Of course, every one's situation is unique, but there are similarities. I was fortunate to have a surgeon who was as thoughtful as much as he was an expert in his field. Once you decide to have surgery and you schedule the date then you go through a series a doctor visits to prepare for the ultimate day.
On one of my visits we did a push/pull x-ray test and we also did bending x-ray tests. This was to show the flexibility of the spine- where was the curvature locked and where was it compensating for the rest of the curvature. It also indicates how much correction is to be expected from surgery.
During these tests it was determined that my primary curve was limited only to my thoracic spine and that the lumbar curve was solely compensatory. This was good news because it meant that by straightening and fusing only the thoracic vertebrae, the lumbar spine would naturally correct itself without fusion. The less amount the spine has to be fused, the less restriction on movement in the future. The downside is if you don't correct and fuse far enough above and below the curve, the spine could continue to curve post surgery or not self-correct which would result in having to under go another spinal fusion shortly after.
It was decided that I would receive stainless steel rods versus titanium rods because stainless steel is more "flexible" and with me being 30 years old, flexibility was more important. Titanium steel rods are harder, less flexible. There are different size diameters and the like which I did not get all of the details on, but feel confident that my doctor chose what was best for me. I believed this because during our conversation about my surgery, he mentioned at speaking engagements he would show pictures of his renovated bathroom and how painstakingly they pick out all of the hardware, fixtures, colors. He would then liken this to choosing the best hardware options for patients. His thought was, if you're going to put so much effort into bathroom fixtures, why wouldn't you put that much more effort into a person's new spine. It was during this conversation that I found out that many doctors use the same hardware all their patients, with no other considerations than this is what they like to use.
So my spine was going to corrected and then fused from T2-L1 with stainless steel rods screwed into my vertebrae along the length of the fusion.
On one of my visits we did a push/pull x-ray test and we also did bending x-ray tests. This was to show the flexibility of the spine- where was the curvature locked and where was it compensating for the rest of the curvature. It also indicates how much correction is to be expected from surgery.
During these tests it was determined that my primary curve was limited only to my thoracic spine and that the lumbar curve was solely compensatory. This was good news because it meant that by straightening and fusing only the thoracic vertebrae, the lumbar spine would naturally correct itself without fusion. The less amount the spine has to be fused, the less restriction on movement in the future. The downside is if you don't correct and fuse far enough above and below the curve, the spine could continue to curve post surgery or not self-correct which would result in having to under go another spinal fusion shortly after.
It was decided that I would receive stainless steel rods versus titanium rods because stainless steel is more "flexible" and with me being 30 years old, flexibility was more important. Titanium steel rods are harder, less flexible. There are different size diameters and the like which I did not get all of the details on, but feel confident that my doctor chose what was best for me. I believed this because during our conversation about my surgery, he mentioned at speaking engagements he would show pictures of his renovated bathroom and how painstakingly they pick out all of the hardware, fixtures, colors. He would then liken this to choosing the best hardware options for patients. His thought was, if you're going to put so much effort into bathroom fixtures, why wouldn't you put that much more effort into a person's new spine. It was during this conversation that I found out that many doctors use the same hardware all their patients, with no other considerations than this is what they like to use.
So my spine was going to corrected and then fused from T2-L1 with stainless steel rods screwed into my vertebrae along the length of the fusion.
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