Infection forcing consideration of rod removal

[LindaRacine]

Since you mention that your surgeon has retired, is it safe to assume it was Robert Hart? Unfortunately, I don't know of other adult specialists in Portland.

[susancook]

Hi there. What did you decide to do? I met you a while ago. I had a hardware infection and took antibiotics for many years. I had all of my hardware replaced.
Susan

[mkatz]

Portland, Oregon.

[LindaRacine]

Yes, that sounds reasonable, though you might want to get a second opinion just to put your mind at ease. Where do you live?

[mkatz]

About two years ago I had corrective surgery as an adult (then aged 66) during which rods were placed from T4-S1 with pelvic fixation. A hardware associated infection was identified one year later and during the course of treatment a small portion of one rod was removed. For the 9 years that followed, all seemed to be going well.

A month ago a recurrent hardware associated infection became obvious (unresolved implant biofilm associated, presumably). My original Surgeon has retired and is not available for consultation. Consultation with a new-to-me, well respected spine surgeon has recommended removal of all hardware. His stated belief is that, noting that a CT shows (apparently) solid bone growth, replacement is not indicated and that I should anticipate spine changes (scoliosis relapse) or increased risk of catastrophic spine fracture during normal activities. Does this sound like a "reasonable" expectation?