Mouseman-O Flexicore L5S1

[iSpine-Admin]

Originally Posted by Mouseman-O on October 27, 2004

AGE AT SURGERY DATE: 3/25/04 41 years old

SURGEON: Dr. Alan McGee

SURGERY LOCATION/CLINIC: Orthopeadic Hospital at Parkview North, Fort Wayne, Indiana

DEVICE(s), LEVEL(s): (1) Flexicore @ L5S1

COST =
AMOUNT BILLED: Still Coming In
INSURANCE ALLOWED: Pending Info from Hospital
OUT OF POCKET: TBD
TRAVEL: Minimal
EXPLANATIONS?


ONSET OF LUMBAR PROBLEMS, DATE OF INJURY, CAUSE, ETC...: Causation not related to a single event. First had back problems in 1993, herniated disc at L3L4? Was resolved w/ conservative treatment. Latest incident occurred in spring 03 with increasing back pain and leg pain and increasing weakness in the legs. MRI/Discogram confirmed L5S1 as problem disc. Pain did not resolve with ESI in 6/03 through 8/03.

PRIOR SPINE SURGERIES AND PROCEDURES (IDET, ESI, etc...): ESI's 6/03 through 8/03.

PRE-OP MEDICATIONS: Bextra 20mg/day
Oxycontin 60 mg 2x/day
Neurontin 1500 mg/day
Oxycodone 10 mg p.r.n.

PRE-OP DIAGNOSTICS (discogram, nerve root blocks, etc...): MRI 9/03, EMG 10/03, Discogram 10/03, X-Rays 1/04, 2/04

PRE-OP NEUROPATHIES (what, where, & degree of pain, numbness, tingling, sexual/bladder/bowel symptoms, etc.): Pain in central lower back with pain in both legs, running down back of legs/hamstrings. Climbing stairs was very tiring. Reflexes in both legs were weak.

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): Pain was 60/40 back to leg, (though sometimes this was reversed). Pain level was about 2 in am to 4-5 in evening (while on pain meds). Condition seemed to be worsening and amount of medication required was escalating.

TIME POST-OP AT ORIGINAL POST HERE: negative 2 months

DESCRIBE YOUR SURGICAL EXPERIENCE: The doctor, staff and facilities was first rate. The nurses were very nice, and kept asking all sorts of questions regarding the ADR. A few of them had asked if I had a medical background, which was somewhat flattering. The hospital building was split into 2 halves, a general hospital with ER, etc, and an orthopaedic hospital with about 30 beds. The orthopaedic hospital stayed totally separate from the general hospital, which is very comforting knowing that there are no "sick" people in your building contaminating the air supply. My surgery took 2 hours, and, according to the Dr., went exceptionally well. Blood loss was only 100 ml, which is absolutely fantastic. This meant that no transfusions were needed nor anemic conditions emerged. I tolerated the anesthesia very well, and felt very few post surgical side effects. I had no nausea, a mild sore throat and dryness that I quelled with an extraordinary amount of ice chips the first day. They had me hooked up to a PCA pump with morphine, 1.5mg (?) every 10 minutes. Yes, I watched the clock, as this was barely enough to keep me comfortable. They even had me sit up, and I even tried to stand (thy wouldn't let me). The first night was fairly uncomfortable, and I did not stir much, though I did manage to take in a hockey game (and remember the score the next day). The next day, I had a "clear" food and liquid breakfast. After this, they disconnected my catheter (and contrary to my female nurses opinion, hurt bad), and PCA pump. I then got out of bed and walked around, did some stairs (it felt real good to climb these!), etc. My stomach had already started to come back alive from its trauma. I ate a solid food lunch, and things started to go bad. They had started me on the same medication schedule that I was on when I went in - Oxycontin 60 mg 2x/day. Big mistake! I spent my afternoon and dinner in excruciating pain and I fought and pleaded to have additional meds added to my schedule. My wife had my Oxycodone IR in her purse, and she wouldn't give them up to me, saying the staff will deal with my condition. They finally had me on the OC 2x a day, 5mg Percocet 2x/day for breakthrough, 10 mg Oxycodone IR 1x daily, and Demerol 2x daily through Friday night and morning. This was how the meds ended up on my schedule. This kept me fairly comfortable. My pain seemed to settle, and I ate some lunch on Saturday, and then showered and prepared for discharge, which happened around 2:30 pm. The pain that I had been having was both from the wound and some pain in the back where it felt "tight and crampy".

RATE FUNCTIONALITY / SATISFACTION AT INTERVALS BELOW:

FUNCTIONALITY:
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:
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.

FUNCTIONALITY: _5_ SATISFACTION: _4_ [6 WEEKS POST-OP]

FUNCTIONALITY: _5.5__ SATISFACTION: _4.5__ [3 MONTHS POST-OP]

FUNCTIONALITY: _5.5__ SATISFACTION: _4.5__ [6 MONTHS POST-OP]

FUNCTIONALITY: ___ SATISFACTION: ___ [1 YEAR POST-OP]

FUNCTIONALITY: ___ SATISFACTION: ___ [2 YEARS POST-OP]

6 WEEKS POST-OP - DESCRIBE LIFESTYLE / PAIN / MEDICATIONS / NEUROPATHIES / ECT... (discuss surgery induced symptoms [leg pain?]): Back to work full time. Walking, bike riding, mowing, without much restriction. Dr. said I could try some golf if I felt like it. Most symptoms (tiredness)are gone. Still have some pain sitting in one position, and aggravation after new activities. Mostly lower back, some leg tightness. Right leg hamstring is much tighter than left leg. Pain medication is down to 25-35% of Pre-op levels and reducing weekly. Started Vioxx 50mg 1x daily after 6 week visit. Still take 300-600 Neurontin at night to help calm the discomfort and help with sleep.

3 MONTHS POST-OP - DESCRIBE LIFESTYLE / PAIN / MEDICATIONS / NEUROPATHIES / ETC... (discuss surgery induced symptoms [leg pain?]): Was out of work for 6.5 weeks. Started back full time. Some achiness remains when over doing it. Started PT, resumed occasional golf, etc. Oxy down to 60mg/day from 140mg. Bextra dailey.

6 MONTHS POST-OP - DESCRIBE LIFESTYLE / PAIN / MEDICATIONS / NEUROPATHIES / ETC... (discuss surgery induced symptoms [leg pain?]): Given the all clear from the surgeon to do anything I felt I could do. Some achiness remains, but am feeling much better otherwise. Oxy at 20mg/day, and trying to go to 0 in 4-6 weeks. Staying on Bextra for now.

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?]):

Waiting for an update from Mouseman-O.