jumpwally 0 #1 January 27, 2005 Having a discectomy and fusion on c6-c7. Any one have this done before and any problems? I am worried about the bone fusion using the cadaver bone.Not looking for medical advice,,just others experience' thanx wallysmile, be nice, enjoy life FB # - 1083 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
NightJumper 0 #2 January 27, 2005 When I had mine done I decided against using cadaver because of the higher rejection rate. They took bone out of my hip. They told me that my hip would hurt worse than my neck, but it didn't bother me at all. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ravan 0 #3 January 27, 2005 my mom had that surgery...she's had 3 back surgeries that was the last one...in her's they took a bone graft from her hip to fuse the spine..she spent 6 weeks in a metal back brace she called it her iron maiden the recovery took awhile but she is a tough ole gal and now leads an almost normal active life (it put her in a wheel chair before the operation) that was 7yrs ago PM me if your interested in her e-mail she can give you better details on exactly what they did Food, Fornication, Freefall Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lauras 0 #4 January 27, 2005 Had C5 & 6 fused December '03. Absolutely no issues with using cadaver bone, although it's a bit weird when you think about it. My cousin, who's an orthopaedic surgeon, strongly encouraged it. He said most people have more issues with recovering from the harvest site than the actual fusion site. I also got opinions from about 6 different orthopaedic & neurosurgeons and got the same answer from all except one. Hey, if you come down to Zhills, you can be the 8th person to have C spine fusion and complete our in-house 8way team. PM me if you'd like all the gory details. Good luck! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jumpwally 0 #5 January 27, 2005 thanx laura..kinda what everyonr else said to,,just feeling others out. If anyone wants to see the surgery,,,go to www.understandspinesurgery.com, put in "60532" under zip code and chose Dr.Paul then click on see procedure "anterior discectomyand fusion" neat stuff....thanx againsmile, be nice, enjoy life FB # - 1083 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jumpwally 0 #6 January 27, 2005 laura, by the way were you a smoker? I was told to quit before surgery.smile, be nice, enjoy life FB # - 1083 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Foggy 0 #7 January 28, 2005 Hi Wally had discectomy and cervical fusion of my C5,6 and 7 in April 2001. The discs came from a cadaver in the bone bank. My surgeon explained that they would be close to the shape they needed and my recovery would be faster than with very sore hips. Not sure if tissue rejection is an issue with bone material. They added a titanium plate because of both discs being done. Being a smoker slows down the fusion process (I am non smoker) so they may add a plate. I was not allowed to lift anything heavier than 20lbs for about 5-6 months then started rehab. Take your time getting back into things. I have done about 1000 jumps post surgery Foggy Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lauras 0 #8 January 28, 2005 No, not a smoker (unless it's been a late night at the dz bar) and Foggy is correct - smoking greatly slows down the fusion. I had my fusion plated AND I got to wear a lovely hard collar for six weeks. My surgeon admitted that he had a very conservative approach towards recovery. Even though I bitched mightily then, I am very happy with the end results. And yes, I'm jumping! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TomAiello 25 #9 January 28, 2005 I've got fusion from T-12 to L-2. They used my own bone (bottom right rib) instead of cadaver bone. I had a friend who had a similar fusion after hooking himself in. He rejected the cadaver bone, and they had to redo the surgery using his own bone. If your surgeon is good, you'll probably have a lot less pain after the surgery than before. Surgery sucks. I recommend avoiding it as long as possible.-- Tom Aiello [email protected] SnakeRiverBASE.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Foggy 0 #10 January 28, 2005 QuoteSurgery sucks. I recommend avoiding it as long as possible. Not sure about that. My right arm was at 50% paralysis before surgery (due to a hard opening) and degrading due to pressure on the nerve root from disc compression and the stenosis of my C7. I recovered to 100%. I do recommend talking to your surgeon and getting professional second (and third) opinions. Perhaps NeurosurgeonsDotCom Foggy Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lauras 0 #11 January 28, 2005 I think the speed of a person's recovery is dependant on whether or not the surgery was planned in advance or as a result of trauma. From what I understand, trauma orthopaedics is a totally different ball game and recovery can be a long, painful road. A friend who absolutely wrecked himself in a skiing accident (tree = bad times) and had cervical fusion (among other fun operations) has a very different opinion than I do about post-op. In my case, as soon as I woke up, all of the horrible shooting pain and numbness in my right arm and hand were completely gone. The first 48 hours post-op naturally sucked a whole lot, but I only needed pain killers for 5 days. I never really got used to sleeping in a hard collar though, and I was such a bitch on wheels, people ran away from me for a couple of months. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wingnut 0 #12 January 28, 2005 foggy, i had just a discectomy on l5-s1. the reason my doctor gave me for why i shouldn't smoke is that it inhibits the flow of o2 to the disc material and that it already igets it's "nutients" slow as it is because there are no real blood to suply to them so to speak.... as for the discectomy it was a very easy recovery with about 1 week of notbeing able to do much oat all and then it got better with lifting up to 40 lbs at about 4 months....... had a guy that had a spnal fusuion in the next bed over from me in my hospital room and he was hurting..had a drainage tube in and was not having fun at all.... he was older though (atleast over 65) so that probly didn't help... good lck on your surgery hope it produces the results that you want and can live with...... i still have numbness on about half of my right leg from the resultant nerve damage from the protruding disc material i had before they removed it... ______________________________________ "i have no reader's digest version" Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jumpwally 0 #13 January 28, 2005 Thanks to all,,,,wallysmile, be nice, enjoy life FB # - 1083 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skybytch 259 #14 January 28, 2005 I had discectomies and fusions on L4/5/S1 a few years back. Cadaver bone between L5 and S1, L4 is sitting on L5. Only problem I had was that it hurt like a bitch for a week or so after surgery. The pain slowly got better; I was back to work part time a couple months after surgery, full time within 5 months. If your pain threshold isn't high (mine's incredibly low ), I'd highly recommend asking for anything stronger than what they have in pill form while you're in the hospital. Also highly recommend pushing your doc hard to get you into physical therapy after surgery too. Good luck! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
