Upper Back Pain, Thoracic
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Sat, 09/12/2009 - 14:29
Vats surgury
As some of you know I was scheduled for thorasic fusion T5-T7 using the Video Assisted thorasic surgury techniue with dr. Regan. But of course insurance issues postponed that. I got a call and there was another guy from my state (LA) that just had it done. I am getting his contact info, he already said he would talk to me and I will let this site know. He is already posting on global patients network on their ispine forum. I am sorry he had to go through it but i am super excited to follow his progress and hope it works as i am going to have it when ins.clears up. Will post any info. i recieve.
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The Dr.'s are doing a SCS on Tues. My specialist thinks I have a displaced rib. Five yrs ago I fell caused by an assault from X and broke Rib Heads along my spine T5-T7. I've been through scan after scan and Dr. after Dr. and they can't find the pain trigger. I've had pain injections and catheters etc. I guess what I'm asking for is an idea of what you feel. And I want to see if it's similar to what I feel. I'm in a state (AK) w/ltd. resources in Med. but if you have better sugg. I'm interested too.
thanks for your time and best of luck as I feel sympathy for you
An Update on the VATS patient, he had T3-4 and T6-7 fused. Said the pain from chest tube was terrible but noticed a difference in back pain. On meds though I am sure. It took him years to get diagnosed and he is already talking about writing a book and going to med school, if this keep looking up. And as a reply to DEEG The strongest pain I have is like being stabbed between two vert. in the mid back on right side. Also my pain gets way worse as day progresses. No treatment ever worked long term and I had them all, twice.
I have had thoracic fusion onT8-9 and would not recommend it to anyone. I am in severe pain everday since the surgery on July 24th 2009. Mine was called extreme interbody fusion which he said is the same thing as Vats. I am in way more pain than I was in before the surgery and my doctor just sent me to pain management and will not return any phone calls.
I am looking for a new surgeon but most will not do thoracic surgerys. I would not want to go through it again anyway. But I'm having alot of problems with leg numbness and pain where the surgery was. Please think along time before you have this kind of surgery! Maybe a very experienced doctor could do a better job. My doctor had only done a few before me. My understanding is it's a relatively new surgery so I'm sure it has not been performed very much.
Yea I totally agree with you. It is very risky and difficult surgury that takes much thought. And every case is different. Matter of fact the guy that had it is still in alot of pain, mostly not due to the surgury but the possiblity that the pain generator was not the same disc operated on. I am a little surprised you let a doc with a few surguries do the operation due to the nature of the operation. You have to be careful, many docs say I have done a thorasic spine surgury, but what you need to know is what kind. because surgury to fix scolisis to a terrible degree is different, any relief for those types is acceptable due to the horrible pain they are in already. There are only a hand ful in the world who have done more than a few thorasic surguries and I would only trust them. The surgury Vats has been preforemed since the early 90'for the spine and even before that for thorasic chest surgury( but it was originally designed for chest wall tumors). I am still debating having it when ins. clears up but I just keep going back to can I live like this, no, am I satisfied accepting it and just keep repeating the same things, no. And those no's are really influencing my decision. I thank you for your concern and hope your condition changes. Were the doctors sure this disc was the pain generator?
You're right! I was in so much pain from a collapsed disc
and a bone chip indenting the spinal cord that as soon as
the pain pills quit helping me I jumped in and trusted him.
I had been going to him for 3 years and many second and third and fourth opinions along the way. All others were against
me having this surgery. Has soon as the doctor started telling me he was the only one of a handful of surgeons in the U.S that could perform this surgery and I was looking at paralysis in the near future if I didn't do it, I was convinced. I went back to the top neurosurgeon in the Dallas area and he did the test as usual and said I needed to get the surgery right away and to let the doctor that could do it the least invasive way do it. So my trust in him went way up then. Maybe I'll get better eventually and I'll be kissing his feet, but this has been a long recovery and back in pain management for now. I had the surgery to not have to wake up and wonder what pain meds to take, but for now it will have to do.Today it was neurontin and tylenol only, but tomorrow who knows?