Re: Welcome Cyrine. Titch? UK folks?

[Guest guest]

Hi, Cyrine, and welcome to the group!

I took the time to look up the term VDS, and it stands for Ventral

Derotation Spondylodesis.  The references to this procedure that I

could find online were written for surgeons, and the only definition I

could find was on the Google search page, and not visible in the

abstract it linked to.  Quite frustrating. 

"Ventral derotation spondylodesis (VDS) is a flexible, sin-.

gle-rod system introduced by Zielke et al. [14] in 1975 for. the

treatment of scoliosis. ..."

The term "ventral" refers to the anterior side of the body, so I'm

assuming your fusion was done anteriorly, which would have involved a

chest incision and rib removal.  Does that sound right?  And of course,

"derotation" means they did a procedure to reduce the rotation of your

rib cage that the scoliosis caused.  "Spondylodesis" is a fancy word

for "fusion".  TH4-11 indicates the levels fused, which were only in

your thoracic (chest region) spine.

I'd never say "never", but flatback is generally something that happens

to people who have had fusion in the lumbar (lower) portion of the

spine. 

A 7-level fusion is still nothing to sneeze at, and there are certainly

things which could be going wrong.  One common problem with aging

scoliosis fusions is the tendency for vertebral joints above and/or

below the fusion to wear out.  There could also be hardware problems,

cracked fusion mass, etc.  It would definitely be worth your while to

consult a scoliosis specialist for diagnosis.  A good chiropractor

might be able to give you some relief, and physical therapy might be

another good modality, but for a diagnosis of surgically-related

problems (or to rule them out) I'd prefer a scoliosis surgeon with

extensive experience with adult patients.  We have a number of

UK-located members, notably a Titch, who also moderates a UK scoliosis

forum.  Perhaps she or another UK member can point you in the direction

of a qualified doctor.

I hope you find the help you need, and that you'll keep us all posted.

Sharon

cyrine amor wrote:

Hi there,

Very glad to have found this group! I was wondering if someone could

help with some advice. I had my scoliosis operation in the early 90s in

Germany . I don't really know what the rod type is called, all it says

on the file summary I was given is that it's a traditional "VDS"

procedure TH4-11.

Everything's been cool for a looong time but the last couple of years

I've experienced more and more pain in different parts of the back.

What's worrying me in particular is that I've had really bad pains in

my feet over the last few months, I literally can't stand for more than

2 minutes before the pain kicks in. Also, my leg muscles constantly

feel tired and my general posture and balance seems to have changed a

bit. Are these early signs of the flatback syndrome?

My GP just sent me to a podiatrist who gave me a stretching exercise to

do but that's it. Neither seem to link it to the back but I'm worried

this might just be cause they don't know much about post-op scoliosis

problems.  Am I being too paranoid? Unfortunately, I don't have a

specialist I can see in this country (UK) but was wondering what kind

of doctor I could see who'd assess the entire posture (would that be a

chiropractor?).

Any tip would be tremendously appreciated!

Thanks a lot

Cyrine

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[Guest guest]

Oops.  I didn't mean "a Titch", I meant "a nice gal named Titch". 

Sorry, Titch!

Sharon

Sharon Green wrote:

Hi, Cyrine, and welcome to the group!

I took the time to look up the term VDS, and it stands for Ventral

Derotation Spondylodesis.  The references to this procedure that I

could find online were written for surgeons, and the only definition I

could find was on the Google search page, and not visible in the

abstract it linked to.  Quite frustrating. 

"Ventral derotation spondylodesis (VDS) is a flexible, sin-.

gle-rod system introduced by Zielke et al. [14] in 1975 for. the

treatment of scoliosis. ..."

The term "ventral" refers to the anterior side of the body, so

I'm

assuming your fusion was done anteriorly, which would have involved a

chest incision and rib removal.  Does that sound right?  And of course,

"derotation" means they did a procedure to reduce the rotation of your

rib cage that the scoliosis caused.  "Spondylodesis" is a fancy word

for "fusion".  TH4-11 indicates the levels fused, which were only in

your thoracic (chest region) spine.

I'd never say "never", but flatback is generally something that happens

to people who have had fusion in the lumbar (lower) portion of the

spine. 

A 7-level fusion is still nothing to sneeze at, and there are certainly

things which could be going wrong.  One common problem with aging

scoliosis fusions is the tendency for vertebral joints above and/or

below the fusion to wear out.  There could also be hardware problems,

cracked fusion mass, etc.  It would definitely be worth your while to

consult a scoliosis specialist for diagnosis.  A good chiropractor

might be able to give you some relief, and physical therapy might be

another good modality, but for a diagnosis of surgically-related

problems (or to rule them out) I'd prefer a scoliosis surgeon with

extensive experience with adult patients.  We have a number of

UK-located members, notably a Titch, who also moderates a UK scoliosis

forum.  Perhaps she or another UK member can point you in the direction

of a qualified doctor.

I hope you find the help you need, and that you'll keep us all posted.

Sharon

cyrine amor wrote:

Hi there,

Very glad to have found this group! I was wondering if someone could

help with some advice. I had my scoliosis operation in the early 90s in

Germany . I don't really know what the rod type is called, all it says

on the file summary I was given is that it's a traditional "VDS"

procedure TH4-11.

Everything's been cool for a looong time but the last couple of years

I've experienced more and more pain in different parts of the back.

What's worrying me in particular is that I've had really bad pains in

my feet over the last few months, I literally can't stand for more than

2 minutes before the pain kicks in. Also, my leg muscles constantly

feel tired and my general posture and balance seems to have changed a

bit. Are these early signs of the flatback syndrome?

My GP just sent me to a podiatrist who gave me a stretching exercise to

do but that's it. Neither seem to link it to the back but I'm worried

this might just be cause they don't know much about post-op scoliosis

problems.  Am I being too paranoid? Unfortunately, I don't have a

specialist I can see in this country (UK) but was wondering what kind

of doctor I could see who'd assess the entire posture (would that be a

chiropractor?).

Any tip would be tremendously appreciated!

Thanks a lot

Cyrine

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