Revision surgery

[Blairsara]

Has anyone had to have their artificial disc taken out? I know its a very low percentile of people but anyone?? My surgery is scheduled for May 24th and I'm getting a bit nervous. It would be nice to talk to someone who has been through this.

Thanks.

Blair

[chasswen]

hmmm blair
i dont recall seeing any removed. except after a few weeks post-op.
i believe they would normally just do a posteriori fusion leaving the adr in place.
chuck

[Blairsara]

Chuck,
From the research that theyve done with doing the fusion but leaving the disc in place showed that the patients still suffered from a lot of pain. Theyre going to take out the disc through an anterior approach and put in the cage and then bmp. Then theyre going to drill four holes in my back to put in the screws and the rods. Sounds pretty intense, but its less invasive than what the neurosurgeon wanted to do. I know that this is the only thing that will stop the terrible pain that I've been in. But I'm getting a little nervous, as is to be expected.

Blair

[chasswen]

wow blair
i truly will be praying for you in this upcoming surgery.
whos going to do the surgery?
chuck

[Blairsara]

Chuck,
Dr. Regan is going to do the surgery and Dr. Watkins is the vascular surgeon. He's one of the top vascular surgeons in Los Angeles so I know I'm in safe hands.

[Jim M2]

Blair,
I'm not seriously considering fusing at L5S1 yet but I've thought about it enough to conclude I'd rather have the adr removed. I get the impression that not many docs want to mess with the situation. If they do it's easier and less risky from their perspective to fuse the ADR in-place. If you can get an outstanding surgeon like Dr. Regan to take on the challenge that's the way to go. I can't recall anyone on these forums having the Charite fused.

Jim

[mmglobal]

I agree that Regan is a great surgeon and that Blaire is in good hands.

I hope to ask Dr. Regan, why remove the Charite's? Does it have to do with her age... leaving them in so long? There is discussion about potential continued slight motion with the prosthesis in place, but that doesnt satisfy my curiosity. They do posterio-lateral fusions all the time leaving unstable discs in place. A well placed ADR would provide more stability in the anterior column than a degenerated disc.

I look forward to findingout (with Blaire's approval.)

Mark

PS... did you see my grandbaby linked on the GPN site!!! tooo cool... never another so beautiful.

[Blairsara]

Hey everyone.. thanks for your comments I appreciate it.
I'm pretty pissed off. I got into a pretty big fight with my brother yesterday and he had the nerve to kick me in the back right where I'm having all of my problems. Thank G-D I had my back brace on. But lets just say things are not good with our relationship as of right now and I'm really pissed off. I need to vent.
Who the hell does something like that? Seriously. And then to top it off after that happened I went to lie down to stop what was going on and then he took a cheap shot at me and hit me in the chest while I was lying down. And this happened right in front of my grandparents, his girlfriend, and my mom. My mom was yelling at him to stop but it didnt do anything. I'm done with him. After all these years and the fact that even though hes not all fu&#$ed up as he was 5 years ago he's the same person and nothing has changed.
So my back hurts a lot, which is normal because I'm always in pain. But it hurts more than usual. Probably because I had a very heavy person kick me and then punch me and I'm only 120 pounds whereas he is 200+. What a prick. ugggggggh.

Sorry.. I needed to vent. And it didnt help that we had to be in the same place tonight because it was passover.

Hope everyones doing well. And again thanks for your comments.

Blair

[annapurna]

Blair,

It might comfort you to know that, in many countries in the world, what was done to you would be considered an offense worthy of jail time at least. Well, you probably already know that, being almost-a-lawyer. In any case, it was abuse and horribly wrong. I'd consider removing yourself from contact with someone who would do something like that.

Best luck and prayers,
Laura

[mmglobal]

My reaction was much like Laura's.... At first I thought he was a kid that didn't know better. Sounds like an adult who is or will be an abuser. This is not ordinary family friction... he needs some help.

Fortunately, our spines are very resiliant. I know someone who was attacked in Miami Intl. Airport 10 months after Charite. surgery. She was pushed to the ground... kicked several times VERY HARD in her lumbar spine... She was having a tough recovery anyway and this did set her back.

It was very confusing, because 4 years ago... nobody in Miami knew about ADR and from the paramedics, to the ER staff, to the doctors... everyone was afraid to do anything. They kept her tied to a backboard for 8 hours... not knowing what to do. Finally, her friend lied to the staff and told them that she was a doctor and she demanded that they take her off the backboard. A series of xrays... calls to her surgeon... some pain pills and on her way.

She went on to a 100% recovery and is now doing wonderfully. A funny side note... she said, "I have fewer language problems in Germany than I did in Miami! More people speak English at the AlphaKlinik than at the county hospitals in Florida."

Mark

[dshobbies]

Blair,

I've been following your story and regret all that you're dealing with. To live with the pain, disappointment, apprehension and outright fear, all of which are very real, is difficult enough without having an unsupportive family member to put up with. Physical violence is a whole other story. Aside from the obvious hostility, the fact that he kicked you in your back and then again while you were lying down is representative of something else.

The first thing that comes to mind is substance abuse. Barring that, I'm in complete favor of castration which would inhibit his natural testosteronal aggresive tendancies.

Another way to deal with him is legally as Laura suggested but sometimes it's difficult to press charges against family members. No... I think you should cut off the bastard's balls!

Also, if you're still able to, you might try kicking him back. A directed, well placed kick serves so many purposes, don't you think? (not that I believe in fighting violence with violence, but really, is a testicular kick violence?)

On a more serious note, no one EVER deserves this type of physical abuse and I agree, removing yourself from a bad situation, even if it means distancing yourself from your brother, is in your best interests at this time. Surrounding yourself with caring, supportive people will do much more for your mental state than your realize.

I wish you well, Dale

Mark, if you need to edit this post, I understand.

[ans]

What a bully. This makes me mad. I'd think of filing a police report and pressing charges.

You take care. - ans