S
sfcg
Guest
Good evening all. I have a question regarding kyphoplasty, and wanted to see if anyone has had the procedure before, and if they would recommend it. I'll post a brief history of my situation. Any advice is welcome.
In April I was diagnosed with a plasma cytoma in my L1 vertibrae. I fell down some stairs and my orthopedist did an MRI and found it. I underwent 6 weeks of radiation and the cancer is gone. I have also been dealing with some pretty heavy neruopathy and nerve damage due to the cancer and radiation in my spine. After the tumor was eliminated, it left a large vacancy in my vertibrae.
To preface this, I am a pretty tough guy, and can cope with pain pretty well. I however wake up every morning in excruciating pain. I've been taking some pretty heavy pain killers regimentally and it's getting to a point where I'd really like to stop taking the pills. My oncologist and ortohpedist recommended a kyphoplasty to relieve at least the bone pain. I looked into it and the procedure seems to be a bit controversial. I would hate to worsen the situation by arbitrarily undergoing a procedure, just because my doctor says I should.
I was very fortunate in that they caught the cancer very early and it did not fracture my bone (they think) and did not spread. But my orthopedist says my bone will not grow back due to scarring and I should undergo the kyphoplasty if I want to feel normal again.
Has anyone undergone this procedure before, and if so has it improved your quality of life? I read a few articles and it appears this procedure can actually worsen the symtoms, under certain circumstances.
Thanks in advance!
Chris
In April I was diagnosed with a plasma cytoma in my L1 vertibrae. I fell down some stairs and my orthopedist did an MRI and found it. I underwent 6 weeks of radiation and the cancer is gone. I have also been dealing with some pretty heavy neruopathy and nerve damage due to the cancer and radiation in my spine. After the tumor was eliminated, it left a large vacancy in my vertibrae.
To preface this, I am a pretty tough guy, and can cope with pain pretty well. I however wake up every morning in excruciating pain. I've been taking some pretty heavy pain killers regimentally and it's getting to a point where I'd really like to stop taking the pills. My oncologist and ortohpedist recommended a kyphoplasty to relieve at least the bone pain. I looked into it and the procedure seems to be a bit controversial. I would hate to worsen the situation by arbitrarily undergoing a procedure, just because my doctor says I should.
I was very fortunate in that they caught the cancer very early and it did not fracture my bone (they think) and did not spread. But my orthopedist says my bone will not grow back due to scarring and I should undergo the kyphoplasty if I want to feel normal again.
Has anyone undergone this procedure before, and if so has it improved your quality of life? I read a few articles and it appears this procedure can actually worsen the symtoms, under certain circumstances.
Thanks in advance!
Chris