Guest guest Posted January 9, 2002 Report Share Posted January 9, 2002 Hi maresr3,<br><br>I just want to send some support and ask you to cheer up specially if you are going on surgery. I had a lateral release a year ago for CP on my left knee and I have learned three things. Hope they help you:<br><br>- It is very important to make sure you are happy with the surgery and trust the doctor and that you will keep optimistic trough the whole process<br>It helps a lot.<br><br>- After the surgery (wich is pretty short deal, at least for me less than 1 hour) the IMPORTANT thing is to get into rehabilitation RIGHT and AS LONG AS NECESSSARY. It is even more important than the surgery itself<br><br>- The doctor you visit should be REALLY CONSERVATIVE because as you well know CP is not a surgery thing except in some few cases.<br><br>Other than that, do not be scared, think about it, make up your mind about how you feel and had felt in the last year and go for whatver you feel more confortable with<br><br>good luck<br><br>marga Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 9, 2002 Report Share Posted January 9, 2002 So sorry about your knees. We all know how you feel.<br><br>I don't remember you posting before, so I don't know your history. Are they certain you have CP? Many on this site, including me, were diagnosed incorrectly. Is your patella definitely tracking wrong?<br><br>As I wrote in my last post, an OS I saw told me that Lateral Release surgery is effective maybe 25% of the time and that was not good enough for him to justify doing that surgery. He thinks success rates should be in the 90% range to justify surgery, and I agree.<br><br>I suggest, as I always do, you find a doctor who isn't an OS. I went to see a " pain specialist " and he gave me the most thorough exam I've ever had. The whole thing was nearly 90 minutes, as opposed to my OS who spent barely 10 minutes with me. What major city do you live near? Maybe somebody knows a good doctor there.<br><br>I think you're right to be apprehensive about surgery. Try to think about how good you are going to feel when you write a letter to that OS, telling her how you recovered fully without surgery. Positive thinking like that kept me focused on getting better, which I believe can do wonders for the healing process.<br><br>If you have any questions or want to hear my success story (I've bored these guys enough already), E-mail me at dougfromct2002@....<br><br>Take care,<br>Doug Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 10, 2002 Report Share Posted January 10, 2002 My history...well I am a 50 year old woman who has had knee pain off and on since I was in my 30's. I used to be a runner but when I started having knee pain in my mid-thirties I switched to jazzersize and then to other forms of aerobics. Now walking more than a mile causes pain.<br>The pain is around my knee caps and is intense when I go up and down stairs or squat. My OS did a MRI and sent me to PT about a year ago. I've since tried several PTs and they all agree I have CP. Deep tissue work on the outside of my leg relieves the pain as well as massaging around the knee cap. I do the McConnel taping almost everyday and that usually gets me through most of the day with minimal pain.<br>The only injury I every had was falling off a bike when I was 19 and bloodied both my knees. My right knee has always been extra sensitive since that fall.<br>Thank you so much for your support, it means everything. Up until a few years ago I was in very good health and thought I would still be hiking up mountains when I was 80, now I feel like I am ready for a wheel chair at 50.<br><br>Thanks again,<br>Mare Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 22, 2003 Report Share Posted September 22, 2003 I'm 20 years old in my senior year of college and told I have to get sugery about a year ago. My curve is currently 68 degrees but I am terrified of getting it done. I don't know anyone who has had the sugery so I'm not quite sure what to expect. I know that they are going to do an anterior fusion but that's all I know. If someone could tell me what to expect (in regards to pain, after care, rehab., etc.) I would really appreciate it. Thanks so much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 23, 2003 Report Share Posted September 23, 2003 Hi ... Hopefully you'll hear from some 20-something members of this forum who had anterior surgery. I had both anterior and posterior surgery at the age of 42, so the surgeries really aren't comparable. I'd like to encourage you to ask your surgeon for a list of patients on whom s/he has performed a surgery similar to that that you'll be having. Then, call those people. They can give you the best idea of what you might expect. You should always remember, however, that we're all different, and it's impossible to predict absolutely how your surgery and recovery will go. Dave Wolpert, one of the members of this group, has written a new book about scoliosis surgery that I'd like to recommend. You can read about the book at: http://www.curvedspine.com Lastly, if you post the name of your surgeon, you might find people on this forum who had the same surgeons. If not, you might try the National Scoliosis Foundation forums to see if anyone there had the same surgeon. Best of luck with your surgery. It's not fun, but hopefully the results you get will make it all worthwhile. Regards, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 24, 2003 Report Share Posted September 24, 2003 Dear , I had posterior and anterior on the same day. The surgeon said I'd feel as though I'd been hit by a Mac truck. Well, I didn't feel that terrible. The wounds were healed in about 3 weeks. They had me up and walking, the day after surgery--which lasted 12 hours, 5 on the front the rest on the back. I have titanium rods, fused from T2 to L5. The 'S' curve measured 65 and 76. Like you, we (family and I) were terrified of the surgery, but it went great. The curves now measure 20 and 33! That's hardly anything! My biggest difficulty is walking, as I am still. I do PT and will have to for the rest of my life. Some exercises are done at home, and the others are done in an athletic pool. The pool therapy helps me the most. I have hardly any pain, unless I stand, sit, walk for a while, and, if I make a move wrong. Twisting the trunk and pivoting the feet are out for me, although I can do both, just not good for the S1 joint! Oh, the MD also explained it would take up to 1 1/2 years for the muscles and bone to fully heal, so that means only four more months to go for me! ) In the second week, I was able to do stairs easily (you will be shown how in rehab--which you really must insist on having), getting in and out of a car, using a plastic bag (I don't need that anymore), and how to get up and down from the bed or floor. If you have any questions, I'll be happy to answer you. I'll try to remember your email address! Lana Banana 54yo, surgery at age 53. RETURN MEMORIAL DAY TO MAY 30TH!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 24, 2003 Report Share Posted September 24, 2003 In a message dated 9/23/03 11:47:48 AM Central Daylight Time, ls3@... writes: > I know that they are > going to do an anterior fusion but that's all I know. I had posterior, not anterior so i cannot be of much help. Good luck to you though, Gin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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