Surgery in a couple of weeks, quietly panicking.

[BadKitty]

Pooka1, you might have seen my post about having misunderstood the doctor about the level of surgery. Couldn't quite understand why he wanted to go all the way up to T2.
I also misunderstood you about "fusing the L curve" (rather than the L5).

So the good news is that he does plan to fuse the L curve from T10 down, and not the T curve.
Or maybe he'll just do the TLIF, depending on the evidence of a need for higher fusion.

I'm talking to him about it on Wednesday. It all sounds promising to me!

[Pooka1]

Yes that is good and makes much more sense.

But I still am concerned that you apparently were told your lumbar curve was compensatory and not structural despite being the same size as the thoracic curve.

As for before, I would need a written guarantee that the spasms and pain would stop if I were to let him fuse a sub-surgical, non-progressive, compensatory LUMBAR curve.

If it really is compensatory, you might ask about only fusing the T curve and just doing the TLIF at L5-S1. You will notice a difference if you have the lumbar fused where you might not notice much difference only fusing the T curve plus just the one level at the base of the lumbar.

Also, given how small your curves are and how stable, I just have to wonder how convinced your surgeon is that fusing a compensatory lumbar curve will address the spasms.

[jChris]

Juliet, I really like Dr. Geck and I am told he is the best surgeon in Central Texas. On a recent visit I asked him about Dr. Lenke in St. Louis.

Dr. Geck impressed us with his honesty. He said I send patients to Dr. Lenke not the opposite. He said he has only had to send one patient to him that he felt he could not handle. With all due respect, knowing the egos of these guys/gals, we immediately liked him for being so honest with us.

He just did my neck surgery and is the most upbeat surgeon with his hospital follow-up visits. He came to my room each time saying, "how are you doing sunshine". Having a skilled surgeon with some personality means a great deal. Of course, I would take a total deadbeat personality for skill, but he seems to offer both through this most difficult time.

He comes highly recommended. I have been to the Mayo Clinic for second opinions and they mirror his for the record.

[BadKitty]

I got that same impression of Dr. Geck from day one, Chris. He is very confident, but not cocky; he pays close attention to everything I tell him. He doesn't have a fast answer for everything - he considers what he's going to say before he speaks. Quite different from doctors I've see who talk over me and don't listen to what I've said or asked. And his experience is impressive.

I asked him what procedure he was going to use, and he looked at me and said, "....I'm going to have to think about that." I like that idea.

Good luck with your surgery on the 25th ... I have a feeling everything is going to turn out fine!

Juliet

[BadKitty]

The problem with leaving the lumbar curve alone -- and forgive me if I didn't mention this earlier! - is that I have a listhesis at L4 and a VERY symptomatic and unstable lumbar spine with degenerative disc changes.

Correcting a moderate thoracic curve while leaving an unstable lumbar curve uncorrected can lead to deterioration of the lumbar curve, which in my case is causing a lot of pain, including leg pain. The L curve is shorter than the T curve, sort of like a little "spring" holding me upright against the stress of the T curve. Upward progression of degeneration is practically guaranteed if I don't have both curves fused.