Fifa's Surgery 11/10/14 with Dr. Buchowski

[Irina]

Hi Fifa and welcome to the forum. Good luck with your surgery. I was also putting mine off for a long time because I just wasn't ready. People on this forum are wonderful...welcome to the family.

[titaniumed]

Fifa

I also waited.....34 years to be exact, but after having talks for 2-1/2 years with my surgeon, my procedure became complicated. I was rejected in the end and I had to beg. I had a massive L1-Pelvis anterior (ALIF) with partial corpectomy due to advanced end plate damage. Degeneration in adults over 50 can really get serious....They flipped me over for the posterior operation 2 days later.

I often think about the intense amount of pain I endured before my surgeries, and was fortunate. I really had no decision since one doctor gave me a year to live....Decision making on an elective surgery is something we put on the back burner, and pain is a strong signal that organs are suffering. “Jean-Martin Charcot”

So, I understand your situation completely....

For anxiety, I ran..... kinda like Forrest Gump. (smiley face) I forgot that movie and why he ran???? I need watch it over again. Running and deep breathing outdoors is what I did. I also ate well, had to lose weight, and wanted my nutritional situation and immune system at its best going in. I also took no meds at that time.

In the end, after a 2 year recovery and adapting, I came out quite well. I still snow ski after fusion surgery, and post my ski video every once in a awhile to boost people up a bit. Here it is. I’m in the red jacket.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4tEypv3Vz8o&feature=plcp

Welcome to the forum
Ed

[PeggyS]

Hi Fifa!

Welcome to the forum!
You & I will be having surgery with Dr. Buchowski, just 2 weeks apart!
I agree, it's better to 'choose' the surgical intervention than to have to deal with an emergency. I've had plenty of time to get our house & lives organized. I know there'll be some things I won't get crossed off my 'to-do' list, but overall, I'm feeling prepared. Every now & then the edge of feeling panic gets a little too close!
That pop in your back and the resulting pain had to be terrifying!
How far is St. Louis from your home? We live in Columbus, OH - 400 miles away. Will you be staying in St. Louis for a month? We're renting an apartment for close to the same price as a nice hotel or extended stay. We stayed at the Parkway Hotel for my pre-surgery testing. Very nice.

[jrnyc]

hi fifa
welcome...

i am just shocked that no "standing" films were taken sooner...
i thought X rays while standing were the simplest, cheapest to
do and the first ones doctors ordered, vs. more expensive,
MRI's, CAT scans, myleograms, etc....especially when dealing
with insurance companies who will be paying for the radiology.

best of luck with your surgery
jess

[fifa]

Thanks, Karen. I hope you are doing well. I saw your daughter's x-rays. I haven't figured out how to post mine yet, but will be doing that soon. She sounds like a trooper!

I had a hard time getting my account activated (I think you did, too?). I e-mailed the scoliosis admin e-mail plus Joe's several times each and finally was activated after MariaF intervened. I was getting anxious!

Hope you are doing well. I'm hanging in there and pretty scared about what lies ahead recovery-wise, but I'm hopeful. I'm hoping to get my life back soon!

Fifa

[Karen5]

I don't have much I can offer; I'm new to this myself. But I'm also a new member, and I just wanted to say hey and I hope your surgery gets you relief!

[fifa]

Hi, everyone -

I've been waiting since the end of August to have my account activated so I could post. Finally! For two years now, I've been reading the forum, knowing that one day I would schedule my surgery. Every single one of you has been of great help to me - thank you.

In 1987, I had back surgery (laminectomy and diskectomy) for a herniated disk at L5-S1. The surgery and recovery went well. Over the years, I've had intermittent bouts of pain and disability, but for the most part I've managed those well. Numerous MRIs showed mild lumbar scoliosis and several herniated disks in the lumbar area, for which I've had steroid injections, physical therapy, anti-inflammatories, etc. About four years ago, the pain got markedly worse after a coughing spell (I heard the "pop"). For the first time in 27 years, my primary care physician decided to order a set of plain films - standing films. Upon standing, my "mild to moderate" lumbar scoliosis increases to "marked scoliosis." When lying down, my lumbar curve is in the 27 degree range. However, upon standing, the curve now becomes 43 degrees. Three years ago, the standing curve was 31 degrees (January, 2011). In June, 2012, the standing curve had increased to 39 degrees, and now (September, 2014) is at 43 degrees.

Four years ago, when we found out the extent of the scoliosis, I was offered an anterior-posterior fusion with instrumentation from L3-S1. In fact, the ortho group locally put me on the emergency surgery schedule because my bone scan showed the spine was unstable. I have listhesis and subluxation at several levels, plus a couple of broken facet joints. The ortho group locally told me the surgery they offered would fix the problem. Suffice it to say I was skeptical. I sought a second opinion from the university teaching hospital here locally. They offered a posterior approach and a fusion from L4-S1 with instrumentation. They said that if anyone told me they could fix my scoliosis, they were lying. That was December, 2010.

After much research online, I obtained a third opinion from Dr. Buchowski in St. Louis in June, 2012. He actually told us that both procedures offered locally were contraindicated. He offered a posterior fusion with instrumentation from T10 to the sacrum. Scared the crap out of me, so we went home to consider options and maybe find an alternative. He was fine with "watchful waiting." Dr. Buchowski spent a LOT of time with us that day, acted like he had no other patients except me, and we had a great (but scary) visit.

Since June of 2012, I've been muddling along, knowing that one day I would have this "giant" surgery. My ability to stand has decreased to where I only have about five minutes before I have to sit. Walking is worse than standing - every step compresses and uncompresses the curve. Hard to explain. However, the absolute worst pain that I have is in my ribcage, right under the right breast. There is a some muscle that feels like it is attached to the sternum, and it spasms like a charley-horse when I bend over. I have to get my hands above my head and arch backward to get it to go away, but it never truly goes away. My pelvis is now tilted, and the psoas muscles on the right are shortened to where the ribs on the right are sitting directly on top of the pelvis. I've lost about three inches in height in the ten years (no osteoporsis yet - DEXA scan is perfect).

In August of this year, I was doing my usual yoga routine when I twisted at the waist. There was a "pop" in my spine so loud that the dog actually heard it. It actually made me cry out when it happened. When I tried to stand, I couldn't feel my right foot. There was no position I could get into to relieve the pain. Turns out I broke another facet joint. The pain is better now and I can feel my foot again. This whole four years of knowing that I needed surgery and putting it off, never once did I consider that I might actually do something to where I no longer had a choice about surgery. That is hard to explain. I had a "one of these days" mentality...believing I could push through the pain and just limit my activities and I could get through it. So, I'm really sorry now that I put it off, even though it was just a couple of years. Because of the instability in the spine, now I'll have to have the pelvic fixation, too, which I didn't need two years ago when I saw Dr. Buchowski.

It's been a tough road, but I'm ready. I figure a "planned" intervention is way better than an "emergency" intervention, especially when an emergency would have to be treated here locally. Now, it's on to St. Louis!

I hope you are all well. The posts in this forum have been extremely beneficial to me and my family as we debate, prepare, and pray. Thank you all very much. If anyone here has any advice, suggestions, anything - I would be grateful to hear from you. Also, if anyone has any specific experience with Dr. Buchowski and/or Barnes Hospital in St. Louis, I would love to hear what you have to say (positive or negative).

Fifa
(soon to be bionic)