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Has anyone had a partial removal of hardware (part of a rod, hooks, screws) to alleviate pain?
My daughter had anterior/posterior spinal fusion 2 years ago and has had chronic pain, sometimes worse than usual.
We saw her surgeon in New York this week and he pinpointed 3 areas of hardware that are causing pain (2 hooks, 1 screw, and the top of a rod pushing through the skin).
He's not recommeding removal immediately, but said he would remove these items if she continues to have severe "flare-up" pain. He told us the hardware is irritating the muscle tissue and as others have said, "she is too thin". Well, she is - just 5 ft and 100 lbs.
She's been in the emergency room twice in the last month because of the pain, although it's better now.
We're taking a wait and see attitude, but we'd be interested to know if anyone else has had partial hardware removed.
She's 18, surgery at 16 - T-1 to L-2, anterior/posterior, 4 rods and more screws and hooks than I can count....
Thanks for sharing any experiences.
Susan
My daughter had anterior/posterior spinal fusion 2 years ago and has had chronic pain, sometimes worse than usual.
We saw her surgeon in New York this week and he pinpointed 3 areas of hardware that are causing pain (2 hooks, 1 screw, and the top of a rod pushing through the skin).
He's not recommeding removal immediately, but said he would remove these items if she continues to have severe "flare-up" pain. He told us the hardware is irritating the muscle tissue and as others have said, "she is too thin". Well, she is - just 5 ft and 100 lbs.
She's been in the emergency room twice in the last month because of the pain, although it's better now.
We're taking a wait and see attitude, but we'd be interested to know if anyone else has had partial hardware removed.
She's 18, surgery at 16 - T-1 to L-2, anterior/posterior, 4 rods and more screws and hooks than I can count....
Thanks for sharing any experiences.
Susan
My daughter, Kate, had spinal fusion surgery in November of 2003, when she was 16. She was fused from T11-L3 with an anterior approach. It seemed like it took her longer to recover than what we expected and she was in more pain than we expected. Well, it's been almost 2 years now and she is still on Lortab for pain. We had been to her orthopaedic surgeon numerous times. He was mentioning the possibility of another surgery to remove her hardware, as that was what he THOUGHT was causing all the pain. It is also unclear on the X-ray and the CAT scan as to whether or not one of the fusions is completely fused. On her last visit he said that he highly recommends the surgery now. He also said he can't guarantee that the rod is the cause of her pain or that the surgery will take her pain away. She has consistently complained of pain just to the left of her spine right where the corner of the rod would be. More and more though, she is complaining about general, severe lower back pain as well. She is also thin, which her Doctor says might contribute to the pain. When she has "the rod pain" you can actually feel the rod when you press on the spot.
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