Finally!

[sillycoffeegirl]

yeah I hope so. I think my curves are similar to yours. Did you get bending x-rays taken? If so, how did you do it? And did they give you any idea on an amount of correction? Also, just curious, where are you from and where are you going for surgery?

yea i got bending x rays already. All they did was had me put my back standing up against the film and have me to one bending as far as i could to the left and then as far as i could to the right. my doc said he could probably get around 20's or 30's for correction.
I am from phoenix,arizona. And i picked dr. michael chang as my doctor. I am having my surgery at Desert Banner medical center. I am pretty confident in my doctor, he has answered all my questions pretty much and he is very up to date with the new stuff. He also worked with dr. lenke. So my commute to the hospital wont be very far.

[joyfull]

posterior only?

Hi Bethany. Are you having posterior only? I'm so confused about the different approaches out there. I've been seen by or in touch with doctors who want to do full anterior/posterior, only posterior, posterior with a minimally invasive anterior approach, minimally invasive only - my head is spinning. I know that Dr. Lenke does posterior only, so perhaps that is your doctor's approach as well. Best of luck, Joy

[sillycoffeegirl]

Hi Bethany. Are you having posterior only? I'm so confused about the different approaches out there. I've been seen by or in touch with doctors who want to do full anterior/posterior, only posterior, posterior with a minimally invasive anterior approach, minimally invasive only - my head is spinning. I know that Dr. Lenke does posterior only, so perhaps that is your doctor's approach as well. Best of luck, Joy

yea i think so. If posterior means from the back only, then yes thats what my doc is doing. lol i get confused too.

[osumike]

Well I just got home from having another MRI. I took a sedative this time so I was able to get through it. I also got discs of my xrays and MRI. I was able to open them and view it on my computer, but now I cant figue out how to resize them to post on here. So I took a few pictures of my back with my phone and decided to share them on here. Ive never really seen it, and its a little discouraging to.

[titaniumed]

Mike

I can see why you had problems in the MRI with that rib hump of yours. I guess it will take a little time for Dr Orr to make a decision, be sure to let us know.

When you "duck" for doorways, are you bending your knees? It might be the easiest way to deal with that after your surgery.

I had a tall friend I used to ski with years ago, and the only vehicle that worked for him was a suburban. He also re-mounted the seat back in the vehicle. Just wondering what you were driving?

Ed

[osumike]

yeah, I guess I only duck my head a little under doorways. Or maybe I tilt it to the side. I guess its so second nature now, I dont even think of it. As for my vehicle, I install Dish Network satellite TV, so I have a Ford Windstaar mini-van for that, and my fiance and I bought a Chrysler Pacifica a few months ago. That has plenty of leg room for me.

[osumike]

Ok. Im heading to the Cleveland Clinic again today. I went for the first time in November to meet with Dr. Orr. Ive had 2 MRI's, more X-rays, and a CT scan of my heart to get surgery clearance from the cardiologist since then. Im really hoping we can set a date for surgery today. Im pretty sure the Dr. said that if he were to operate, he would fuse the thoracic spine but not the lumbar? does that make sense with me having such a large curve there too? I guess Ill find out more today. The pain seems like its getting worse every day, and without taking the percosets and muscle relaxers, I dont know how I'd get through the day. I really hate having to take them, hopefully soon enough I wont need to anymore. Ill update this after our meeting later.

[titaniumed]

Mike

Try in paint. Right mouse click and look for image resize.Save first to folder, then do a save as.

Is the Doc saying how high he wants to go? Your neck is tilted.

Ed