[hezeronek]

SURGERY DATE: May 8, 2009

AGE AT SURGERY DATE: 29

SURGEON: Dr. Bertagnoli

SURGERY LOCATION/CLINIC: Bogen, Germany

DEVICE(s), LEVEL(s): Prodisc, L5-S1

COST = About $30K USD
AMOUNT BILLED: 22.500 Euros
INSURANCE ALLOWED: Nada
OUT OF POCKET: All of it
TRAVEL: $3000 pp Business Class Air France flights, Hotel was about $1200 pp (one room split three ways for about a month), Beer = several hundred Euros LMAO
EXPLANATIONS?


ONSET OF LUMBAR PROBLEMS, DATE OF INJURY, CAUSE, ETC...: 8/1/2007 T-boned on the drivers side of jeep wrangler by medium sized SUV (She was faulted)

PRIOR SPINE SURGERIES AND PROCEDURES (IDET, ESI, etc...): physical therapy x 3 rounds, chiropractic care, ESI x 2 (relief for about 3 days, then rapid abdominal weight gain... GRRR), finally narcotic pain relievers

PRE-OP MEDICATIONS: cymbalta, norco, soma, ibuprofen, protonix

PRE-OP DIAGNOSTICS (discogram, nerve root blocks, etc...): MRIs, X-rays, EMG, neurological physical exam, apparently didn't need discography (docs said my case was pretty straight-forward)

PRE-OP NEUROPATHIES (what, where, & degree of pain, numbness, tingling, sexual/bladder/bowel symptoms, etc.):numbness & burning in groin, buttox, inner thighs, urinary incontinence and urine retention (leading to multiple UTIs), gastroparesis & chronic constipation (lead to a whole summer of colitis issues in 2008... funtimes!)

PRE-OP CONDITION (Please include %leg pain/% back pain, pain levels, type of pain, ability to work and function, disability status, etc.... be direct, but be as verbose as you need to): Probably 90% back pain, 10% sciatic, unable to work (on disability), very limited ability to do household chores & recreation, unable to get out of bed many days, deep depression, pain was constant

TIME POST-OP AT ORIGINAL POST HERE: 4 weeks, 5 days

DESCRIBE YOUR SURGICAL EXPERIENCE: It was great! I arrived at the Bogen clinic, and there were flowers waiting for me at the table from Dr B! I paid the extra fee for a private room and was glad I did. My mother and husband were able to stay there with me, and we had an awesome view from a private balcony at the back of the room. The nurses and doctors were great. The were very responsive to my needs. We had a little bit of a language barrier with the nighttime nurses, but it didn't really impede on the care I received. Compared to all the other hospitals I've been in, this one was like the Ritz Carleton.

RATE FUNCTIONALITY / SATISFACTION AT INTERVALS BELOW:

FUNCTIONALITY: 5
1. Very poor: much worse... disabled after surgery.
2. Poor: worse after surgery.
3. Neutral: No improvement, or improvements offset by new problems.
4. Fair, some improvement, limitations are still serious.
5. Good, substantial improvement, some limitations.
6. Excellent: no limitations.

SATISFACTION: 5
1. Very sorry I had the surgery.
2. Somewhat sorry I had the surgery.
3. Too soon to tell, or I'm ambivalent about the surgery.
4. I'm somewhat glad I did my surgery.
5. I'm very glad I did my surgery.

Don't forget the detail update section below!

DATE UPDATED: _________ FUNCTIONALITY: ___ SATISFACTION: ___ [6 WEEKS POST-OP]

DATE UPDATED: _________ FUNCTIONALITY: ___ SATISFACTION: ___ [3 MONTHS POST-OP]

DATE UPDATED: _________ FUNCTIONALITY: ___ SATISFACTION: ___ [6 MONTHS POST-OP]

DATE UPDATED: _________ FUNCTIONALITY: ___ SATISFACTION: ___ [1 YEAR POST-OP]

DATE UPDATED: _________ FUNCTIONALITY: ___ SATISFACTION: ___ [2 YEARS POST-OP]

DATE UPDATED: _________ FUNCTIONALITY: ___ SATISFACTION: ___ [3 YEARS POST-OP]

DATE UPDATED: _________ FUNCTIONALITY: ___ SATISFACTION: ___ [4 YEARS POST-OP]

DATE UPDATED: _________ FUNCTIONALITY: ___ SATISFACTION: ___ [5 YEARS POST-OP]

DATE UPDATED: _________ FUNCTIONALITY: ___ SATISFACTION: ___ [6 YEARS POST-OP]

DATE UPDATED: _________ FUNCTIONALITY: ___ SATISFACTION: ___ [7 YEARS POST-OP]

6 WEEKS POST-OP - DESCRIBE LIFESTYLE / PAIN / MEDICATIONS / NEUROPATHIES / ECT... (discuss surgery induced symptoms [leg pain?]):

3 MONTHS POST-OP - DESCRIBE LIFESTYLE / PAIN / MEDICATIONS / NEUROPATHIES / ETC... (discuss surgery induced symptoms [leg pain?]):

6 MONTHS POST-OP - DESCRIBE LIFESTYLE / PAIN / MEDICATIONS / NEUROPATHIES / ETC... (discuss surgery induced symptoms [leg pain?]):

1 YEAR POST-OP - DESCRIBE LIFESTYLE / PAIN / MEDICATIONS / NEUROPATHIES / ETC... (discuss surgery induced symptoms [leg pain?]):

2 YEARS POST-OP - DESCRIBE LIFESTYLE / PAIN / MEDICATIONS / NEUROPATHIES / ETC... (discuss surgery induced symptoms [leg pain?]):

3 YEARS POST-OP - DESCRIBE LIFESTYLE / PAIN / MEDICATIONS / NEUROPATHIES / ETC... (discuss surgery induced symptoms [leg pain?]):

4 YEARS POST-OP - DESCRIBE LIFESTYLE / PAIN / MEDICATIONS / NEUROPATHIES / ETC... (discuss surgery induced symptoms [leg pain?]):

5 YEARS POST-OP - DESCRIBE LIFESTYLE / PAIN / MEDICATIONS / NEUROPATHIES / ETC... (discuss surgery induced symptoms [leg pain?]):

6 YEARS POST-OP - DESCRIBE LIFESTYLE / PAIN / MEDICATIONS / NEUROPATHIES / ETC... (discuss surgery induced symptoms [leg pain?]):

7 YEARS POST-OP - DESCRIBE LIFESTYLE / PAIN / MEDICATIONS / NEUROPATHIES / ETC... (discuss surgery induced symptoms [leg pain?]):