[Texas_Mom_of_4]

SURGERY DATE: March 25, 2008

AGE AT SURGERY DATE: 35 yrs.

SURGEON: Dr. Dam Hieu

SURGERY LOCATION/CLINIC: Brest, France

DEVICE(s), LEVEL(s): C5-C6 & C6-C7, Mobi-C

COST = $10,000 US
AMOUNT BILLED: same
INSURANCE ALLOWED: zero!
OUT OF POCKET: all of it
TRAVEL: $5,000
EXPLAINATIONS?

I tried to qualify for the clinical trial with Dr.Zigler at TBI in Plano, TX. He sent me for a discogram and it was discovered that I had 3 pain generating discs, not two as was indicated in my MRIs, which disqualified me for the trial. At that point, Dr. Z looked at me and my husband and told us he was sorry but there were no other options except going overseas. He had STRONGLY advised against fusion because of my "young" age and the fact that you typically have to have more levels fused every 10 years because of the pressure it has on the good discs above and below. Basically, he said I would have to have too many surgeries down the line and I would be left with the equivalent of a rod down the length of my entire neck and no motion or movement would be possible. So I begun my hours and hours of research, from the types of discs available, to the surgeons in other countries, to any cervical disc replacement surgery outcomes I could find. In the process, I found a med student who was working at the time as an assistant with Dr. Dam Hieu in France and after many lengthy discussions I sent my medical records to him to look at. She told me that he regularly refuses potential patients if he doesn't think they need the surgery or if he thinks it won't help that person, which made me respect him and his opinion more. Within a week, he let me know that he would recommend a three level disc replacement and that he typically used the Mobi-C disc most of the time. In fact, he was the first surgeon in the world to perform a four level cervical ADR with the Mobi-C, which was successful. He had also performed the most cervical ADRs with the Mobi-C disc at the time, several hundred in fact and, after all my research, that was the disc that I had decided I wanted.


ONSET OF LUMBAR PROBLEMS, DATE OF INJURY, CAUSE, ETC...:

No known cause. I've been told it could be linked to how active I was in cheerleading (girls always standing on my shoulders), swimming, tumbling, soccer, basketball, you name it, and I have been told I have degenerative disc disease. The pain came on gradually over a period of about two years. At my second family doctor's appt., due to my more consistent neck, shoulder, and upper back pain and my muscles were starting to lock up sometimes without me being able to relax them on my own, he convinced me to get an MRI even though I thought he was crazy. I was positive it was just stress as it had been for months. I had four kids, a full time stressful job, and no time for anything. Boy, was I shocked when the results came back and showed two badly herniated discs (C5-C6 and C6-C7), one moderate bulging disc (C4-C5), and one (C3-C4) that was just starting to bulge.

PRIOR SPINE SURGERIES AND PROCEDURES (IDET, ESI, etc...):

A discogram, steroid injections, acupuncture, chiropractic, therapeutic massages, and many MRIs and x-rays.

PRE-OP MEDICATIONS:

Fentnyl transdermal patches 100mg, Oxycodone, and meds for nausea caused by every pain med I take.

PRE-OP DIAGNOSTICS (discogram, nerve root blocks, etc...):

see above

PRE-OP NEUROPATHIES (what, where, & degree of pain, numbness, tingling, sexual/bladder/bowel symptoms, etc.):

Pain went from gradual to constant and moderate to severe over the year between my first MRI (Feb. 2006) to the date I had to quit working in April, '08 because the pain patches were making me so tired I couldn't stay awake to do anything, but on a positive note, after trial and error with various meds and doses through my pain management doc, the Fentnyl was the only thing that took away almost 100% of the pain. The side effects- not always pleasant, but hands down better than the pain! Other than stabbing, burning, aching in my neck and shoulders, the only other major symptom was with my right arm and hand. I would often lose feeling in my hand and the strength in my grip went to nothing. I also lost all of the reflexes in both arms and wrists.

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):

Only thing here I didn't cover was my disability status. Fortunately, I was paying the max for both short term and long term disability through my company before I had to quit working so I was able to file for short term disability, which was approved, and then it transitioned into long term disability, which thankfully, is still paying me after almost two years.

DESCRIBE YOUR SURGICAL EXPERIENCE:

The surgery was a breeze. In France, they tend to err on the side of caution, so I was in the hospital for 3 days. Other than a very difficult time communicating with the nurses (my husband and I don't speak a work of French and they don't know English.) I can't complain. They were extremely thorough and friendly and when I woke up I already could tell an improvement. Once Dr. DH was in there, he opted to not replace the third disc after all, hoping it would slide back on it's own. Unfortunately, I don't think it has...

I would be happy to answer any questions anyone has. I wish I had more people to ask when I was trying to make my own decision. I have more to add about what I'm dealing with today, but it will have to wait until tomorrow.

~Texas_mom_of_4