Re: Re: Got an appt. with Bridwell - Eve

[Guest guest]

Cam, thanks for your note. Yes, I think the advice to get second or third or fourth opinions from people who regularly do revision surgeries on adults is the best advice there is. I am grateful that people here steered me that way. It seemed ridiculous and expensive to think about traveling to St. Louis for an opinion (at the time I thought there was zero chance I would actually go there for surgery) -- but now I'm really glad I did.I have a complicated spine, like most of us. I have flatback and lower back pain. I also have broken Harrington rods in the middle of my spine -- and that is the thing that is causing the most severe pain right now. The rods are poking into my back -- you can feel them through my skin and the surgeons said that if I fall

there is a danger they will break the skin, causing infection, etc. -- and it is extremely painful. I can hardly move because the rods move when I do and it's unbearable. My large curve is also much worse, about 90 degrees, and it's right in the middle of my thorax, making it hard to breathe.Bridwell is going to address this problem first -- not try to fix it and do the L5-S1 surgery at the same time. That made sense to me. So on 1/27 he is going to take out all of my old hardware, do osteotomies, use BMP to re-fuse the unfused spine, and attach new hardware to stabilize my spine. The fusion will be what it is now, T3-L5. Then I will need the L5-S1 surgery at some point, but Bridwell felt it was most important to make sure I have a solid fusion of my spine, and it would be harder to make sure it was a strong fusion if he had to do all of T3-S1 at the same time.Hope this makes sense. I really

appreciate the link to the Successful Surgery CD -- I just ordered it on Amazon with free shipping! I have been looking for things to read/listen to help me prepare mentally for this ordeal.Thanks so much for all of your help,EveFrom: cammaltby <cammaltby@...> Sent: Tuesday, December 2, 2008 9:31:23 AMSubject: [ ] Re: Got an appt. with Bridwell - Eve

Eve,

If you told us you had scheduled surery, I must have missed it...so I

have put you on the calendar and hope you can tell us more about what

exactly what your plans are.

I am glad to hear that you found the "trial" of gathering a number of

opinions, and seeing the difference in approaches offered, a good

one. I really hate to suggest doing this to people over and over

again, because on the one hand I do not want to undermine the

confidence a patient might have in their surgeon. On the other hand,

almost everyone who finally visits one of the big name surgeons (who

has done numbers of these revision successfully) finds that the

experience is so different and enlightening that they see the value

in making the extra effort. I guess it would be an interesting poll

question, but I suspect that those that finally see the "big guns"

end up having surgery with them, and also wish they hadn't wasted

their time (and money) trying to find a more local surgeon. There

just isn't a lot of room for error or "do-overs" in this tricky

surgery...and there is no doubt that the techniques are still

evolving. Thats why those that do the surgery the most frequently

tend to have the best outcomes. Thats not just my opinion, that is a

fact for of any type of surgery out there. Practice does make perfect

in the surgeons world. That is why insurance companies will often let

you go "out of network" for a surgery such as this...so I hope you

are able to negotiate that.

Anyway, try to enjoy the next weeks with family and friends...and

start focusing on how great you are going to feel to be "on the other

side". If you feel nervous, anxious, or restless at night I highly

recommend the "Successful Surgery" CD for helping you with positive

imagry. Believe it or not, even the night before surgery I was able

to put the earphones on and listening to Ruths voice and positive

words helped me drift off to a very nice sleep, indeed! Someone must

have a copy of it that they can forward to you, if not, I know there

is a link or a file on the main site that will tell you how to get it

directly.

Take Care, Cam