My sister-in-law's aunt has suffered w/back pain for several years. I don't know all of the specifics, but the general story is this: Roughly a decade or so ago, she had a spinal fusion because her spine was collapsing. There were some levels of non-union, so she had a revision surgery.
I met her last year (when my brother married his wife, not only did I acquire a wonderful new sister, but I got some great new family members in the deal, too!). . .at that time, she already needed a walker or a cane to ambulate (and with difficulty). She is in her late 60's, maybe 70 years old. She needs narcotics daily to control her constant pain.
Yesterday, she had an appt with her surgeon, the same one who did her spine surgeries. She expected to hear that another disc was bad, and would need surgery. INSTEAD, he told her that she has 2 curves - one going one way, the other going the other way, and the verts in the middle are disintegrating. This, from the impression I got from my s-i-l, was the first time that the presence of any curves was mentioned to her. I did notice, when I saw her last week, a little kyphosis. He said she needed surgery, and that it was more specialized than what he could do, and that without surgery, she'd wind up in a wheelchair. He gave her a name of another surgeon. They live in the Chicago area.
It sounded like the dr was saying that she now has scoliosis, so I came here and started searching, and found info on degenerative scoliosis.
I am concerned about her having such a big surgery. It was no walk in the park for me to have these surgeries at 48 and 49. I know that several here are closer to her age, and have done well. She is diabetic, however (she takes insulin shots), which we all know makes healing more of a problem. I do question if the surgeon was correct in his prediction that she would be wheelchair-bound if she chose to not have surgery. . .I don't know if an surgeon who doesn't have experience with more complex cases has the knowledge to make that prediction.
This has come as quite an upleasant surprise to the family. Any opinions or experiences that some of you may have had would be really helpful. There is a lot to learn and to digest in the process of making a wise decision, and we all know it's a lot harder to wade through all of this when you're in constant pain.
Thanks in advance.
I met her last year (when my brother married his wife, not only did I acquire a wonderful new sister, but I got some great new family members in the deal, too!). . .at that time, she already needed a walker or a cane to ambulate (and with difficulty). She is in her late 60's, maybe 70 years old. She needs narcotics daily to control her constant pain.
Yesterday, she had an appt with her surgeon, the same one who did her spine surgeries. She expected to hear that another disc was bad, and would need surgery. INSTEAD, he told her that she has 2 curves - one going one way, the other going the other way, and the verts in the middle are disintegrating. This, from the impression I got from my s-i-l, was the first time that the presence of any curves was mentioned to her. I did notice, when I saw her last week, a little kyphosis. He said she needed surgery, and that it was more specialized than what he could do, and that without surgery, she'd wind up in a wheelchair. He gave her a name of another surgeon. They live in the Chicago area.
It sounded like the dr was saying that she now has scoliosis, so I came here and started searching, and found info on degenerative scoliosis.
I am concerned about her having such a big surgery. It was no walk in the park for me to have these surgeries at 48 and 49. I know that several here are closer to her age, and have done well. She is diabetic, however (she takes insulin shots), which we all know makes healing more of a problem. I do question if the surgeon was correct in his prediction that she would be wheelchair-bound if she chose to not have surgery. . .I don't know if an surgeon who doesn't have experience with more complex cases has the knowledge to make that prediction.
This has come as quite an upleasant surprise to the family. Any opinions or experiences that some of you may have had would be really helpful. There is a lot to learn and to digest in the process of making a wise decision, and we all know it's a lot harder to wade through all of this when you're in constant pain.
Thanks in advance.
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