Well it's been 8 years now

[jaydar]

I've been waiting for lurabar fusion surgery.Already had a court ordered open medical settlement for my lurabar injury.My lawyer keot telling me that the courts were overloaded and we just have to wait until our time before the judge.
I'm wondering all this time....how can this be...we have a judgement and signed settlement contract...I should be able to get before a judge to have him/her enforce the settlement agreement.
After getting totally pissed I statrted digging and calling the court system only to find out that my attorney hadn't filed any grievance on my behalf.
Needless to say he's been fired and will be sued.
I was put in touch with a new attorney and this guy has been fantastic.In 3 months time he has already had a conciliation hearing and now a conference scheduled for the end of this month.He say's maybe we can reach agreement then...but we may have to go more formal.
Anyway...he's sent me a copy/documentation of everything from when my 1st attorney had the case and since he took the case.My 1st attorney never sent me anything..and consequently had a civil suit dismissed because I had no idea we were scheduled for court.At least now everything that comes from the courts is being sent to both my new attorney and myself.That never happened with my 1st attorney.And all this time he kept assuring me that everything was on and that it just takes time.He flat out lied to me.
So it looks like if things go well I'll be getting a two level lurabar fusion before the end of the year.
I'm confused about the surgery though.It will be lateral posterior approach and the doctor will be using disc spacers and also BMP and it will be held together with roRAB and screws.He'll also be doing foraminotomy to relieve the nerve...which has left me unable to walk for more that 75 feet without pain and a cane.
He's a neurosurgeon and the first neuro I saw 7 years ago basically gave my the same diagnosis and opted for the same surgery.
Two different orthos I saw had totally different approcahes which were really radical.I'd be cut both front and back and they differed on how the fusion would be as far as hardware goes.
I trust this neuro.....but I want to ask him to put me on human growth hormone to speed the fusion process and rehabilitation.
Has anyone here been through this kind of surgery and had the doctor give you hgh?Or am I just nuts for thinking it would help?

 

[BlueAtlas]

Hi Jaydar,
Welcome to the back board. Wow, you've been through the mill! I'm glad you finally got to see that your lawyer was such a loser and have gotten a good one now. I hope it won't be too much longer until you can get the surgery you need.

Different doctors have different approaches for the same surgery. The front and back approach, called a "360", tenRAB to have a higher success rate, but of course, it's harder to recover from, since you'd be cut in the front and the back. It's largely a matter of the doctor's preference, although they may opt for the 360 if you have additional risk factors for non-fusion (such as a very long fusion, osteoporosis, etc.).

I haven't heard of taking hgh for a spinal fusion. Maybe others here have and will chime in. The BMP has a good track record for getting bone growth going. If your doctor wants to use that, absolutely go for it!

You might want to read the sticky at the top called "post surgery tips". It has lots of great suggestions that will make your recovery easier. And whatever questions you have, ask away. We'll try to help as best we can from our own experiences.

I wish you the best,
Emily

 

[ibake&pray]

I haven't heard of it either. I have the 360 surgery done with my three level fusion. It takes 6 months on the average to see a good bone fusion. So patience is the key. It does take on a new meaning to no BLT. but you get used to it rather quickly.

Emily is right about the sticky notes. They are a great souce of info. You will need alot of help in the first few weeks. Stairs are evil and driving is a no-no. Some days you even wonder why this sounded like such a great idea! But in the end it does work out for the best,

Ask away for questions, there are alot of us who have gone before you who are willing to answer your questions....