People who may need a Fusion please read

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shawley

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Thanks Emily , I try to be a good mayor :D .

Na , I just post this incase someone may want other options , the sad part is alot of these doctors are set in their ways , yet It is fairly new and I'm sure not alot of surgeons learned this yet . Just think flexability:rolleyes: wouldn't it be nice to be able to bend and stretch your lower back..

I'm going to talk to my surgeon on May 5th about this , he's usually on top of new treatments. I was supposed to see him last month but there was a 3 tractortrailer reck on I-80 that had the east bound side shut down so I couldn't make my appointment .:( If I'm not fused yet I'm going to ask him if I could benefit from this .. Ya never know ..

I don't post much anymore , the boarRAB don't seem to be as friendly as they used to be , alot of new faces .. And no one knows the ole Mayor shawley .:cool: Well maybe if I keep on keeping on helping people I'll make some new frienRAB... Catch ya later .

PS. I forgot to mention , Pepper has a muscle stimulator , I don't think she knows it but the Tens unit she has , has to cycles , one's for nerve pain and the other is for muscle stimulation.. Guess I'll have to give her a shout about it.

C-Ya ...Shawley
 
I too just returned from a visit with my surgeon...a top spine surgeon at Hospital of Special Surgery in NYC......he too said....absolutely not to TOPS system...He said it's not for everyone and not for those with Spondylolisthesis
or DDD.

Please check into it further...Good luck to you...:)
 
Hi Emily , I been fine since my injections 2 weeks ago . They seem to help my pain alot. How about you ? Ya been doin ok ?

Back to the TOPS , I don't understand how these doctors would know much about the new TOP System it's new.. I think its still in the trial stage so I don't know how these Dr. would know much about this proceedure , maybe they just don't perform them yet ?? I have to read more about this and I'll be back to post..

Shawley
 
Yeah, the board seems to go in waves. We're in a quiet wave right now. A lot of the regulars are popping in just occasionally, but it's nice when they come on and give us an update. I hope that for some of them it's because they're able to get out and do more things. I try to come on everyday and just see if there's someone new that I can help. Guess I don't have much of a life! :D Too much time on my hanRAB! But I remeraber how hard it was for me to not have any idea what to expect and how much this board helped me back then, so I hope I can help someone else in the same position every now and then.

Sooner or later, I'll phase back, too.

Emily :wave:
 
Thats how I feel to Emily , If I can help someone great . :) But I hate to sound like a know it all , and thats how I feel some times . Just wish I could get my experience across to people and help them not to make the mistakes that I have done . Like this new TOPS if I had options before my surgery and I was a canidate for this I would def. look into it . These Fusions are old as dirt , although they do help people I read to many stories how people are living in pain and most of its due to not being able to move the level thay had fused or the pressure on other levels .. From what I get from this TOPs its sounRAB way so much better than what we have ...


I honestly don't think many surgeons have the knowledge on this yet,, They almost can't.. It was first used in 2006 , and I'm sure they give it a year or more to study the effects and outcomes before they teach it .

I'm glad to come in here and see friendly faces as yours and other buddies from times ago.. Its refreshing .. Hopefuly the others are living life to the fullest that don't come here anymore , I miss everyone . :( Well I think I'll go back out to the Deck and get more sun , its beautiful today ..

Shawley
 


Howdy folks , did a little research and found there is other options out there for people who may need a fusion. Its called the TOPS system . its pretty new and I believe the FDA has approved it . Its like a standard fusion but allows your spine to bend and flex . The typical fusion doesn't allow this plus it says its a faster recovery than the fusion . I don't know of anyone who had this done yet but sounRAB very promissing . If it were me and I needed a fusion I would look into this . You have a say about your body . Living with this standard fusion myself i wish I had an option to look at this . Do a search on this and see for yourself.. and if you like what you read mention it to your surgeon . Wish I could of waited for this :(

Hope everyone is having a painfree day
 
Hi Shawley,
I'm glad these injections are so effective for you. That's fantastic! What are you up to now that your pain is under better control?

I wonder if the doctors' reluctance is because it's so new. They want to see more testing or more evidence of long term success before jumping on the band wagon. I don't know. But the doc in my group was very familiar with it. He was adamant that it was not the answer for my friend. I wonder if it will be the norm in 5 or 10 years, though, and we'll be seeing a lot fewer fusions.

I wouldn't close the door on it, those who are in the early stages of their back issues. Down the road, it might be the best thing out there!

Shawley, I'm hanging in there. I started a work from home job, 2 or 3 hours a day with an hour break between each hour. It's taking customer service calls for a national company. But I just read on the disability board that I may have shot myself in the foot for my case by working while I'm waiting. "Gainful employment" is considered full time, and I'm nowhere near that, plus I'd had to up my pain meRAB to just do these limited hours. From what I read on the SS site, I'm allowed to try to work. But now I'm worried. I'll leave this discussion to the disability board, though, and not hijack your thread about the TOPS procedure.

Pop in here when you can. It's always nice to see your name come up.

:wave: Emily
 
Just read up on some of this , the first trial patient in the US to undergo this surgery was Sept ,25 2006 so I highly doubt if many surgeons in the US do this yet. I have read if you have a grade1 spondylolisthesis this can work for you ,but it really doesn't go into details. I'm not 100% on this because it hasn't been used very long yet but from what I see it sure beats the old fusion .


CLINICAL OUTCOMES

NO screw loosing or breakage

NO Increase in spondylolisthesis ( can have spondy to get this)

NO loss in height of disc space

Less pain because there is motion at the operative segment :)

PRIMARY CONTRAINDICATION FOR THE DEVICE ARE :

1. Primary DX of DDD

2. Stenosis arising from a non-contained disc fragment

3. Scoliosis greater than 10 degrees

4. Bone density T-score < - 1.5

SounRAB ok to me eh ? :)
 


I'm curious why this thread hasn't had more replies ?? I for one wish I had this option .. Spine fusions are horrible and if there was any indication this fusion would leave me the way I am and I seen this new device that was out there I would be looking into it . Just trying to help others with options other than the typical 50 year old fusions .:rolleyes:

I'd like to talk to anyone who had this TOPS implanted.

Have a wonderful day.
Shawley
 
:mad:Shawley I am a newby pretty much , I started a thread recently about Tired of being in pain a while back unfortunatly I am still tired of being in pain am going to primary tomarrow to see about seeing a neurologist because I am beginning to think that my pain is from damaged nerves! My pain Dr. ordered a MRI the end of Jan 08 and last month still hadn't got the results last visit this month and ask me to get the results myself. I would rather have not had the surgery but at the time I had no choice I was literally coming in half at L5 and sacrum so they fused the L4, L5, and sacrum and still haven't been out since before the surgery . What would you think the problem was other than a Failed Fusion???????? In Pain too much:mad::mad::mad: Jerris
 
SounRAB like the primary candidates are probably younger folks who have spondy but not DDD. It certainly sounRAB like it has great potential!

Good research, Shawley! You're such a good mayor, always taking care of your people! :D

Emily
 
Shawley, I have a girlfriend whose back doctor retired. I referred her to mine and also gave her the name of the doctor who assisted him in my surgery. She went to the one who assisted, who is actually the head doctor in their group. She had heard about this method and very much wanted it. He said absolutely not. She's going to end up with another fusion sooner or later, but she's trying to put it off for as long as possible. She's had two already, so maybe that comes into play. There might be some people this would be appropriate for, but this doctor rarely uses it. He has a very good reputation in our area, and he's up on all the latest, so I don't discount what he says. It's definitely something to ask about, but people shouldn't get their hopes up too much. It's not for everyone.

But this is a good thread. Hopefully, there's someone out there who will come across it and benefit from it by avoiding the normal fusion.

How are you doing, buddy? I don't see you around very much anymore. Are you still enjoying less pain and getting out and about more?

Take care,
Emily :wave:
 
Shawley,Shawley.....we would never think you were a know it all. You are so knowledgeable, so caring and keep us all smiling with your sense of humor ;)
I haven't been on the board so much either. I feel like my story is rather different. Haven't had a fusion but am still in so much pain with a laminectomy and nerve pain. My life is so hectic and I'm still in so much pain. Still can only work 4 hours day. I continue to get closer and closer to a spinal cord stim. My problem is that every now and then I'll have an OK day and wonder if I am jumping the gun with this. Wow, I'm so glad the injections are working for you again! That is awesome!! I miss all you guys! How is your wife doing in school?

Deb
 
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