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I'm sorry to hear from your question that you must be having problems. Some of us can't catch a break it seems.
Someone else posted just a few days ago about continuous pain being attributed to her stainless steel allergy. I wonder if it would be helpful to see an allergist? Is your surgeon receptive to your concerns?
Good luck,
Gayle
Gayle, age 50
Oct 2010 fusion T8-sacrum w/ pelvic fixation
Feb 2012 lumbar revision for broken rods @ L2-3-4
Sept 2015 major lumbar A/P revision for broken rods @ L5-S1
mom of Leah, 15 y/o, Diagnosed '08 with 26* T JIS (age 6)
2010 VBS Dr Luhmann Shriners St Louis
2017 curves stable/skeletely mature
Tap tap, I had a severe reaction to segmented rods in 1994. I found out when a bump developed in my scar. Went to my primary and she biopsied it. She immediately sent me back to Miami and Doctor did immediate surgery to remove all rods and irrigate my spinal canal. The rods had to be left out and fusion was confirmed. I went 16 years without hardware. I only had to have it put back in, in the lumbar sacral area due to degeneration of those levels from the previous surgeries. Just had my curves measured on Friday. All has held exactly as it was 16 years ago. So many scares in here by people who said those of us who had hardware removal would continue to curve. Just NOT so!! Btw, hardware removal for me was fairly easy. I am aware of another friend who had hardware removal and her surgery was quite extensive. Best of luck! peace!
Thanks for the responses. Pain is there but I can live with that, but I am heading to an internist due to having a constant fever for a long period of time, ANA was Positive, Sed rate was high, but RH Factor was low. Primary is confused and has not ruled out sensitivity to hardware due to no issues prior to surgery. The Rh Factor rules out Rheumatoid so that is a positive thing. But something is defiantly going on in my body.
Diagnosed at age 12 with a double major curve
Braced till age 15
SSBOB T12-L2 Anterior age 34. (October 22,2012) Dr. Robert Gaines Jr. ( Columbia, MO)
Revision Surgery T2-Sacrum with Pelvic Fixation Prosterior age 35 (November 13,2013) Dr. Michael Kelly (St. Louis, MO)
Revision Surgery L4/L5 due to BMP Complication age 36 (November 20,2014) Dr. Michael Kelly (St. Louis, Mo)
Revision Surgery due to broken rod scheduled for October 19, 2016 with Dr. Michael Kelly (St. Louis, MO)
They recently ran a special blood test on me to see if my new hardware was giving me the same reaction. I also felt lousy and was running a low grade fever. It was a 7 day blood test. They watched it grow.
It just says blood culture, routine 5 day growth. Yes, I was always exhausted. Could not get out of bed in the morning and wanted to lay on the floor next to my desk at work.
I don't know if they did run those back when I had the infection. They only ran the culture for 5 days when I was feeling bad in October and infection was suspected again. What is ANA?
Antinuclear Antibody Panel shows the antibodies in the blood that work against itself. It is used to check for auto-immune disorders.its like the first test to know which direction to go for testing. But it being positive and the Sed rate being high can also be pointed to infection of some kind and not auto immune. Dr. Kelly's nurse sit she hadn't experienced anyone with instrument sensitivity or allergy and the only way to detect that was for me to go to STL and have the rods taped to my back and watch for a reaction. She suggested starting with a rheumatologist first and see what direction they think we should go. My concern is that until my long fusion I was never sick and nothing hurt except my back. So in my thinking my back has something to do with my confused body, lol.
Diagnosed at age 12 with a double major curve
Braced till age 15
SSBOB T12-L2 Anterior age 34. (October 22,2012) Dr. Robert Gaines Jr. ( Columbia, MO)
Revision Surgery T2-Sacrum with Pelvic Fixation Prosterior age 35 (November 13,2013) Dr. Michael Kelly (St. Louis, MO)
Revision Surgery L4/L5 due to BMP Complication age 36 (November 20,2014) Dr. Michael Kelly (St. Louis, Mo)
Revision Surgery due to broken rod scheduled for October 19, 2016 with Dr. Michael Kelly (St. Louis, MO)
I was sick and tired from about 3 to 4 months after they put my rods in that time. The bump didn't show up on my scar until 2 years post op. Have you had someone press on your entire scar for a soft sore bump? I would start there. The dr told me that bump was probably there for a while but went unnoticed since I hardly let anyone touch my back. I only found the bump when teaching my son to drive and he hit the brakes. When my back hit the seat I felt a really sore spot . Then I had my husband look and it was raised and red. I was told the infection rate was very low. I was a rare case. I really don't think there is a high rate of infection but I would ask the dr.
Tap tap, I had a severe reaction to segmented rods in 1994. I found out when a bump developed in my scar. Went to my primary and she biopsied it. She immediately sent me back to Miami and Doctor did immediate surgery to remove all rods and irrigate my spinal canal. The rods had to be left out and fusion was confirmed. I went 16 years without hardware. I only had to have it put back in, in the lumbar sacral area due to degeneration of those levels from the previous surgeries. Just had my curves measured on Friday. All has held exactly as it was 16 years ago. So many scares in here by people who said those of us who had hardware removal would continue to curve. Just NOT so!! Btw, hardware removal for me was fairly easy. I am aware of another friend who had hardware removal and her surgery was quite extensive. Best of luck! peace!
Hi, This is my first post on here. I had surgery Oct. 2017 T4 - S1. Sixteen months later I am still having a lot of discomfort. All of my test show that nothing is loose or broken. My back muscles feel like they are hitting the hardware as well as the L4-S1 area. I am considering removing the hardware due to feeling this is causing my pain. The surgeon I found to remove them says that the screw is 1 cm to the Aorta and that is a concern to him. Did you have any screws location concerns?
Tap tap, I had a severe reaction to segmented rods in 1994. I found out when a bump developed in my scar. Went to my primary and she biopsied it. She immediately sent me back to Miami and Doctor did immediate surgery to remove all rods and irrigate my spinal canal. The rods had to be left out and fusion was confirmed. I went 16 years without hardware. I only had to have it put back in, in the lumbar sacral area due to degeneration of those levels from the previous surgeries. Just had my curves measured on Friday. All has held exactly as it was 16 years ago. So many scares in here by people who said those of us who had hardware removal would continue to curve. Just NOT so!! Btw, hardware removal for me was fairly easy. I am aware of another friend who had hardware removal and her surgery was quite extensive. Best of luck! peace!
Hi, This is my first post on here. I had surgery Oct. 2017 T4 - S1. Sixteen months later I am still having a lot of discomfort. All of my test show that nothing is loose or broken. My back muscles feel like they are hitting the hardware as well as the L4-S1 area. I am considering removing the hardware sue to feeling this is causing my pain. The surgeon I found to remove them says that the screws is 1 cm to the Aorta and that is a concern to him. Did you have any screws location concerns?
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