8 replies to this topic

[RaginTurtleHead]

I posted a topic a few days ago about me suddenly experiencing an abnormally large amount of pain. I saw a new Neurosurgeon and it looks like there is a good possibility my hardware is slipping or coming loose which means it all comes out and I am getting all new hardware. He also mentioned that what my original surgeon used was COMPLETELY wrong for my injury and situation and that he even "missed a screw" meaning it did not go in straight or where it should be. I hunch or lean forward and he said that it is because i have straight rods in my back not contoured ones. I took about 30 xrays last night to get a better view of the problem and find out in a week if I will need surgery. Best part is he said it might be to difficult and dangerous to do this all from the back so I will most likely also have the surgery done from the front. And I will have the hardware extended two vertebrae higher so I will go from 4 fused to 6. Good times.

Anybody else ever have all there hardware removed and replaced? Im not sure what to expect with all this. I am surprisingly not very nervous cause its comforting to know that it is going to be fixed and done right...

[Stand]

I am sorry to hear about your misfortune. Hopefully the doctors will get it right this time. I have no experience in this so I can't answer any of your questions, I just wanted to say good luck!

[qbounce]

How about a second opinion . . . are you going to trust another doctor just because he says its so???

If I were going in for major reconstructive surgery on my parts, this time with a new scar from the front, I would make damn sure that it was completely necessary before hand by getting a second opinion through another doctor.

[edlee]

I agree with Q,,, this is a SERIOUS bunch of cutting. A second or even third opinion would be,,, no, SHOULD be gotten. If the first doctor was such a screwup,, who says this one is any better? All your records,, including the new xrays, belong to you. Ask for copies,, then take them to who ever you choose to get more information. Any good doctor would expect no less.

Don't let the pain push you into doing something without complete research.
ed

[E-DOG]

Hey Moe! Hey Larry!
How do ya do neurosurgery?
Nyuk nyuk!

Yup, get another opinion. And see if you can sue the holy crap outa the first guy.

[RaginTurtleHead]

I will see about a second opinion. Unfortunately Neurosurgens are hard to come by in my area, especially ones that accept my insurance. I will have to drive pretty far to see another one. What this new guy is describing and telling me makes a lot of sense. I am definitely not going back to my original surgeon and I dont think it is/was bad enough for me to make a legal issue out of it especially since I was a trauma patient....they do a lot of things different when you are a trauma patient.

And....should I inform my new Dr that I will be seeking a second opinion or should I just do it?

[Carolie]

I would also advise a second opinion.

I have had hardware replaced. I went from being fused at C5-7 to being fused from C3-7. I did not have the same neurosurgeon who did the first operation do the second and third surgeries. You might contact some of your local neurologists and find out if they were to have this kind of surgery, who would they use.

My three operations were from the front. The first one was on the right side and the other two were on the left side. The second neursurgeon reused the first incision site so I didn't have to have a third scar.

Hope this helps.

Like Nike says, Just Do It. You are under no obligation to the first doctor.

Carolyn

Edited by Carolie, 12 August 2010 - 02:29 AM.

[qbounce]

RaginTurtleHead, on 12 August 2010 - 02:25 AM, said:

I will see about a second opinion. Unfortunately Neurosurgens are hard to come by in my area, especially ones that accept my insurance. I will have to drive pretty far to see another one. What this new guy is describing and telling me makes a lot of sense. I am definitely not going back to my original surgeon and I dont think it is/was bad enough for me to make a legal issue out of it especially since I was a trauma patient....they do a lot of things different when you are a trauma patient.

And....should I inform my new Dr that I will be seeking a second opinion or should I just do it?

It's your body and your life. I can only give you a little advice from my experience, because I saw a handful of Neurosurgeons before one said for certain what my problem is. I've gone so far as to switch insurance companies to find other doctors within a different network to hopefully help me. You would be amazed at the various things that some doctors came up with.

A second opinion costs around $300-500 for an out of pocket consultation. In my opinion that's nothing compared to a little piece of mind knowing that the pain you're experiencing will be managed properly. You don't need to tell the new doc what your doing, but you can try to get your primary doc to request a referral for a second opinion through your insurance.

I realize you're in a lot of pain, but as Ed mentioned earlier, you shouldn't let the pain force you into jumping to quickly into the first Neurosurgery because it sounds reasonable. What if if the other guys explanation is just as reasonable and not as invasive?

[RaginTurtleHead]

Very true. Switching insurance companies is not an options as it is through my employer. But after I get a definitive course of action from my surgeon I will see my primary Dr to seek a second opinion. I know of only one other surgeon in my area but Iwould have to pay out of pocket to see him.