Guest guest Posted January 15, 2007 Report Share Posted January 15, 2007 Kay, I have never heard of your doctor. I do not know of any top revision surgeons in Oregon, and I've been reading these boards for several years now. I am a little younger than you, but not a lot! Dr. Harrington did my surgery at Methodist in Houston in 1967. There is no one in Houston I would trust with revision surgery. I guess the big names we hear of who are closest to you are LaGrone in Amarillo and Hu in San Francisco. I think it would be a good idea to get an opinion from at least one of those. Dr. LaGrone will sometimes do a mail consultation if you have all your x-rays, etc. The quality of my life isn't so great either. Kathy > > > > I'm new to the group and learned about you, fortunately, through > the > > NSF Forums. I joined your group because I wanted to find out what > > others have done (with success? with regret?). > > > > I had a Harrington rod inserted in 1983 with the resulting flat- > back > > syndrome, degenerating lumbar disks, and a lot of pain. I currently > > have surgery scheduled for February 14 to have the rod removed, > fuse > > the lumbar vertebrae and join it to the existing fusion from my > > previous Harrington rod surgery. > > > > I'm not sure I want to go through with it. I've lived with awful > > pain for a long time, and you all know what that's like. But I've > > read that other areas of the spine can be affected above and below > > the fusion. If this is the case, what is the likelihood that a few > > years down the road, the vertebrae in my neck and upper spine will > > need to be fused also? > > > > I'm greatly concerned about the total loss of what little > > flexibility I now have, continued pain, and that it's > > so...irreversible. > > > > Just wanted to ask what the rest of you have done, are doing, or > > contemplating doing about conditions such as stenosis, > > spondylolisthesis, deteriorating disks, etc. > > > > Appreciate hearing your thoughts because I'm debating whether to > > postpone the surgery until I feel some peace about doing it. Have a > > Boston brace fitting for Thursday that I'm not sure whether to keep > > or not... > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 16, 2007 Report Share Posted January 16, 2007 Kay, Please be sure these are people who have had prior scoliosis surgery! Not just fusion of one or two levels and that they had full revisions. Some doctors use the word " revision " to include any second or third surgery. Even removal of rods or fusing one additional level could be considered a " revision. " This really is a big deal! Also, many of the doctors no longer take a graft from the hip. You might want to ask about that, too. Kathy > > Cam, my daughter was encouraging me to do the same thing: ask the doctor for > patients' contact information so I could talk to them. I cringed when she > mentioned it just as I did while reading yours and other posters advice to > do the same thing. You know, it's the old I don't want to offend or alienate > him feeling. > > Your words brought home the reality of the situation so after reading it, > and without dwelling on how I " felt " about asking for that info, I > immediately picked up the phone and called his office. I spoke with his > nurse and requested contact numbers for at least three or four of his > patients who have undergone the same type of surgery and treatment. She's > going to call me back with that information. > > At first she said, " I don't know if I can find that many with your identical > situation. " > > Immediately, a red flag alert went off in my head and that prompted me ask > her if she meant that Dr. F hasn't done that many (which would be the > opposite of what I had been told earlier). > > She told me, " No, it's just that not all fixations are Harrington rods but > other types of rods. Many patients have fused rods with problems like yours. > [They're just not all Harrington rods.] " > > " You mean correction for flatback syndrome? " I asked. > > " Yes " , and then she told me he sees many patients who come to him to correct > botched fusions, fixations, etc., that have been performed by other doctors. > In fact, revisions appear to be the focus of his practice. (I'm just > learning the terminology, so please correct me if I've misused a term.) > > You're right. It's my LIFE, and there should be NO hesitation on their part > to provide information about a procedure they'll walk away from but will > impact me for the rest of my life. > > Fortunately, they've been more than forthcoming and open. > > > > > > _____ > > From: > [mailto: ] On Behalf Of cammaltby > Sent: Tuesday, January 16, 2007 6:35 AM > > Subject: [ ] Re: Upcoming surgery? > > > > Kay, > > I am glad we have allayed a few of your fears and you sound like you > have a good relationship with your doctor. > > The plan for your surgery sounds about like what most of us underwent. > I would ask him about the one day vs. two day surgery. I would also be > specific in getting him to responsd to how many of this exact > procedures he has done and get 3 patient referrals. I know that was > what helped me the most. Remember, you are the consumer here and this > will be a " life decision " . > > I gotta run! > > Take Care, Cam > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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