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  • Surgery is done!

    Hi everyone,

    Nichole had her surgery last Tuesday. We just got home yesterday afternoon. Surgery itself went fine. Had a couple issues afterward. Her blood count dipped really low and they were talking about a transfusion, but waited one more night and luckily it started turning in the right direction by morning. One night she said her legs were numb. That went away and they think it was from sitting in the bathroom too long. Her abdomen got very distended/bloated. Lots of things I wasn't expecting...I was expecting mostly pain. But she is walking very well, pain is mostly controlled up until time for the next dose of med. She was running a fever off and on. It was back for a little while last night. Hoping it is gone this morning.

    I am just so glad to be home and out of that hospital. So is she!

    Jaci

  • #2
    Jaci - I'm happy to hear Nicole's surgery went well! Good news! I'm glad her blood counts came back so she didn't need a transfusion. That's always good. And, bowels getting back to normal are ALWAYS an issue after surgery for Braydon. That's the one reason he stays in-patient for 2 days - to get him "moving" again... ugh.

    I hope her recovery continues to go smoothly - keep us posted!
    Carmell
    mom to Kara, idiopathic scoliosis, Blake 19, GERD and Braydon 14, VACTERL, GERD, DGE, VEPTR #137, thoracic insufficiency, rib anomalies, congenital scoliosis, missing coccyx, fatty filum/TC, anal stenosis, horseshoe kidney, dbl ureter in left kidney, ureterocele, kidney reflux, neurogenic bladder, bilateral hip dysplasia, right leg/foot dyplasia, tibial torsion, clubfoot with 8 toes, pes cavus, single umblilical artery, etc. http://carmellb-ivil.tripod.com/myfamily/

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    • #3
      Jaci,

      So glad to hear your back home.
      Thanks for letting us know how things went. That is nerveracking the blood count problem and bloating. I am worrried about the blood thing for sure bc my daughter is sooo thin and frail as it is.
      Is Nichole like that? Is she in much pain?
      Were the rollovers they do while in the hosptal really painful and longlasting?
      Congrats for getting the surgery done, I will be glad (i hope) when this is past..
      Take care, mamakay
      now 16 yr old daughter
      with worsen 65 degree upper curve
      surgery Nov 3, 04

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      • #4
        Carmell, how long does it usually take for Braydon to get back to normal with the bowel problems? Nichole isn't normal yet, but the bloating has gone down some. They have her on a medication for constipation, they also - in addition to pain meds - gave her an iron pill and vitamin c. She still doesn't have an appetite and gets nausea pretty easily. She just generally "doesn't feel good" she says. I don't know how long that nausea is going to last. I hope it goes away soon. I imagine the medicine adds to the problem, but we need that medicine.

        Mamakay, yes! Nichole is very thin. She always has been. So the not eating does worry me some. Yes, she does have pain - which she is more vocal about here at home than she was in the hospital. Rolling her over always made it worse in the hospital. But once they took her off the Fentanyl drip in her iv for pain and put her on oxycontin pills (12 hour lasting) she has pretty good pain control. About a couple hours before her next dose, she starts complaining about pain. But she refuses any additional pain meds that they gave us to use for breakthrough pain. I did give her some Tylenol last night because she had a fever. But I think she was too covered up and warm and that is why she registered a temperature. Her temp was normal this A.M. She did run a temperature off and on in the hospital, but they said that it was normal after this big operation. She is walking very well though.

        I have to say also, those post op xrays are incredible! It is really something to see those rods and wires and screws. (I think the screws startled me a little...they looked so big!)

        Jaci

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        • #5
          Hi
          Im pleased to know she is recovering well, I know exactly what you mean about seeing the pre op x-rays! When my mum and I looked at my x-rays after my operation we were a lil shocked at what metal work was exactly inside me but now I think its quite cool even tho sometimes I do have moments still when I'm freaked out by it all! lol!

          Love Jules xxxxxx
          15 with a 50 degree curve
          Had surgery now have 2 metal rods in my back

          Comment


          • #6
            Hi Jaci,

            I'm glad to hear Nicole is coming along. The recovery period is different for everyone - this is harder, sometimes, than the actual procedure. I hope she keeps taking her medicine, even if she isn't having breakthrough pain. Its much easier to control the pain on a regular, even schedule, than to try and control bad breakthrough pain. Good luck with that.

            Iron pills, narcotics, being immoble, etc. all contribute to constipation and the GI system basically shutting down. Braydon begins taking Colace and/or a laxative (usually Miralax) as soon as he's able to keep liquids down after surgery. He takes the Colace twice a day. They have Colace with Senna, which may be something she needs to kick-start her bowel. When you are constipated so much, it causes nausea because the bowels are so backed up. When you are nauseated, you don't want to eat or drink. Vicious cycle. The more mobile she is and the more liquid (preferably water or 7-up or even Gatorade) she can drink the sooner her bowels will get going. With the iron pills and the narcotics, she's facing an uphill battle. I'd be asking about a different type of anti-constipation plan - Colace (stool softener) alone may not be enough (I'm assuming she's not taking much in the way of laxative, you didn't specify - and I know our kids don't like us talking about their bowels in public - sheesh mom!). She's far enough out from surgery that you might want to consider something a bit stronger - that's what my point is trying to be.

            Keep us posted. Gentle hugs to Nicole!
            Carmell
            mom to Kara, idiopathic scoliosis, Blake 19, GERD and Braydon 14, VACTERL, GERD, DGE, VEPTR #137, thoracic insufficiency, rib anomalies, congenital scoliosis, missing coccyx, fatty filum/TC, anal stenosis, horseshoe kidney, dbl ureter in left kidney, ureterocele, kidney reflux, neurogenic bladder, bilateral hip dysplasia, right leg/foot dyplasia, tibial torsion, clubfoot with 8 toes, pes cavus, single umblilical artery, etc. http://carmellb-ivil.tripod.com/myfamily/

            Comment


            • #7
              Congratulations on Nicole's sucessful surgery.
              Amber felt pretty much the same way after her surgery except without the nausea. She was thin to start with and ended up losing 10 kilo,s (I think that's around 24 lbs). She is now just short of 5 months post op and has finally gained some weight, 2 kilo's, in the last week or so. I was so worried about her weight that I started a thread about it.
              Her bowels took about 3 weeks to be really 'normal' again. I ended up getting her a laxative to help things along. But it is a normal thing to happen after anything major the body goes through.
              Good luck with the rest of Nicole's recovery.
              Best wishes.
              Cheryl.

              Comment


              • #8
                Hello again,

                I haven't gone back through old posts to see if this was already discussed, but for those who had posterior surgery and did not have the ribs removed, (and you did have a rib hump to begin with), did the rib hump go down after surgery, and if so was it immediate or did it take time? I was looking at Nichole's back today and I still see the hump. It is maybe smaller, but it is still there. She also looks like she is hunching her shoulders a little bit, which I attributed to her taking things "gingerly" and trying to walk without hurting, but she says she is standing as straight as she can. I don't want to be paranoid, but I also don't want this to be something ELSE we will have to take care of later.

                She was at 54 deg pre-op, was fused from T2 to T12 and is now down to about 10 deg.

                Thanks,
                Jaci

                Comment


                • #9
                  Hi Jaci...

                  I often hear from people who tell me that while their rib hump was significantly reduced by their scoliosis surgery, it returns somewhat after a time. If your daughter is looking like she's hunced over, you should address your concern with her surgeon. Ask him/her to measure Nichole's kyphosis.

                  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
                    Hi Linda,

                    She has a follow up appt next Wednesday, I will definitely talk to him then. Would kyphosis be a whole new problem? She really wasn't hunched over before surgery. (which is why I thought maybe she is just trying to be careful and not move to where it hurts). I guess I just wanted it to be perfect. I feel so helpless because there is nothing I can do to take all this away. And I really don't want there to be more problems now. My frustration level is returning. ugh.

                    Jaci

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Hi Jaci...

                      It's certainly possible that the surgeon gave Nichole too must kyphosis when s/he bent the rods. Also, there's a problem that's called "junctional kyphosis," but I think Nichole would be able to straighten up if that was the problem.

                      Let us know what you discover.

                      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


                      • #12
                        Dear Jaci,
                        This is my experience....my dr. told me he was going to do a thoroplasty on me ..and when I came out of surgery and this was not done..I felt like sueing..the fact is..he did what was best for me..he said the only thing you would have had was more pain...I do see a hump..but so so much less...and its OK once you get over it...b/c the surgery is done and thats it....the first couple of months postop you still have swelling on your back..so what looks like now will not be when the swelling goes down...her clothes will fit better and she will be straighter..as far as the shoulder are concerned/..when I came home I was so uneven and I was pitched forward....I'm 3 months out and that all went away...I go to PT and that helped..also the spine needs to get used to the new position it is in..and that takes time...give it more time around 3 months and U can see her true posture by than.....as for now...there is only healing...good luck...
                        CONNIE


                        Surgery June 28th 2004
                        fused T4 -L3
                        Hip graft
                        Grown 1 1/2 inches
                        25/o upper T 15/o
                        53/o T 15/o
                        37/o L 6/o
                        Dr. Micheal Nuewirth
                        New York City

                        August 6, 2004
                        Pulmonary Embolism
                        complication from surgery

                        January 2007 currently
                        increasing pain at the T4/5
                        point irratation heardwear

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                        • #13
                          Thank you for the replies. Linda, I will definitely talk to her dr on Wednesday and see what he says. I didn't realize kyphosis could be a result of surgery.

                          Connie, your post made me feel better. I didn't really think about there still being some swelling. And the fact that you were leaning forward at first too but now are not, makes me feel better. I just need to give it more time before I really know what her back will look like I guess. I has only been a week and a half.

                          Thanks again for your replies. I truly appreciate the input.

                          Jaci

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Hi Jaci...

                            We all have kyphosis (or are supposed to have anyway). It's part of normal spinal anatomy. Normal kyphosis is usually described as anything between 20 and 50 degrees. When a surgeon implants rods, they're bent at the top to facilitate normal kyphosis. If they're bent too much, the patient ends up with too much kyphosis.

                            Hope that helps.

                            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


                            • #15
                              Hi Linda,

                              I guess I never knew that! I have learned so much from all this and I'm continuing to learn even more. Thank you!!

                              If the dr. bends the rods too much and too much kyphosis occurs, do they have to go back and fix it? (probably depends on the severity of it I imagine) Nichole's probably isn't that bad, I think I had just hoped to look at her from behind and see nothing but straightness.....

                              Jaci

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