Spinal Surgery -

[Dumpster 0]

OK - So i've been informed that I've got a herniated disk at C5 -C6 (neck-) Doc says the real fix is to operate, stick a chunk of bone in there and add a plate and a couple screws. Back to work in 4-6 weeks and back to full activity & sports in 3-6 months.

Anybody else had experience with this stuff?

Easy Does It

[DangerRoo 0]

is the herniation off the disk broke off or just protruding

(I.C.D#2 VP)
"<3 ..Looks like breasts coming out of an ice cream cone. Mmmm."~John Mitchell
"I'm good with my purple penis straw" ~sky mama

[airtwardo 7]

Screws and rods in my lower spine...more like a year before 'back' to jumping.


Might be different for you.

~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~

[Zing 2]

Creak ... groan ... results may vary for some.

Zing Lurks

[skybytch 273]

Mine's lower back - fusion with no hardware. That was 7 years and a couple hundred jumps ago.

GFD had a similar surgery to what you are describing. I forget exactly how long it was before she was jumping again, but I know it was less than a year.

[Dumpster 0]

I looked at the MRI with the sawbones and it's jabbong into the spine pretty good. I spotted it even before he pointed it out.

Easy Does It

[Dumpster 0]

I hope it heals quickly - I just put my orders in for a new canopy and container. Should arrive in late April - Just in time for me to get back to jumping (I hope! )

Easy Does It

[lauras 0]

I posted this in Jan 2004:

Quote

I had an anterior cervical diskectomy with allograft and plating of C5 & C6 nearly six weeks ago (12/22/03). My symptoms were immediately relieved when I woke up from surgery. I can't pinpoint any one episode that caused the herniation of the disk, except to chalk it up to an extremely active youth (hard on the neck if you fell a lot like me), a couple of car accidents over the years and a number of whackety-whack! Sabre openings. I had been gradually been losing some range of motion in my neck over the last 3 years and by mid-2003, while doing a lot of training/creeping/tunnel time, I developed a tremendous amount of pain in my right shoulder. I temporarily fixed things with RICE, Vioxx and telling myself I'd see a shoulder guy right after Nationals. Lo and behold, Nationals rolls around and I'm rolling around on the floor at the Lake Wales ER.

My MRIs concluded that I had a huge herniation between C5&6, a slight herniation between C6&7 and all of my shoulder problems and numbness & weakness down the arm & hand were due to the herniations. I firmly believe that recovery is better achieved if a problem is addressed immediately and aggressively. I did a lot of research and got a number of opinions from neurosurgeons, orthopaedic surgeons, sports medicine specialists and physical therapists. I didn't want to screw around with a lot of massage or chiro just to end up in the same boat a year down the road. One thing to note: seeing a sports medicine specialist was very helpful to me. He had an attitude of "let's get you back to your same level of activity, if not better" rather than something like "oh, well, you're engaged in a dangerous sport and you must hang it up." That's crap. Get more opinions. All of the opinions I received were pretty much the same, with the exception of allograft (cadaver bone) vs. autograft (bone harvested from your hip).

I've just concluded six weeks with a hard collar and taking it pretty easy with just some daily walking, and am about to start six weeks of PT. My plan is to be aggressive during PT and back in the air by the beginning of April. I have, of course, made gear changes - like getting a Spectre with Dacron lines. I'll probably wear a soft collar while I'm jumping for a while as well.

So yeah, it just sucked being on the ground during boogie season in Florida, but it's better than not ever being able to jump again. Good luck and please PM if you have any questions.

I took about 5 months to get back to jumping normally. I flew in the tunnel a couple of times first and then just a couple of jumps per weekend for a while. I stuck to the Spectre + Dacron until very recently. I've made around 700 jumps since my operation without any major issues. I listen to my body though - if I'm feeling sore & weak, I stretch a lot more and work on my shoulders & upper back strength. PT will be your friend forevuh!

[freefalle 0]

I HIGHLY recommend a second opinion one your surgical consult. My reasoning is this, If it doesn't HAVE to be do you should really consider not having it IMHO reason being. I work in the medical field, I'm a registered nurse. If you look at the research on people who have had lamenectomies vs people who didn't 10 years down the road many of them are in the exact same condition. Get a consult with a neuro surgeon and see what they have to say. Good luck


Chuck

[Dumpster 0]

Consult today was indeed with the neuro - He said we could try PT, and shots, but the real cure would be surgery. I'll be calling another neuro tomorrow and getting a 2nd opinion for sure. Main thing is I'd like to get it fixed right the first time, and I don't want to put it off at all.

(And changing my canopy order form a Sabre 2 to a Spectre. )

It's very good to know that others have gone through this sort of thing, and gone on to jump plenty.

Thanks for all tho good info, folks.

Skydivers Rock!

Easy Does It

[skybytch 273]

Quote

(And changing my canopy order form a Sabre 2 to a Spectre. )

Do the Dacron thing too.

[ACMESkydiver 0]

No idea. Good luck.

~Jaye
Do not believe that possibly you can escape the reward of your action.

[ladyskydiver 0]

Best of luck, Lenny! *hugs*

Life is short! Break the rules! Forgive quickly! Kiss slowly! Love truly, Laugh uncontrollably. And never regret anything that made you smile.

[Dumpster 0]

Thanks, sweetie!!!!!

Going to set up a 2nd opinion today. Looked at the MRI image on my PC this morning (The imaging center was kind to burn them onto a CD for me.) Pretty wild.

Hugs!!!!

Easy Does It

[warpedskydiver 0]

I only have bone spurs in c5-c6, with narrowing, so I have no opinion yet.

If I should lose all control of my body, I am supposed to call an ambulance.

[Athena 0]

In August 2007 I herniated two discs in my lower spine. I tried to put surgery off as long as I could. I tried everything! Chiropracter, PT, massage therapy, yoga. I was thinking about trying meditation even. But it just got worse and worse and soon I couldn't walk anymore.

One doctor said he wanted to do a discectomy, where they just cut out part of the disc that's pressing on the nerve. Another doctor wanted to do a fusion with a cage with screws. I chose to do the discectomy.

Now I feel great. I went to my post-op appointment and the dr said I would be back jumping in two months--just in time for the new season

Maybe think about asking your doctor if a discectomy would work. Or do some reseach into Artifical Disc Replacement. Someone earlier mentioned that once you have surgery, your back is never the same. That seems to be true. I've researched fusions and it seems that a fusion will put pressure on other parts of the back, leading to future surgery. Some doctors think that artificial discs are better for your back than fusions. I don't know for sure. And maybe they just to artifical disc replacements for the lower back . . . unless you go to Europe.

From personal experiece, I know back surgery often begets more surgery. This is my third discectomy. But I waited so long to have surgery the first time, that it messed up the muscles in my back, shoulders, and neck (I couldn't walk straight and then not at all). After the surgery I don't think I waited long enough to heal before doing stuff. The doctor says I also have bad genes. I will probably wait more than two months to jump again just to make sure my back is as strong as it can be. I don't want to scare you--but back surgery is not fun. But I am happy I had it because now I can walk and I have my life back.

Anyway, best of luck! When I was thinking about fusing my back, I talked to lots of people who had successful fusions.

[TheBachelor 5]

Interesting reading others' experiences. I have an appt with a neuro in about 3 weeks for similar issues. I know at least two other skydivers who have had fusions. One was in the c-spine, and the other was lumbar. In both cases, they are going back for further fusions now. As stated earlier, one fusion usually puts pressure on the vertebrae on either side of it, eventually requiring further fusions.

I'll keep watching this thread, and post my surgeon's recommendations.

Oh, also, as the one nurse said, putting off surgery for as long as possible seems to be the recommendation of people "in the know." My wife worked as a Physician Assistant in a pain management clinic, and she said the majority of their patients where from failed back surgeries.

There are battered women? I've been eating 'em plain all of these years...

[Dumpster 0]

I've got appointment with another neuro tomorrow morning - Will ask about alternatives to the procedure the 1st doctor wants to do. Should be interesting.
But it will be nice to be out od pain and have ability to lift a little without being sore.

Easy Does It

[lauras 0]

Quote

Oh, also, as the one nurse said, putting off surgery for as long as possible seems to be the recommendation of people "in the know." My wife worked as a Physician Assistant in a pain management clinic, and she said the majority of their patients where from failed back surgeries.

The concerns I had with delaying surgery were:

- Permanent nerve damage (the longer you delay, the less likely it is you'll get all the feeling & strength back).
- The amount of pain medication needed on daily basis. Vicodin Land is not for me. I used Ultracet since I didn't want a narcotic and that *barely* kept things manageable. Sleep was a joke.
- Quality of life issues. I like skydiving. I like going out. I like being able to lift more than a t-shirt without being in pain.

Yes, there absolutely is additional stress above & below the fused levels but for me, that's a calculated risk I'm willing to take. Life f*&%ing sucked and I wasn't willing to live with that kind of pain just to avoid having surgery.

I won't lie - surgery isn't a cure-all. I still have discomfort at times and my body will let me know when I've been slacking on the PT. The week after surgery sucked and spending 6 weeks in an Aspen hard collar while everyone else was jumping made me a little bit mental. BUT, 4 years post-op and I'm a pretty happy gal. I might have to address another herniation I have down the road, but I'm ok with that.

In my limited observation, half the people I saw at the doctor's complaining about lack of results were usually the same ones that were barely mobile and clearly not keeping up with PT. Seriously, if a person weighs 300+ lbs, the spine is going to take a beating and (s)he needs to get off his/her ass and move. The other half didn't obey post-op orders: not smoking, limited lifting, wearing the collar/brace religiously, keeping follow-up appointments, etc.

Do your homework, research the docs you're talking to. I also talked to other doctors, nurses, x-ray techs, PT to feel out who I was dealing with. My surgeon, John Small at Florida Orthopaedic Institute, has a reputation of being a hard-ass, demanding perfectionist who gets the best results in central Florida. I like that.

Check out www.spine-health.com

[warpedskydiver 0]

Good luck, I got my next MRI scheduled.

The feeling of numbness in the forearms and lack of control of my outer two digits is no fun when it occurs.

I think it is best at least to keep an eye on this rather than wait for the more severe symptoms.

[Dumpster 0]

Got my 2nd opinion today - Doc I spoke with was great, after checking me and the MRI films out, he agreed that surgery was the best option.

He prefers to use cadaver bone for two main reasons - Patients have had major problems with healing, and pain and the site where a bone graft would be taken.

I'm not a good candidate for an artificial disc. "borderline".

As far as smoking goes, he said I should wait until the day of the operation to quit - If I stop now my lungs will be producing alot of crap that may mess with the anestesia.

Skydiving - I lucked out - He has a friend who's a jumper - After I'm healed up he siad it shouldn't be any trouble at all. The rest of my back is in pretty good shape.

Interesting - He also confirmed loss of strength in my right arm (and I'm right handed) and loss of reflexes in that arm also. I never even noticed it myself. All 4 docs picked up on that.

He pointed out the site where the incision would be made and said the spine is right there, easy to get to. I'm thinking. "Cool!"

He also had good things to say about the doc who's going to be doing the cutting, mentioning that he had worked with him on some more diffcult cases, and that I'm in good hands. He has worked with my chiropractor too.

So I'm slated to go under the knife at 11:00 AM next Friday. (the 8th-) Cool. Can't wait to get this over with and get on with my life!!

One of the best parts - The company I work for has Short-Term-Disablility - That will kick in immediately, and gives me 100% pay for 8 weeks. I won't lose any sick days, or vacation time.

Fat City!

Easy Does It

[ladyskydiver 0]

Best of luck, Lenny. **HUGS**

Life is short! Break the rules! Forgive quickly! Kiss slowly! Love truly, Laugh uncontrollably. And never regret anything that made you smile.

[Dumpster 0]

Thanks Cora !!! You rock!!

Easy Does It

[Dumpster 0]

Update - - - !!!!!

It's been two months since the surgery - I'm back to work - OK to lift up to 35 pounds and Doc says to be damn careful when working up on ladders and overhead.

First two weeks were shitty. Vicodin is not my friend, but Darvocet treats me nicely. The scar is hardley noticable.

It's great to have full use of my arm again. No pain, strength is coming back, no numbness. WooHoo!

Found out that pain killers, a credit card and Internet access are mixed blessings. I've got a new container, new canopy, and several jumpsuits, waiting for me to return to the air. Also have a really cool R/C nitro monster truck. It'll do about 45 MPH and will take a helluva beating!!

I should be able to resume jumping in August.

It's going to be a long summer.

Easy Does It

[ladydyver 0]

Quote

Update - - - !!!!!

It's been two months since the surgery - I'm back to work - OK to lift up to 35 pounds and Doc says to be damn careful when working up on ladders and overhead.

First two weeks were shitty. Vicodin is not my friend, but Darvocet treats me nicely. The scar is hardley noticable.

It's great to have full use of my arm again. No pain, strength is coming back, no numbness. WooHoo!

Found out that pain killers, a credit card and Internet access are mixed blessings. I've got a new container, new canopy, and several jumpsuits, waiting for me to return to the air. Also have a really cool R/C nitro monster truck. It'll do about 45 MPH and will take a helluva beating!!

I should be able to resume jumping in August.

It's going to be a long summer.

Congrats that your recovery is going so well.....most don't do as well as you are doing.....

As for the long summer....at least you have your RC truck to keep you entertained. It might ease the pain a little bit.

DPH # 2
"I am not sure what you are suppose to do with that, but I don't think it is suppose to flop around like that." ~Skootz~
I have a strong regard for the rules.......doc!