Scoliosis 68 degrees> help

Question

hey my name is jordan and i am 15 and my curve is 68 degrees and getting worse ...i have being put on the waiting list and should receive spinal fusion by around Christmas to January...i was just wondering if there was and1 that has had the surgery or is going to have it ...feel free to add me on msn at [e-mail] as i have many quistions to ask about it .i don't Reilly monitor my email so i probably wont check for any

thnks

Answer 1

I've posted the following a few times for other people with questions. I hope I'll answer the things that have you concerned.

Let me talk about the hospital stay.

You'll have meds to help with the pain. You'll start out with stronger meds and then wean yourself from them over time. So, yes, it does hurt, but you shouldn't be left hurting.

The size of your scar depends on how many vertebrae need fusing and the technique used to do the fusion. A four-level fusion will have a smaller scar than a 12-level fusion. Some surgeries (probably not yours) need both anterior and posterior (A/P, or front and back). Lastly, some people may be candidates for "minimally invasive" techniques. So, this is a hard question to answer without knowing more about your situation.

Your hospital stay will probably be between four and seven days. Teens typically heal quicker than adults and so their hospital stay is less.

As for what they do, each case is different. Here's one possible scenerio. Its incomplete as I'm describing things pretty quickly. The amount of time spent doing things will probably differ. Maybe even the order that things are done will differ. But it will give you kind of an idea of what happens. Just take it with a grain of salt.

You'll arrive at the hospital early to check in. You'll change into your gown and get an IV hooked up. You will talk to your nurse(s) and perhaps a couple of other staff members. You'll then get put to sleep (injected through the IV that you had put in earlier). The operation then happens. You'll wake up, probably in the ICU, but possibly in your hospital room. Probably on the first or second day after surgery, you'll be shown how to sit and then stand. You'll be able to take walks up and down the hallway but you'll tire quickly. Your IV will be removed in a couple of days as will the catheter you've had in you since the surgery. You'll be allowed to go home once your stomach starts rumbling, you're eating, and going to the bathroom. When you are in the hospital, your scar will be checked by a doctor each day.

You will feel like a truck ran you over for the first couple of days. Once your body starts to recover, you'll feel better.

When you wake up from surgery, your bed will have a machine that gives measured doses of pain meds (morphine or something as effective). You're self-medicating, so if you're hurting, just hit a button. The machine won't let you overdose yourself, though.

You'll be weaned off of the meds from the machine and given oxycontin (or the like). This is what you'll be taking for the first few weeks you're at home.

Bottom line is that you'll be hurting, but you'll be given pain meds to take care of the pain. They'll do the job for you.

It still takes two months to be doing basic things. You'll be cleared to do more things at six months. At one year, you'll be able to do about anything you could do before the surgery. Take it easy. This is major surgery. It takes a while for the spine to fuse.

There's a couple of things, off-topic, that will make life easier for you.

o Make sure you has a robe in case you gets up in the middle of the night when the house is colder. The surgery may mess up your body's temperature control.

o Get a toilet seat extender so that you don't have to squat as far. These also have handles and certainly made my life a lot easier. Since your chest muscles are fine, you'll be able to use them to raise and lower yourself.

o It might be nice to get a "grabber" which will help you pick things up from the floor.

o You may or may not have a walker when you get home from the hospital (probably not, but...). I did and discovered that I had to meneuver through the bathroom door sideways because the walker was too wide. This works, but it may be a bit more difficult.

o You will be sleeping an awful lot. This is a combination of your body needing rest and the pain meds knocking you out. Expect it.

o When I was in my bed, my wife made kind of a "nest" with pillows so I wouldn't roll out. I don't normally roll but I think it made both of us feel better. You might want to do the same.

o It will be helpful to sit in a chair with arms when you're having his meals and is sitting at the dining room table. Since your chest muscles are fine, you'll be able to use them to raise and lower yourself.

Please email me if you have questions.

Answer 2

I was diagnosed with scoliosis when I was 12 during one of those junior high screenings. I was very scared at first, but got in with a good group of doctors at Shriner's Hospital and they put me so at ease. I wore a Wilmington brace from under my arms to just over my hips for 10 mo., then had surgery shortly before I turned 14 (1985). My top curve was fused using stainless Steel Harrington rods and bone chips from my hip. I had to go back into a brace about a year after my surgery for 10 mos. while my bottom curve stabilized.

There are risks with every surgery, even minor procedures (I'm an OR nurse now). You and your folks will have to make an informed decision about surgery. If your curve is severe and you are not corrected it can affect your ability of your heart and lungs to work properly.

Someone with more recent experience might be better to ask about the physical therapy. I never had to do physical therapy when I was wearing the braces or after surgery. I was up walking the first day they said I could. Nowadays, they'll have you up walking no later than the next day. Home in 5-7 days. On activity and weight restrictions for 6 mo. Fully recovered by 1 yr.

My pain was well controlled. Really the only time it hurt was one time I was half-asleep and tried to sit up suddenly. Mine was through the back only. Sounds like yours is going to be through your side if you are going to have a chest tube. Most patients who need chest tubes feel better once it is in, it helps your lungs function properly.

I'm as normally functioning as anyone. Having surgery in summer, I never got off schedule with school. Graduated college at 20 and have been an OR nurse for 16 years, one of the most physically demanding areas of nursing (lots of lifting and lots of standing in one place for long periods). I've had 2 children without difficulty (didn't even use an epidural). I love to travel (I don't set off metal detectors), yoga (though the fusion prevents some positions), and SCUBA dive. I can pretty much do anything I want...but don't tell my husband I use the scoliosis to get out of vacuuming :) My bottom curve aches now and then, I'm supposed to take 1-2 Alleve at bed time, but us nurses are awful patients, so I don't do it regularly.

Are you being treated at a Shriner's Hospital/Clinic? Absolutely the best place for scoliosis patients under 21! If you are, ask the docs/nurses if they can arrange for you to visit/talk with other patients or people who will be involved in your care. Other places may do this too, but I think Shriner's goes above and beyond for their kids. Meet your hospital care givers and tell them your concerns. They want to make this as easy for you as they can.

Answer 3

I was 15 when I was surprised to be diagnosed with a 72 degree curve and had surgery soon after. Im now 39 and in less pain now then I was when I was 15 before the suregery. I imagine the techinques for surgery have only gotten better since I had mine. Things turned out pretty good for me. I joined the swim team in high school and I think that was a good choice, cause over the years swimming has always been great for my back. I remember being pretty freaked out when I was 15 and going through all that, but over the years its just sorta become not much of an issue. I went to college, joined the Peace Corp, got married, have a kid. Life has been good. I started taekwando 3 years ago, and I highly recomend that for conditioning the lower back muscles and learning about how your body moves.  A lot of what you will need to learn is how your body moves after surgery, it takes a while but it becomes habit after a while to 'lift with your knees' and to 'roll' outa bed, and avoid certain sharp unsuported twisted leaning motions that can pull muscels. Im sorry your going through this, I pray God will see you through and on to better times.