that I had a successful surgery so far! I am able to most of what I could do before, but without that debilitating pain. And yes Pooka, I can see that these were experimental procedures, and no I would not have signed up for anything like it.
                Hi Dolores...

                I totally agree about the advertising issue. Dr. Anand may me on to something spectacular, but we shouldn't let him advertise unless we're willing to let everyone advertise. That includes everything from snake oil salesmen to the thousands of surgeons who perform scoliosis surgery.

                Regards,
                Linda

                --Linda
                Never argue with an idiot. They always drag you down to their level, and then they beat you with experience. --Twain
                ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                Surgery 2/10/93 A/P fusion T4-L3
                Surgery 1/20/11 A/P fusion L2-sacrum w/pelvic fixation

                Comment


                • #9
                  Originally posted by jrnyc View Post
                  i have not had surgery yet, but every surgeon i have consulted with, including dr boachie, dr lonner, dr neuwirth & a few others of less note all said i am not a candidate for minimally invasive anything...that anything less than what they recommend(all have same opinion of what i need) would not be stable ...i WISH i were a candidate...also, when i asked my husband's question of why rods cant be flexible, they said something like such rods would not give support..now, this "new" surgery that this doctor talks about....i realize the rods wouldnt bend after surgery...but i dont know that they would give enuf support...?...some comments on one of websites that discussed his procedure said they had alot of problems after surgery & alot of continuing pain that did not resolve over time...?

                  anyone know of patients who had minimal invasive surgery who had large curves...with a good outcome...?
                  anyone hear of patients this doctor operated on...?

                  would be interesting to hear about how his patients did...ALL his patients...

                  i dont know if i want to contact this guy...out in CA...to be disappointed one more time...i guess i have trust issues...

                  jess
                  Hi Jess....

                  The rods used in spinal surgery are put there to hold the spine in the straightened position while fusion takes place. If one had some sort of flexible rods, fusion would never take place because there would be constant movement.

                  If you're thinking of flexible rods in place of fusion, they would have to be of some sort of material that would never break, even after being bent millions of time. And, these bendable rods would have to be able to keep the spine in the straightened position, but allow normal bending. These couldn't be completely straight because 1) that would over-correct a lot of curves, which could easily lead to spinal cord damage, and 2) if they were straight in the sagittal plane (the torso when viewed from the side), we would all end up with flatback (lack of normal kyphosis and lordosis).

                  I honestly don't think this is the way of the future. Instead, I hope that gene therapy will lead to far fewer kids needing surgery.

                  Regards,
                  Linda
                  Never argue with an idiot. They always drag you down to their level, and then they beat you with experience. --Twain
                  ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                  Surgery 2/10/93 A/P fusion T4-L3
                  Surgery 1/20/11 A/P fusion L2-sacrum w/pelvic fixation

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    thank you linda..i will show this to my husband to answer his question (or maybe it is really wishful thinking on his part)...

                    it will be wonderful if future generations can solve the scoli problem...

                    i just wish they could find some more flexible solutions for the generations going through all this now...

                    i dont know how long i will be able to put off my surgery...i dont think i can wait for the next new advances in scoli surgery, but who knows...maybe my pain management doctors will find an injection that works for more than a month! i am lucky that the botox helps my muscles, at least, to ease the spams & tightening...grateful for whatever pain relief i can get for now!

                    thanks for all you do & for sharing your knowledge...
                    jess

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      i asked my doctor about this surgery the other day and he said it's not as straight forward as that article would lead one to believe. it is certainly the direction that spine surgery will likely go, but at this point the drawbacks are such that not many surgeons use the technique. he said the procedure tends to take longer, there is more x-ray exposure, there is a higher risk of malpositioning of the pedicle screws, and the correction of the curve(s) tends to be less than is found with the traditional technique. as the kinks are worked out it will become a more popular technique.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Just FYI, I have an appointment with Doctor Anand on Oct. 23rd. I want to learn more about this procedure. I asked his assistance about Lumbar Surgery and she advised me that he does use this new teachnique with lumbar surgery, which is what I need done. I will let you all know what I find out..

                        rich

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Originally posted by rich1752 View Post
                          Just FYI, I have an appointment with Doctor Anand on Oct. 23rd. I want to learn more about this procedure. I asked his assistance about Lumbar Surgery and she advised me that he does use this new teachnique with lumbar surgery, which is what I need done. I will let you all know what I find out..

                          rich
                          That's really cool Rich. Let us know what he says and if you are a cantidate.
                          __________________________________________
                          Debbe - 50 yrs old

                          Milwalkee Brace 1976 - 79
                          Told by Dr. my curve would never progress

                          Surgery 10/15/08 in NYC by Dr. Michael Neuwirth
                          Pre-Surgury Thorasic: 66 degrees
                          Pre-Surgery Lumbar: 66 degrees

                          Post-Surgery Thorasic: 34 degrees
                          Post-Surgery Lumbar: 22 degrees

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            How to choose a surgeon?

                            Linda et al.,

                            I am new to the forum and appreciate the valuable info it provides. But how does one select the most experienced surgeons with the latest techniques? Dr. Anand approach is appealing, but we have very little feedback on technique. I have recommendations for Dr. Bill Lauerman of Georgetown U in DC (closest for me in Maryland), Keith Bridwell of St Louis and Ohenebra Boachie of NY HSS. All are highly regarded, but where do you start?

                            I am 69 yrs old and have severe S curves, 80 degree T5-T11 and 7- degree T12-L3, with recent considerable Lumbar pain. I tried SpinCor brace with little relief.

                            Appreciate your thoughts!

                            Ed

                            --Linda[/QUOTE]

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Hi Ed...

                              Those are all good surgeons, so you'll be in good hands.

                              While I think it's great that there are surgeons doing research on new techniques, I've seen enough disasters to know that I would not personally want to be a guinea pig. The current techniques used by the best surgeons are producing absolutely amazing results. I volunteer at UCSF where I'm regularly seeing people who are in their 60's, 70's, and even 80's, who have major fusions, but have relatively easy recoveries, and who always seem to be really happy that they've had the surgery.

                              Regars,
                              Linda
                              Never argue with an idiot. They always drag you down to their level, and then they beat you with experience. --Twain
                              ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                              Surgery 2/10/93 A/P fusion T4-L3
                              Surgery 1/20/11 A/P fusion L2-sacrum w/pelvic fixation

                              Comment

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