I got a chance to see an old friend this past week named Susan, who I helped 7 years ago back at Duke Medical Center (DUMC) with a T4-L5 instrumentation and fusion. She has done just great over the years, returning to her very active life, including working with little children at school as a teacher. Unfortunately she lost her teacher’s aid recently, and has had to do a lot more lifting and bending, and has started to have some increased lower back pain, but it is manageable.
Her X-Rays show her instrumentation and fusion looks great, with hooks up in the thoracic area, and pedicle screws in lower thoracic and lumbar area. A year or 2 after her surgery, I went over to using thoracic pedicle screws all the way up the thoracic spine, which has been even more effective for curve correction and postop stability.
Her X-Rays show some disc degeneration of the L5S1 disc below her fusion, but it still likely has some more “miles” left on it.
We got Susan a high tech lumbar back brace, and our Level 1 conservative treatment program, including a home exercise program, weight maintenance, anti-inflammatory medications, etc.
I hope they get her a new teacher’s aid for next year, since she really didn’t have any problems at all until she had to do all the lifting and bending herself.
Most people can’t believe how well people can actually bend over and lift after long spinal fusions.
Lloyd A. Hey, MD MS
Hey Clinic for Scoliosis and Spine Surgery
Raleigh, NC USA
http://www.heyclinic.com