Surgery AGAIN!

[crashgirl246]

Well,Went to Pain Management today. Doc. said the rods need to come out. They are causing all my pain in my lower back.
So I have a few Questions: How long is the sergury? HOw long will I be down for? Will it HURT as bad as the first one?
Thank you for your input!
Have a Beautiful Day!

[Wolfgang]

Hm, actually I cannot answer ur questions, I guess this is too specific and changes from one individual to an other ... however: take it positive (once again) as it may helps to reduce back-pain !

All my best wishes for u ! Keep looking up !

Originally posted by crashgirl246:

Well,Went to Pain Management today. Doc. said the rods need to come out. They are causing all my pain in my lower back.
So I have a few Questions: How long is the sergury? HOw long will I be down for? Will it HURT as bad as the first one?
Thank you for your input!
Have a Beautiful Day!

[rwest58]

Crashgirl, I had my rods taken out 2 years ago, the surgury only took 2-3 hours with a overnite stay in hospital. The pain involved wasnt quite as bad as original and subsided after 6-7 days. Sorry to say my rod removal didnt help the chronic pain much but did some . Good Luck : )

[SCI-Nurse]

The difficulty of this surgery depends upon how much your own bone has grown around and/or over the rods and the length and type of your rods. Rarely is only a 24 hour stay appropriate for this.

It can be quite painful. I would suggest that you talk with the surgeon about being put on PCA (patient controlled analgesia) immediately after your surgery. With this you can administer your own IV pain medication and keep the pain under control for the first 1-2 days when it is the worse. This is always done for these surgeries at the center where I work.

(KLD)

[cauda equina]

I had my rods out August of last year. They were in for 9 months as planned by the surgeon that did the original repair after my auto accident. He told me before they were installed they should come out after 9 months.

Well, I dreaded the day, cause the accident and surgery was a terribly painful, and for months debilitating experience. Luckily, I found this site and received a lot of information and support. Thanks to all of you for this!!!

Crashgirl, my rods weren't in that long so the surgery may go harder for you. Compared to the first go around, for me, it was a piece of cake. Yes, they had me on IV morphine a day, but I out of there after one night. I was in surgery around an hour and a half.

I've noticed the pulling in the lower back I had when bending over is not nearly as great now. And while it took several months, the pain is better also. This recovery of getting less pain is a slow process with SCI. I'm finally off the oxy now and it's been over a year.

Good Luck, I hope it helps.

I bet it will.

[Wise Young]

crashgirl, I have known several people who had their rods taken out and it significantly reduced their back pain. Once the bones have healed, the rods are not essential. If your doctor thinks that they should come out, I think that it must be because they are putting pressure on part of your spine. Wise.

[gpbullock]

I would be careful about doing the self meds personally. I found while in the hospital that being responsible for administering pain medication worked as long as you never slept. Otherwise, after 1-2 hours of sleep, you wake up in pain and have to ramp up all over again, waiting every 7 minutes to push the button until the pain goes away. I would rather take a pill every four hours, personally.