D4 Update?

[George K]

Gonna be a sonofabitch procedure. Her first fusion was open, so they have to open EVERYTHING up, see if it's compatible with what they're going to use, and if not, redo the whole thing.

Looks like it'll be 11 or so...so everyone's gonna have a long, long day.

[Horace]

Good luck to her.

[Doctor Phibes]

Best of luck, and best wishes to all. I hope everything goes as smoothly and successfully as possible

[89th]

Sending prayers and best wishes.

[Mik]

Any word yet?

[George K]

Surgery started large ~ 3:45. Got an update at 5:30 - still working but no problems. I expect another hour.

[George K]

Surgery done at about 8:30 - about 4 ½ hours of work.

This hospital keeps patients in PACU a LONG time, so I went home because I'm a geezer.

Surgeon said that one of the screws from her previous fusion had broken; I wonder if that was the cause of her symptoms. Nevertheless, he's overall pleased with the outcome so far.

After I got home (about 20 min ago), I received these texts from the hospital:

I'll visit tomorrow late AM.

[89th]

Thanks for the update. I also hope, sort of, that the broken screw was the culprit.

Hope you both get some very, very good sleep tonight.

[George K]

@89th said in D4 Update?:

I also hope, sort of, that the broken screw was the culprit.

Yeah, my thoughts as well.

She did really well after her first fusion. Honeymooned, got pregnant, etc on NO MEDS.

With luck we can reproduce this for a while.

As @kluurs said, when you immobilize part of the spine, other parts have to pick up the function, so they get stressed unnaturally.

The took her down to pre-op at 12:30. Her last dose of oral pain meds was at 9:30. They also disconnected the PCA (large, LARGE doses of hydromorphone). So, by the time it came for surgery, she had NOTHING on board for pain.

Remember, this is not "back pain," This is NERVE pain. Nothing helps that other than sufficient narcotics so you just don't care.

This is what nerve pain looks like...

[89th]

Can't even imagine...

[jon-nyc]

Ugh.

[George K]

Spoke to the nurse. Since she was a chronic pain patient, pain control is more difficult in terms of doses, etc. but they're getting a handle on it. She's slept a bit, so imma hit the sack as well. It's WAY past my bedtime.

[kluurs]

So hoping for a good outcome. Having a broken screw could explain a lot.

[jon-nyc]

Jesus. You wonder how a screw so placed could break. Takes a lot of force to break a screw. Was that force being applied/transferred through bone? ??

[Axtremus]

Glad to hear that D4's surgery went well.

About that broken screw ... what sort of metal is it made of? Titanium?

[Doctor Phibes]

Let's hope the broken screw explains it. Still awful, of course, but if there's a reason, at least it should be fixable.

You're all in our thoughts, George.

[Jolly]

Very happy the surgery went well. Praying that her pain levels abate to the smiley face as she heals.

[Horace]

Sounds like a promising result. I hope she has a smooth recovery.

[Mik]

I so hope for her relief. That picture says it all.

[George K]

She said that the back is 8/10 on the pain scale. But NOTHING DOWN THE LEG, so that's promising.

We texted a bunch of times this AM and just from her texts, she "sounds" better.