hiiiiiii <3 i saw you dont mind talking about your past spinal fusion surgery and i LICHERALLY dont know anyone else to ask about it lol i guess my question is like. do you i guess RECOMMEND it? its something im considering cos im like almost in too much pain to function but im scared of being MORE fucked up afterwards :( any insight would be immensely appreciated tysm <3
it’s been about 10 years since my fusion with Harrington rods, I had mine done at 10 levels (from T2-T12 I think) when I was 14 at the University of New Mexico children’s hospital (I’m fine sharing this because I live across the country now)
the first image was my deformity about a year before the fusion, it was pretty significant as you can tell. the fusion itself was honestly one of the most invasive/rough surgeries I’ve had. It was 10 years ago so my memory is a bit blurry but it took around a full year to get back to a semblance of normalcy again
think: relearning to walk, clothe myself, put shoes & socks on, how to bathe, even now to wash my hands in the sink without bonking my head on the mirror in front of me :’) I’ve kneed myself in the chin before too lmao
reflecting on it, the surgery itself was pretty hard on my body and I needed blood transfusions and had to stay hospitalized for about a week afterwards. If you’re properly medicated you won’t remember half of it, but its not the easiest psychologically either. It’s a “routine” surgery as in it’s done often and rarely has complication, but it’s still an invasive surgery and you won’t be doing jumping jacks or sneezing too hard for a year.
it’s true that many people do regret getting fusions because of just how extensive and permanent this type of hardware is. it is also true that lots of people still suffer chronic back pain & back problems afterwards. I have flatback syndrome which contributed to my cervical spine and lumbar spine herniating all over:
In that first image, you can see there’s a vertebrae right in the middle of the fusion that’s not fully incorporated, only half-fused. The surgeon said he left it because it was not deformed enough like the other vertebrae. Some time last year (around the same time I herniated my c-spine) I threw this ONE specific disc out. My chest for months constantly felt like it was being sandblasted or burning or numb. It hurt like hell. I would have to lay on the ground for hours immobilized by the pain and sometimes could hardly breathe
Luckily unlike my cspine, this disc damage healed over a few months and didn’t require another invasive surgery. It was problematic for my surgeons to treat and diagnose though, because you cannot image the spine in an MRI with that big metal artifact that ends up in the picture.
I don’t regret my fusion, I definitely did the right thing at the time when I got it. Recovery was difficult the first few years but now, I barely ever consciously think of my implants. The fact they are so permanent and can never be removed without replacement sometimes feels scary and daunting, but, the alternative is being a vegetable so I’m ok with them for now :)
