Re: remove or not remove...

[Guest guest]

well my doc was asked to do a celebritys surgery but

declined-so if you want a good doc=by even celebrity's

standards -

my doctor is Parenti, MD Geisinger Medical Center

and Janet Weis Children's Hospital in Danville pa.

--- Jill <jill@...> wrote:

> I have to make a decision about removing my

> hardware. I don't have Flatback, but I have

> chronic hip pain which may be coming from

> degenerating discs. The MRI's are inconclusive

> because of all the shadows the hardware throws off,

> so my doctor can't definitively tell me

> what my problem is. I've had one set of Harringtons

> slip on me and now the rods and hooks

> I've got MAY be part of my problem--or may NOT be.

> No way to tell unless they come out,

> which the doctor says is " no big deal " as far as

> surgery goes. He gave me a script for

> edpidural steroid injections as well as PT. So I

> can try those and if I don't get good results, I

> can have the rods removed. Only thing is that this

> summer would be my best time to do this,

> as my deductible is paid and, being a teacher, I'm

> on vacation. SO...do I get these things

> removed now, at my convenience or do I wait and

> see...It would be nice not to have to worry

> about having steel in my back anymore but it

> wouldn't be nice to go through the pain and

> expense only to find out that my pain has nothing to

> do with them. And my pain is not

> incapacitating at the moment, just a very big

> annoyance. Big decision. Any thoughts would

> be appreciated!

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

the big question I would ask your doctor is

How many Harrington Rods have you removed???

If the answer is zero, then look for another doctor-- one who has

experience in dealing with Harrington rod issues.

I have heard stories of doctors attempting to remove rods, but

finding out that they couldn't once they got in there. Most of my

doctors have told me that it is very risky surgery. But, there are

doctors like Dr LaGrone in Amarillo, and Dr Sachs in Dallas, who

seem to have very good success at rod removal.

>

> I have to make a decision about removing my hardware. I don't

have Flatback, but I have

> chronic hip pain which may be coming from degenerating discs. The

MRI's are inconclusive

> because of all the shadows the hardware throws off, so my doctor

can't definitively tell me

> what my problem is. I've had one set of Harringtons slip on me

and now the rods and hooks

> I've got MAY be part of my problem--or may NOT be. No way to tell

unless they come out,

> which the doctor says is " no big deal " as far as surgery goes. He

gave me a script for

> edpidural steroid injections as well as PT. So I can try those

and if I don't get good results, I

> can have the rods removed. Only thing is that this summer would

be my best time to do this,

> as my deductible is paid and, being a teacher, I'm on vacation.

SO...do I get these things

> removed now, at my convenience or do I wait and see...It would be

nice not to have to worry

> about having steel in my back anymore but it wouldn't be nice to

go through the pain and

> expense only to find out that my pain has nothing to do with them.

And my pain is not

> incapacitating at the moment, just a very big annoyance. Big

decision. Any thoughts would

> be appreciated!

>

[Guest guest]

Hi Jill,

Your doc doesn't sound as conservative as some of the ones I've seen.

If I were you and you haven't already done so, I'd probably get

opinions from several other doctors who have a lot of experience in

Harrington rods and the newer style instrumentation. And I'd ask how

many and what type of surgeries he's done on other patients who have

or once had Harrington Rods.

I'd also be sure that he's given you all the info. he can on what " no

big deal " means. Such as risks, recovery time, restrictions

afterward, etc., and I'd probably want to see if he could put me in

touch with another of his patients who has gotten relief by having

similar instrumentation removed.

It's a tough decision to make and I wish you well for doing what ends

up being best for you,

loriann

>

> I have to make a decision about removing my hardware. I don't have

Flatback, but I have

> chronic hip pain which may be coming from degenerating discs. The

MRI's are inconclusive

> because of all the shadows the hardware throws off, so my doctor

can't definitively tell me

> what my problem is. I've had one set of Harringtons slip on me and

now the rods and hooks

> I've got MAY be part of my problem--or may NOT be. No way to tell

unless they come out,

> which the doctor says is " no big deal " as far as surgery goes. He

gave me a script for

> edpidural steroid injections as well as PT. So I can try those and

if I don't get good results, I

> can have the rods removed. Only thing is that this summer would be

my best time to do this,

> as my deductible is paid and, being a teacher, I'm on vacation.

SO...do I get these things

> removed now, at my convenience or do I wait and see...It would be

nice not to have to worry

> about having steel in my back anymore but it wouldn't be nice to go

through the pain and

> expense only to find out that my pain has nothing to do with them.

And my pain is not

> incapacitating at the moment, just a very big annoyance. Big

decision. Any thoughts would

> be appreciated!

>

[Guest guest]

I had one doctor who wanted to remove my rods to do an MRI. All the

other doctors I have told about that have generally agreed that he

didn't know what he was doing and that it was a good thing that I

did not ever go back to him.

I am having an MRI next week. I had one once before, and I think

the tech made some adjustments while he was doing the MRI to reduce

the influence of the rods. It will be interesting to see if the

place I go next week can also get good films.

I had a CT scan the last time I had kidney stones, and the rods made

a kind of flare on the films that does make it difficult to read in

some spots.

> >

> > I have to make a decision about removing my hardware. I don't

have

> Flatback, but I have

> > chronic hip pain which may be coming from degenerating discs.

The

> MRI's are inconclusive

> > because of all the shadows the hardware throws off, so my doctor

> can't definitively tell me

> > what my problem is. I've had one set of Harringtons slip on me

and

> now the rods and hooks

> > I've got MAY be part of my problem--or may NOT be. No way to

tell

> unless they come out,

> > which the doctor says is " no big deal " as far as surgery goes.

He

> gave me a script for

> > edpidural steroid injections as well as PT. So I can try those

and

> if I don't get good results, I

> > can have the rods removed. Only thing is that this summer would

be

> my best time to do this,

> > as my deductible is paid and, being a teacher, I'm on vacation.

> SO...do I get these things

> > removed now, at my convenience or do I wait and see...It would be

> nice not to have to worry

> > about having steel in my back anymore but it wouldn't be nice to

go

> through the pain and

> > expense only to find out that my pain has nothing to do with

them.

> And my pain is not

> > incapacitating at the moment, just a very big annoyance. Big

> decision. Any thoughts would

> > be appreciated!

> >

>

[Guest guest]

I have thought about this before weighing in. I don't think I would

consent to any surgery this major on a " Maybe " . That is kind of what

your DR is saying. If all goes well your rods go out and the problem

is fixed, but there are other scenarios like the rods coming out and

that not being the cause of you pain. Then there is the scenario

that the rods come out and things get worse. In any case the DR said

he is willing to open you up and go through with this because he

does not know what will happen or what is wrong. That would just not

be a good case for me to hop on the operating table. Especially with

a surgery of this magnitude.

I would suggest looking into a second even 3rd opinion.

Jolynn

>

> I have to make a decision about removing my hardware. I don't

have Flatback, but I have

> chronic hip pain which may be coming from degenerating discs. The

MRI's are inconclusive

> because of all the shadows the hardware throws off, so my doctor

can't definitively tell me

> what my problem is. I've had one set of Harringtons slip on me

and now the rods and hooks

> I've got MAY be part of my problem--or may NOT be. No way to tell

unless they come out,

> which the doctor says is " no big deal " as far as surgery goes. He

gave me a script for

> edpidural steroid injections as well as PT. So I can try those

and if I don't get good results, I

> can have the rods removed. Only thing is that this summer would

be my best time to do this,

> as my deductible is paid and, being a teacher, I'm on vacation.

SO...do I get these things

> removed now, at my convenience or do I wait and see...It would be

nice not to have to worry

> about having steel in my back anymore but it wouldn't be nice to

go through the pain and

> expense only to find out that my pain has nothing to do with them.

And my pain is not

> incapacitating at the moment, just a very big annoyance. Big

decision. Any thoughts would

> be appreciated!

>

[Guest guest]

Loriann,

I DID ask him about that. He said that the recovery time is next to nothing

since he's not

actually doing anything to my spine. He likened it to taking the clamps off a

two pieces of

glued wood. The pain would be from the soft-tissue incision and once that

healed, I'd go

straight to PT. OR I could give the PT a try first and if it doesn't make a

dent in my pain, then

try the surgery. I'm leaning towards trying that first and MAYBE the epidural

injections--at

least one to see what it does for me. I really think that my chronic pain stems

from your

garden-variety disc degeneration. Do the rods have anything to do with it?

Probably not.

But slipping in that bit of doubt did not help...A Harrington rod and hook

slipped once and I

don't want to experience that again. I'm always paranoid about it and to live

my life without

that fear would be nice. Do I want to go through surgery? Especially if it's

unneccesary?

[Guest guest]

Hi Bahadreama,

Same question I just asked Jolynn. Did you ever had a ultrasound in

relation to your kidney stone issues?

Thanks!

loriann

>

> I had one doctor who wanted to remove my rods to do an MRI. All the

> other doctors I have told about that have generally agreed that he

> didn't know what he was doing and that it was a good thing that I

> did not ever go back to him.

>

> I am having an MRI next week. I had one once before, and I think

> the tech made some adjustments while he was doing the MRI to reduce

> the influence of the rods. It will be interesting to see if the

> place I go next week can also get good films.

>

> I had a CT scan the last time I had kidney stones, and the rods made

> a kind of flare on the films that does make it difficult to read in

> some spots.

[Guest guest]

Jill,

Well, I can certainly see how you wouldn't want to go through a

surgery unnecessarily. Have you come across anyone else who had rods

removed with as little " proof " as you have that it would help? On the

other hand, have you come across people for whom PT and injections

adequately helped their garden variety disc degeneration below an

existing fusion? I'm sorry I have no experience with either, just

lots of sympathy for your having to make a decision,

loriann

>

> Loriann,

> I DID ask him about that. He said that the recovery time is next to

nothing since he's not

> actually doing anything to my spine. He likened it to taking the

clamps off a two pieces of

> glued wood. The pain would be from the soft-tissue incision and

once that healed, I'd go

> straight to PT. OR I could give the PT a try first and if it

doesn't make a dent in my pain, then

> try the surgery. I'm leaning towards trying that first and MAYBE

the epidural injections--at

> least one to see what it does for me. I really think that my

chronic pain stems from your

> garden-variety disc degeneration. Do the rods have anything to do

with it? Probably not.

> But slipping in that bit of doubt did not help...A Harrington rod

and hook slipped once and I

> don't want to experience that again. I'm always paranoid about it

and to live my life without

> that fear would be nice. Do I want to go through surgery?

Especially if it's unneccesary?

>

[Guest guest]

Hi Ellen,

Any particular reason why he declined doing the celebrity's surgery?

loriann

>

> well my doc was asked to do a celebritys surgery but

> declined-so if you want a good doc=by even celebrity's

> standards -

> my doctor is Parenti, MD Geisinger Medical Center

> and Janet Weis Children's Hospital in Danville pa.

>

>

[Guest guest]

no, the only ultrasounds I have had were while pregnant. I was

surprised they did a CT scan for kidney stones.

I gave up on seeing the urologist. The CT scan showed 'several'

kidney stones, but he just wanted me to keep coming back and getting

xrayed every 6 months.

I have had surgery for kidney stones 4 times -- the first time when

I was 15 years old, and again at age 17. At the time, the doctors

seemed to think it was odd that somebody so young would have kidney

stones, and wondered if my scoliosis might be a contributing factor.

I didn't have another one until I moved to the Bahamas and couldn't

afford to buy water, and it was hard to find Dr Pepper (and it

tasted bad, too). I was in the hospital twice while pregnant,

getting fluids. I also had some malnutrition issues. When my

daughter was 5 months old, I had surgery and almost didn't survive

it. The doctor hadn't tied off all the blood vessels and I was

bleeding internally when I got back to my room. Within a few

months, I could tell that I had the same old pain again, and finally

came back to the USA where Dr Pepper is delicious and (I thought) it

would be easier to get a job.

I had the lower quadrant of my left kidney removed when my son was

about a year old. I had found out for sure that I had a kidney

stone when he was 2-3 weeks old and we went to Nassau to make sure

he was registered as a citizen. By the third day there, I was in

the hospital, dehydrated, and it was February!

I hope I have better luck this summer. I had not really realized

that dehydration causes permanent damage. If the kidney stones that

the CT scan found a couple of years ago are still there, I am sure

they will make themselves felt in Nassau. I tend to sweat buckets!

Maybe I should spring for a hotel on the beach instead of staying

with family and no air conditioning.

> >

> > I had one doctor who wanted to remove my rods to do an MRI. All

the

> > other doctors I have told about that have generally agreed that

he

> > didn't know what he was doing and that it was a good thing that

I

> > did not ever go back to him.

> >

> > I am having an MRI next week. I had one once before, and I

think

> > the tech made some adjustments while he was doing the MRI to

reduce

> > the influence of the rods. It will be interesting to see if the

> > place I go next week can also get good films.

> >

> > I had a CT scan the last time I had kidney stones, and the rods

made

> > a kind of flare on the films that does make it difficult to read

in

> > some spots.

>