Re: Rehab- what's it like?

[Guest guest]

- When I had my revision I was also told I would need rehab before I

was released, especially if I would be home alone for any length of time. I

scoffed at the necessity, but it wasn't bad at all. I was told it was mainly to

ensure that I would be able to manage my everyday activities with ease. All

it entailed was that I was moved to a different room (on the " rehab " unit) with

focus mainly on PT and OT. They showed me all the tricks-of-their-trade and

tools I would need, which my husband ordered and had at home when I returned.

And believe me, now you may think you want as short a hospital stay as

possible, but postoperatively you'll be more than happy to be there and let

others

take care of you!

Let us know how things go. Hugs......

[Guest guest]

,

I am 5 weeks post op. I was in the hospital for only 3 nights. This is because

I had a whole team of docs. Orthopaedic Surgeon, Neurosurgeon, Pain MNGMT doc,

and of course the anesthesiologist.

I was able to avoid the anterior surgery and just have the posterior surgery.

This was because a neurosurgeon was present and he cleared the path of nerves to

allow the ortho to do his thing.

Perhaps this may have something to do with the difference in the length of

hospital stays, different approaches tot he surgery.

Just a note...after 4 weeks of getting my pain meds post op from my surgeon, he

dumped me like a hot potatoe. I guess nowadays not all surgeons have the time to

prescribe meds. SO make sure you have a pain management doc or a good general

practitioner. I opted for my GP. I had to sign the form stating I would only get

my meds from him.

OK...I gotta go to bed. I'm wearing this Spine Stimulator belt thingie and it

fatigues me. ARGH!

I hope this helps. From a fresh surgical flatbacker whose doc could only get

the rod and screws on the one side. OH!!! ALso make sure the doc uses BMP which

will enhance the take of the fusion.

PHEW!

nite!

xoxo's

[Guest guest]

What is BMP?

Thanks

[Guest guest]

Just my 2 cents on the bone morphogenic protein (BMP) vs new graft site

(ouch!) vs using old bone.

In my particular case, my doc was able to use the old bone graft that

had been taken from my hip in the 80s in the 1st surgery. He took it

from where it was beside my original fusion (you could SEE how much bone

he had to work with on the xray), ran it through some type of mill and

used it to anchor the new fusion. This meant I did not need another

graft site or BMP. Hooray - that site gave me fits for years!

Also Cam- I also looked into banking blood with directed donations (my

blood is no good) and found that the most helpful person to talk to was

the man in charge of the blood bank at the hospital where i was having

my surgery. he knew insurance issues, pros and cons of directed

donations vs just using blood bank) and cost of getting it from one

place to another. perhaps you could locate that person at your hospital.

take care,

USNAWIFE@... wrote:

>,

> I am 5 weeks post op. I was in the hospital for only 3 nights. This is because

I had a whole team of docs. Orthopaedic Surgeon, Neurosurgeon, Pain MNGMT doc,

and of course the anesthesiologist.

> I was able to avoid the anterior surgery and just have the posterior surgery.

This was because a neurosurgeon was present and he cleared the path of nerves to

allow the ortho to do his thing.

> Perhaps this may have something to do with the difference in the length of

hospital stays, different approaches tot he surgery.

> Just a note...after 4 weeks of getting my pain meds post op from my surgeon,

he dumped me like a hot potatoe. I guess nowadays not all surgeons have the time

to prescribe meds. SO make sure you have a pain management doc or a good general

practitioner. I opted for my GP. I had to sign the form stating I would only get

my meds from him.

> OK...I gotta go to bed. I'm wearing this Spine Stimulator belt thingie and it

fatigues me. ARGH!

> I hope this helps. From a fresh surgical flatbacker whose doc could only get

the rod and screws on the one side. OH!!! ALso make sure the doc uses BMP which

will enhance the take of the fusion.

>PHEW!

>nite!

>xoxo's

>

>

>

>

>

>Support for scoliosis-surgery veterans with Harrington Rod Malalignment

Syndrome. Not medical advice. Group does not control ads or endorse any

advertised products.

>

[Guest guest]

,

I'm not sure what it stands for but it is a substance put upon the bone, in

particular the areas to be fused. It is a protein which seriously boosts the

success of a fusion. I could actually see it in my 2 week post op x-ray.

xoxo's