Surgery Soon

[Susie*Bee]

Jimbo-- it sounds like you are ready indeed! After watching your postings for quite awhile, it seems like you are well informed (and thanks, Ed, for your post just now-- I also hate it when "posties" don't know about the possible complications/problems) and now that you've found a good match as far as surgeons go, all is set. Isn't it a big relief when you get to that point? Best wishes as you continue with your plans for surgery. It sounds like you've made a wise choice, all things considered. Keep us posted. Susie

[CHRIS WBS]

Since there are no guarantees with scoliosis surgery, or any surgery, its usually a last ditch effort.

Waiting for it to become a last ditch effort usually means a bigger surgery (or surgeries), a longer fusion, a harder recovery, and more risk for complications. My surgeon remarked to me while I was in the hospital that he wished he could have treated me when I was younger. Why go through life being deformed when there are skilled and talented surgeons who can correct our deformities?

[titaniumed]

Chris

Risk factor weighs heavily. If there is any chance of failure, do you do something? What are the odds of complications 10 or 20 years down the road? This is a see-saw that can be tipped back and forth for ever.

The younger you are, the more you have to worry about these things. These are things I discussed with my surgeon, but he still told me I should have done it sooner.

Its funny how he wanted to know about my history with scoliosis and what methods I had done for pain control through the years. It seemed like he wanted to make sure that I had explored all options, and was at the end of the road, but still told me I should have done it sooner????

Jimbo, just trying to cover some bases here for you. Just some thoughts for when you "interview your surgeon". It does sound like you are close.

My surgeon still wanted to try a few shots at the end, but I declined due to my pain. I told him that was a temporary solution, and things were not getting any better with twin 70s at age 49. It took me a few visits before he finally said that he would do it. Of course, after my physical.

Hiring your surgeon isn't easy. I liked the fact that Dr Menmuir didn't just say "lets do it tomorrow" He really wanted me to think about things.

Let us know how it goes
Ed

[CHRIS WBS]

Risk factor weighs heavily. If there is any chance of failure, do you do something? What are the odds of complications 10 or 20 years down the road? This is a see-saw that can be tipped back and forth for ever.

You are at greater risk of being maimed or killed in an auto failure every time you get into your car than suffering a major complication from scoliosis surgery. Do you therefore stop driving?

[titaniumed]

Chris
Good point. Everytime you enter your car, you need to be aware of the danger, just like being aware of surgical complications. Driving is serious business.

Surgical complication rates are much higher that auto accidents. I do know that for gall bladder removal, 42% is the magic number. Its also the 2nd most popular surgery performed in North America at approx 750,000 per year. Also, 25 to 30 million people undergo surgeries per year, just shy of 100,000 per day. Those are serious numbers.

http://answers.google.com/answers/th...id/759999.html
http://www.ehow.com/about_5254875_ga...rocedures.html

Its funny, insurance companies look at accidents per state and will have stats on the amount of time in years per accident. Nevada is one of the safest states in that regard, I think its 1 accident per 8 years. If that's the case, I'm due for 4 accidents right now.

Ed

[Vali]

Hi Jimbo,
I went from 50 degrees in June 2008 to 58 degrees in March 2009. I was told to consider surgery within the year due to the fast progression and that was at the end of March 2009. I made my decision in mid April and setthe date for June 1st, as I needed the remainder of April to get work and stuff sorted, then used May as my blood collection month. Between blood collection and debilitating pain, i really had the stuffings knocked out of me. Good luck!

[txmarinemom]

Jimbo,

I'm so glad you've found a doctor you trust, and I can SO relate to living with the pain. I'm glad I did it (not that I *had* to ... which is very different), but I'm also glad I didn't do it earlier.

My back had hurt *ferociously* since I was about 10. Sharon correctly recalled my curve was stable for over 20 years: Realistically, if I'd felt the technology had been there (I didn't), I could have had surgery earlier. I had a lot more choice than people who were progressing, to be sure.

I investigated having surgery when I was 29, and I just wasn't ready to roll the dice. At that point I didn't have all the little bonus issues like discs protruding in the cervical compensatory curve, either. The pain was chronic, but it really hadn't started getting worse like it did later.

The techniques and hardware available today - and, yes ... expanded use of rh-BMP-2, as Ed mentioned - did play heavily into reassuring me my odds were good. My surgeon also played a huge part in my decision - although he never once pushed me toward surgery. In fact, my first visit with him involved x-rays, background info, what he felt were the pros and cons involved with surgery (and I now know they weren't weighted) and a request from him that I read Wolpert's book. He asked me to digest that, and if I thought it was something I wanted to do, schedule another appointment. If he didn't see me again, he wished me well.

That visit was Oct. 9th, 2007.

I scheduled my next appointment several weeks later, and Dec. 5th, 2007 found me back in his office with a million questions. We booked my surgery that day for Feb. 5th, 2008. I spent those 3 months going through a CRAZY to-do list (solo recovery requires a LOT of planning), and I stayed so busy the worry didn't really strike until they wheeled me down the hall to the "starting line". It lasted a split-second, and that was it.

Jimbo, I think you're going to do great, and I tend to agree things will be easier - now and in the long run - if you get it over with vs. waiting. Ditto on the getting in the best pre-op shape possible. Focus on getting your core, arms and legs strong ... but lay off bulking up the back muscles. And don't forget to strrrretttttch!

Regards,
Pam

[Jimbo]

Thankyou Pam