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For the most part, the membership of the Feisty group moved on last July. Among other things, the moderator insisted that donations to her were in order. None the less, there is plenty of good information in the archives.
Hello All,
I have had a Harrington Rod in for 18 years and it broke about 14 years ago, I cant begin to describe the effects of a bad car accident Dec 04 (not in public anyway). The best way I can describe things is to say I feel that I'm too heavy for my spine and pelvis (even though believe me I'm not) and for those that know what it means I suffer from Cauda-Equina syndrome. What is flat back syndrome? and what are its symptoms? Have any Harrington Rods had to be replaced? Sorry for all the questions, I've just found this site, any information gratefully received.
Regards
Sharon
Never argue with an idiot. They always drag you down to their level, and then they beat you with experience. --Twain
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Surgery 2/10/93 A/P fusion T4-L3
Surgery 1/20/11 A/P fusion L2-sacrum w/pelvic fixation
Hi, Thanks for your response, does it make any sense to suffer from this in sort of spasms over a period of 3 to 4 days, and if so does it usually get worse? Cauda-equina is loss of anal control, would anyone else have suffered this?
Thanks Sharon.
I had my scoliosis surgery in 1989 and went pain free until about 2 years ago. I have gone to two different surgeons (mine has since retired) and no one can tell why I am experiencing pain. I have had and MRI and several other tests. My lower back hurts and I have pain and numbness in my right leg, hip and foot. The tests haven't shown any problems so now they are suggesting I do the cortisone shots to see if that helps the pain. I have a problem with doing that when they have no idea why I am having pain in the first place.
It is getting so frustrating. I am 35 now.
Background - Diagnosed in 1981 with a s-curve. Very progressive. Wore a Milwalkee brace from 1981-1986. I had back surgery in 1989....spinal fusion with Harrington rods and bone from my hip.
Hi, I just joined today. I am a compression fracture dislocation at L1 victim since 1984, not a scoliosis patient. But this is one of the few places I found that I find others with a lot in common back wise. I have 2 Harrington rods from T10-L4 with fusion. They are very straight and I am sure I suffer from flatback as well as pains below the rods daily. I have read quite a few reports of similar or identical complaints that I have had for over 20 years. Has here anyone had the H-rods removed? I've been told that I would need anterior and posterior surgery and this has scared me away from it. I'm 47 years old, I'm afraid I'm getting too old to go through this much surgery. Any info is always appreciated, rickdog
Having your rods removed will probably not do anything to resolve your pain. To hopefully resolve your pain and prevent further deterioration, you'd need to having the flatback corrected.
If you want to "meet" a lot of people who have had their flatback corrected, you can visit this forum:
Never argue with an idiot. They always drag you down to their level, and then they beat you with experience. --Twain
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Surgery 2/10/93 A/P fusion T4-L3
Surgery 1/20/11 A/P fusion L2-sacrum w/pelvic fixation
"Having your rods removed will probably not do anything to resolve your pain. To hopefully resolve your pain and prevent further deterioration, you'd need to having the flatback corrected."
Yes, I understand that, that's why it's such a long, involved surgery with a lot of blood loss with both anterior and posterior approaches. All the old fusion has to be broken out, the rods removed, then some kind of modern fixation to restore lordosis with screws, rods, pedicle subtraction osteotomy, etc. That's why I'm curious to see how this has turned out for someone in a similar situation as mine, thanks much for the link and reply, Rick
I haven't had any problems with flatback, pain, etc. yet and I had Harrington Rods put in 20 years ago. I was active, especially in sports, as soon as I got the OK from my surgeon. Am I concerned that it could eventually happen to me? A little. I'm just going to continue on with my daily life until heaven-forbid something does happen.
I have a harrington rod too. I had surgery in 1979. Is it not possible to have another surgery, taking out the harrington and undergoing a new surgery with a new technique? Or does the fusion prevent that? My fusion is T6 - T12. I asked a Doctor about that recently. I only spoke with the front office so far, but I have an appointment. The front office said that they've done a couple of them, but it depends on the spine's flexibility. I'm guessing too much fusion will reduce the effects of any modern day surgery.
But wouldn't that be great. Go in, pull out the rod, put in a new one (the C-D or ?), reduce the curve even more, some thoracoplasty, and get rid of the flat back and humps (for the molst part).
But maybe they can cut away some fusion to increase flexibility so the new technique can have some effect.
The only way to change your spine in the area of the fusion, is to remove the rod and perform an osteotomy. You can see what an osteotomy looks like here:
It's a big procedure, and I doubt that many surgeons would do it strictly for the purpose of getting a better cosmetic result.
Regards,
Linda
Never argue with an idiot. They always drag you down to their level, and then they beat you with experience. --Twain
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Surgery 2/10/93 A/P fusion T4-L3
Surgery 1/20/11 A/P fusion L2-sacrum w/pelvic fixation
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