Hi - looking for info re: Spinal fusion

[sonofdad]

Hi - i'm new to this site & am looking for some info. re: having a spinal fusion done. I'm 27 and have SB. I have had bad back pain for the last 2 years & am out of work (desk job) because the pain is worst when sitting & bending. The doc is proposing a fusion at L5-S1. I have a large scar on my back from an operation i had at 1. i aslo have a scar on my front from an appendectomy. So my doc is discussing with his colleagues which way would be best to go in. (front or back) - basically my main concern is that i dont know how my body will react if i have the surgery because that whole area around the spine is "more delicate" than the norm.

Has anyone had the surgery as an adult?
Does anyone have any helpful info/sites?

All respones are welcomed!!! thanks

[angel]

Hi,

I had my spinal fusion done as a child. I was 8 years old ( i am now 32). Mine saved my life because without it the doctors said that my internal organs would have gotten crowded and eventually damaged and it could be fatal if that happened. They estimated that my life would have been significantly shorter without the surgery. My mother who is anti surgery unless absolutly necesssary agreed. I remember the surgery and it was rough. The recovery took a long time (now keep in mind this was 1985) I wore a cast or brace for a year. I had mine done at the L5 level.
My son had a spinal fusion 2 years ago. He was 10 at the time and man things have changed! He had his done he was out of the hospital in under a week and back at school within 2 weeks. he had his done at the C1, C2 level. He wore a neck brace for 3 months. He had his activity restricted for a year now he is able to do whatever he likes with the acception of contact sports and he can't play on a trampoline.
They didn't know if they were going to have to go in from the front or back or both with his surgery. It wasn't decided until they got in there, they started in the back. They were able to fix the problem without going in the front. I didn't find out what they did until the surgery was over.
I am going to say it would probably be a tougher recovery for an adult simply because children just seem to bounce back from everything faster.

Angel

[Dodger67]

I was 13 (in 1980). It was not fun! My fusion is L1-4. Weeks of bed followed by a year in a Milwaukee(sp?) brace. At the end of the year the Harrington rod was removed.

[Gymp]

I had my spine fused in my late teens and as Dodger said,it was not fun.~3 weeks in a stryker frame then a body cast for some time (chin to pelvis) followed by a brace for around a half year.I had 2 harrington rods put in my back,one of them (the upper rod) broke in 2 some years ago and it was decided to leave it be.All in all the surgery worked out well for me,it straightened out a badly listing to the left and hunching forward back.

Gymp

[Avocado Baby]

Hi there,

I was going to ask about fusions and flexibility. I'm already fused T8-L5. I was fused T11-L5 in 93 and was in hospital for 3 weeks, then wore a plastic brace for 6 months. I couldn't do anything myself for ages.

Then...I had the second fusion Feb 2007 T8-T12, was allowed out of hospital after about a week and didn't have to wear a brace (although that depends on the surgeon) Techniques have advanced so much these days.

A great site is www.scoliosis-support.org There are a couple of us with SB.

[dahliafaolan]

I was fused when I was about 8 years old. As my surgeries have gone, it wasn't all that bad. The worst part was the first 24-48 hours when they made me stay flat and rolled me over every 2 hours. Actually, I remember having more pain from them changing the dressings (I have a somewhat hairy back and they weren't kind enough to shave me beforehand) than anything else. But I'm fused from above my shoulder blades to my pelvis. I was in the hospital for a week and then they released me home in a brace from collarbone to hips for about six months. I HATED that brace. I swore that the doctor forcing me to wear fiberglass in the middle of a Louisianian summer was some sort of sadist. To make matters even worse, I caught chicken pox that summer and most of them happened to be under the brace. I had to take it easy all that summer but I was able to go back to school once the chicken pox cleared up (I caught them the first week of school from the teacher's sons).

But I bounced back pretty quickly from the whole thing. After about the third day, I was asking to go play in the play room. I can do just about everything I did before the surgery now. My flexibility has suffered somewhat so I have some difficulty dressing, but other than that, I've suffered no ill effects. In fact, the surgery very well saved my life. My curvatures were getting so bad that my stomach was being crushed between them. I had been twenty pounds or more underweight all my life and was suffering from really bad acid reflux disease. About a year after the surgery, I was discharged from my gastro doctor and I was finally at my optimum weight.

Though the great thing about having the surgery done as an adult means that you don't have to worry about a growth spurt breaking the rods. As I said, I was about 8 when I had the first surgery done. By the time I was 12, the rods in my hips were breaking so they had to go. Two years later, they told me the whole set had to be replaced, but so fart his set has held (knock on wood!)

[Avocado Baby]

I'm considering having my fusion extended to go up to T2 and down to the pelvis. I have an appointment next week to speak to the consultant. My hips and my ribs are rubbing, my stomach is being crushed so I feel sick when I eat and I get bad acid reflux.

I'm really worried about it affecting my independence though. I can do most things myself at the moment...pulling my trousers up is really difficult but the thought of it being harder scares me alot!

[Avocado Baby]

I wimped out last year because he said "Well, your back would be totally rigid", but I'm going to cave in when I have the appointment in March. I'm so hunched over, none of my clothes fit properly, my balance is really bad and I can't breath very well!! Scared though!