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  • #16
    Chris--I'm very fair-skinned too so maybe there is hope that the scar will fade more! Thanks for that info. Janet
    Janet

    61 years old--57 for surgery

    Diagnosed in 1965 at age of 13--no brace
    Thoracic Curve: 96 degrees to 35 degrees
    Lumbar Curve: 63 degrees to 5 degrees
    Surgery with Dr. Lenke in St. Louis--March 30, 2009
    T-2 to Pelvis, and hopefully all posterior procedure.

    All was posterior along with 2 cages and 6 osteotomies.

    Comment


    • #17
      Originally posted by CHRIS WBS View Post
      Are you comfortable with Gupta’s recommendation for you?
      http://scoliosis.org/forum/showpost....62&postcount=6
      Chris,

      Well, I'm a lot more comfortable with Dr. Gupta's recommendation than my local doctor's, but I'm still waffling. I see Dr. Bridwell Monday, so maybe that will help me make a decision. I know surgery is inevitable, but the question for me is--now or later? Anyway, I'm sure I'll be seeking input here after Monday. Thanks for your postings on Dr. Gupta, which led me to him in the first place.

      Evelyn
      age 48
      80* thoracolumbar; 40* thoracic
      Reduced to ~16* thoracolumbar; ~0* thoracic
      Surgery 3/14/12 with Dr. Lenke in St. Louis, T4 to S1 with pelvic fixation
      Broken rods 12/1/19; scheduled for revision fusion L1-L3-4 with Dr. Lenke 2/4/2020
      Not "confused" anymore, but don't know how to change my username.

      Comment


      • #18
        Me Too, Chris!

        Yes,
        With all the other problems one hears about on this forum, it seems trivial to complain about so caled "cosmetic" corrections. But we live in a very cosmetic world where one's appearance can equal not only employability, but worthiness in other aspects of social society. After deciding on my initial surgery and being scared half out of my mind over it, I tried to entertain more pleasant thoughts about what might come of it all. Since I was bent laterally and had the horrid hump, I imagined being straight up, taller, hump free, and even having a less "squishy" belly. If only!!! I am certainly less laterally bent, much improved hump, but now I'm 5' 1/2 down from 5' 2" due to the developing kyphosis. And let's not even talk about the belly. Has anyone seen my belly button????
        So, like so many things in life, it's all relative. I'm glad to be alive and not paralized, but after the big bad surgery and extensive recovery, it would've been nice to get a few extra perks for my trouble, thank-you-very much. Ah, such is life!
        Singing the Blues
        Female 1951
        A/P Surgery Oct 13th & 17th '05, from T7-L5, 46 degree curve reduced to 19 degrees. Rib hump almost gone, but I have flatback. Thought it was "normal" and I would improve over time. I developed kyphosis above the surgical area. Had surgery with Dr Menmuir in Reno, Nv on October 13, 2010.
        Today I am still plagued with flatback, and I'm considering ALIF surgery.

        Comment


        • #19
          Well I am very happy with the cosmetic outcome achieved after my surgery last year but now I'm getting really stressed out due to the possible cosmetic result of another condition - hair loss. It just seems like a cruel joke
          Diagnosed at the age of 18 (2004)
          46° curve
          Surgery scheduled for April 27, 2009 - Anterior fusion from T12 - L3

          Comment


          • #20
            Originally posted by Cimbom View Post
            Well I am very happy with the cosmetic outcome achieved after my surgery last year but now I'm getting really stressed out due to the possible cosmetic result of another condition - hair loss. It just seems like a cruel joke
            Could your hair loss be due to the antibiotics given in surgery I wonder? My daughter lost about 1/3 of her hair after a massive dose of penicillin given when she had what the drs. thought was pneumonia whilst travelling through the Middle East. She was hospitalised in Libya where a doctor (British) gave her penicillin which she later learned was about three times the dose she should have been given. About three months later the hairloss began. Her GP here thought it was the high dose of penicillin. It took about 18 months but her hair returned almost, but not quite, to normal. We'll never know for sure what caused it, but at least the hairloss halted and it eventually regrew. Good luck!
            Surgery March 3, 2009 at almost 58, now 63.
            Dr. Askin, Brisbane, Australia
            T4-Pelvis, Posterior only
            Osteotomies and Laminectomies
            Was 68 degrees, now 22 and pain free

            Comment


            • #21
              Thanks Jennifer. Unfortunately, I'm pretty sure it's not due to the surgery. It started before I had it and I was treating it from then but it seems like the treatment only slowed it down a bit. I'm waiting to see another dermatologist soon who can hopefully prescribe me some different hormonal medication to try and stop the loss (and hopefully get some regrowth). Trying to be positive but it seems quite difficult to treat, especially in women. Me and my partner are planning to get married next year and while I'm really happy that my back is straighter and that I can wear a nice dress, I'm hoping I won't be bald by that time. Makes me feel like I'm 74 and not 24
              Diagnosed at the age of 18 (2004)
              46° curve
              Surgery scheduled for April 27, 2009 - Anterior fusion from T12 - L3

              Comment


              • #22
                Cosmetic results less acceptable? why?

                The bigger the curve, especially thoracic where the ribs are affected, the less correction / improved cosmesis. The ribs are not rubber bands which snap back into shape. They retain much of the deformity, especially in long standing curves in older persons. When the spinal curves are reduced the hump moves more to the middle with the attached straighter spine.

                With the thoracoplasty, which I had done, portions of the "pointed" hump in my case, were removed and the ribs sewn back together. There is a limit to how much hump which can be removed. The lung underneath needs room to expand; the opposite "dented' side remains compressed with that lung already squished. I have restricted lung capacity.

                That is why I see red when persons with significant curves wait and wait, thinking "I can always have surgery and get fixed" and the deformity marches on.

                Lumbar curves are not attached to the ribs and reducing that curve doesn't involve a hump unless there are other curves in the thorax. Correcting these might result in a jump in height.

                In my case I would have loved no hump. It is much smaller, my shoulders/hips are even and I have no pain
                Original scoliosis surgery 1956 T-4 to L-2 ~100 degree thoracic (triple)curves at age 14. NO hardware-lost correction.
                Anterior/posterior revision T-4 to Sacrum in 2002, age 60, by Dr. Boachie-Adjei @Hospital for Special Surgery, NY = 50% correction

                Comment


                • #23
                  If you look at my signature, I still have what many would consider a significant lumbar curve but like Karen, [B][I]I Have no pain! I feel and look like a different person. I know that my rotation was corrected, I stand (and look) straight and tall, esp. compared to what I looked like with a 90 degree lumbar curve. But the most important part to me is that I feel so much better. We talked to some people yesterday who had a 21 year old niece who went through the surgery in Calif. about the same time I did, and they couldn't believe how well I was doing. For me, my future health and pain relief was the biggest priority. The cosmetic aspect was not as important, just kind of a bonus.


                  Anne in PA
                  Age 58
                  Diagnosed at age 14, untreated, no problem until age 50
                  T4 to sacrum fusion
                  63 thoracic now 35, 92 lumbar now 53
                  Dr. Baron Lonner, 2/2/10
                  Am pain-free, balanced, happy & an inch taller !

                  Comment


                  • #24
                    hi Anne
                    i am so happy for you...the pain free aspect sounds the best!

                    jess

                    Comment


                    • #25
                      Being able to stand, walk and sit for more than 10 minutes and to be painfree was my biggest priority. I didn't even give the cosmetic equation a thought. Though i am not happy about my pot belly, i am happy to have my waist back!
                      Vali
                      44 years young! now 45
                      Surgery - June 1st, 2009
                      Dr David Hall - Adelaide Spine Clinic
                      St. Andrews Hospital, Adelaide, South Australia
                      Pre-op curve - 58 degree lumbar
                      Post -op - 5 degrees
                      T11 - S1 Posterior
                      L4/5 - L5/S1 Anterior Fusion

                      Comment


                      • #26
                        bellies (etc.) after surgery - toning up...eventually??

                        Originally posted by Vali View Post
                        Being able to stand, walk and sit for more than 10 minutes and to be painfree was my biggest priority. I didn't even give the cosmetic equation a thought. Though i am not happy about my pot belly, i am happy to have my waist back!
                        Pain relief is the biggie, for sure, Vali, but I'd like to ask others as well as you about this "pot belly" thing. You're a year out from surgery. I'd have thought you and other operated scolis would have been able to rid themselves of the post-surgical effect by then.

                        No?

                        I thought the belly was largely a function of bloating, fluid retention and (temporary?) loss of core muscle strength because one was forbidden crunches and whatnot.

                        What about the rest of you? Can't you do Plates and so on by now to get on top of abs and other muscles? Please tell the truth, as it matters to some of us. Of course, if one doesn't exercise to the limits one can, bellies won't just disappear, I guess, but isn't it within the realm of possibility to tone up within a year?

                        Vali, did you have a flat tum BEFORE surgery?
                        Last edited by Back-out; 06-27-2010, 02:26 PM.
                        Not all diagnosed (still having tests and consults) but so far:
                        Ehler-Danlos (hyper-mobility) syndrome, 69 - somehow,
                        main curve L Cobb 60, compensating T curve ~ 30
                        Flat back, marked lumbar kyphosis (grade?) Spondilolisthesis - everyone gives this a different grade too. Cervical stenosis op'd 3-07, minimally invasive

                        Comment


                        • #27
                          Incidentally, for those who might think caring about cosmetic improvement is vain or trivial especially in an older "adult" I''d like to point out the difference between having a spouse and not.

                          As much as one would like to think, inner beauty is what attracts (and hopefully, it's what needs to be there to retain interest, in the end), it's outer beauty - or at least , lack of deformity, that counts for the most at first! This goes in spades when one has a residual disability post surgically, under the best of circumstances. (I know I'll never be able to "pull my weight" in household talks or care-giving. I'll be doing pretty well to be able to care for myself!)

                          This is an important social reality. It's hard enough for older women to attract partners, especially ones who are themselves not invalided! And having a partner is really important as one ages, as one is constantly reminded in discussing such dangerous surgery...not to mention "mere" companionship!
                          Not all diagnosed (still having tests and consults) but so far:
                          Ehler-Danlos (hyper-mobility) syndrome, 69 - somehow,
                          main curve L Cobb 60, compensating T curve ~ 30
                          Flat back, marked lumbar kyphosis (grade?) Spondilolisthesis - everyone gives this a different grade too. Cervical stenosis op'd 3-07, minimally invasive

                          Comment


                          • #28
                            I had a pot belly for months. I still find myself pulling in my stomach. But these days, in my case I think it's more the fact that my doctor gave me quite a bit of lordosis in my lumbar area, which I'm happy about, and my organs were pushed forward. I think I need to do exercises to tighten my stomach muscles, which aren't what they used to be.
                            Surgery March 3, 2009 at almost 58, now 63.
                            Dr. Askin, Brisbane, Australia
                            T4-Pelvis, Posterior only
                            Osteotomies and Laminectomies
                            Was 68 degrees, now 22 and pain free

                            Comment


                            • #29
                              Chris,
                              This is a great thread. I must say that I am disappointed with the cosmetics. I am very glad I had my surgery as I am able to do so many more things than I could before my surgery. You wouldn't think that a lumbar scoliosis could affect the body shape so much, but it does by shrinking and twisting the torso. I lost 3 inches in height before my surgery and gained maybe 1/2 inch after the surgery. I asked my surgeon why he couldn't get much of a correction and he said he was afraid with my osteopenia the screws might pull out of the bone if he put much force on them. Because of the space the screws take up, my waist is bigger than it was and my clothes don't fit as well. My belly and the extra rolls didn't go away. Oh well, at my age, who am I trying to impress anyway. I thank God every day that I am not in a wheelchair.
                              Sally
                              Diagnosed with severe lumbar scoliosis at age 65.
                              Posterior Fusion L2-S1 on 12/4/2007. age 67
                              Anterior Fusion L3-L4,L4-L5,L5-S1 on 12/19/2007
                              Additional bone removed to decompress right side of L3-L4 & L4-L5 on 4/19/2010
                              New England Baptist Hospital, Boston, MA
                              Dr. Frank F. Rands735.photobucket.com/albums/ww360/butterflyfive/

                              "In God We Trust" Happy moments, praise God. Difficult moments, seek God. Quiet moments, worship God. Painful moments, trust God. Every moment, thank God.

                              Comment


                              • #30
                                Originally posted by loves to skate View Post
                                Chris,
                                This is a great thread. I must say that I am disappointed with the cosmetics. I am very glad I had my surgery as I am able to do so many more things than I could before my surgery. You wouldn't think that a lumbar scoliosis could affect the body shape so much, but it does by shrinking and twisting the torso. I lost 3 inches in height before my surgery and gained maybe 1/2 inch after the surgery. I asked my surgeon why he couldn't get much of a correction and he said he was afraid with my osteopenia the screws might pull out of the bone if he put much force on them. Because of the space the screws take up, my waist is bigger than it was and my clothes don't fit as well. My belly and the extra rolls didn't go away. Oh well, at my age, who am I trying to impress anyway. I thank God every day that I am not in a wheelchair.
                                Sally
                                Sally, I too have severe lumbar scoliosis and I'm apt to be around the same age as you were when I go for surgery (gradually becoming reconciled/resigned). Likewise, I've lost at least four inches in height from disk height and spinal torsion.. Fearful, now that I won't be able to get any more correction than you - and also about this waistline business.

                                (Fervently disagree about seniors caring about their figures - as my posts above describe! )

                                Could you please share your pre and post surgery angles? Also, if you had/have kyphosis and if so, where? Again, before and after. (Don't know if you've been following the thread on post-surgical kyphosis and "PJK" - started by sacket)

                                I'm trying to figure out this business of the screws destroying your waist-line (but it's not a happy thought!). Also wonder about this belly issue too (as I asked elsewhere). You are NOT the first to mention it. Did you have MORE of a belly after surgery than before, and did you weigh the same? Also, were you able to do any core strengthening exercises after surgery to attack this problem - or was it not a priority?

                                I have always been somewhat vain about my back/torso (the length and skin). Whereas, what's left of this, is clearly going to be 'gone with the wind' - I am still hoping that I can somehow get my figure back in front more or less, EVENTUALLY.

                                That is, despite the permanent post-surgical restrictions on the heavy ab/core workouts I have always (almost always!) done. I thought one could do Pilates, isometrics and maybe some targeted weight machines too.

                                No??
                                Not all diagnosed (still having tests and consults) but so far:
                                Ehler-Danlos (hyper-mobility) syndrome, 69 - somehow,
                                main curve L Cobb 60, compensating T curve ~ 30
                                Flat back, marked lumbar kyphosis (grade?) Spondilolisthesis - everyone gives this a different grade too. Cervical stenosis op'd 3-07, minimally invasive

                                Comment

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