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Has anyone had a hypervascular tumor removed from spine (T12-L1)?
Spine Health | Last Active: Jul 20 4:01pm | Replies (8)Comment receiving replies
Has anyone had a tumor removed from their spine (T12-Ll)? I am not in pain but do have zapping once in a while. It's a good size tumor and they don't think it's cancer. I'm very active (running, biking, hiking) and very nervous to have surgery since there is a 20% chance of paralyze, incontinence, or more. Dr Bydon is my doctor at Mayo.
Replies to "Has anyone had a tumor removed from their spine (T12-Ll)? I am not in pain but..."
@cheryljar I'm glad you're here on Connect. Dr. Bydon is an excellent surgeon and he does some very important research at Mayo on spinal cord injuries. You will be in excellent hands. I came to Mayo when I had Cervical Canal Stenosis and I was getting electrical zaps because the spinal cord was getting touched. That is a symptom of spinal cord compression. Remember, a 20% chance of an adverse complication also means and 80% chance it doesn't happen, and they have to tell you that.
With your active life of exercise, that is good, but it is worth asking how that would change after a surgical procedure. It all depends on what they have to do and if they need to remove spinal support to get to the tumor, and then how they would re-create spinal support for you. My guess is that running and biking may be too much impact for shock absorbing on your post operative spine. Hiking may be the lowest impact, and that can give you something to focus on for your recovery as a goal. Hiking is my goal after a serious ankle fracture I had 4 years ago, and I am making a lot of progress now and adding more to the effort. I hope to be able to hike in the Rockies with a backpack with my easel and paints, so I can hike to a spot, set up and do a painting on location. It's part of an art competition I am in and it keeps me focused on improving. For a long time I wondered if I could regain this ability.
It's normal to be nervous , otherwise you wouldn't be human, so let that be your motivation to ask good questions. Dr. Bydon was one of my 2 picks for surgeons when I came to Mayo as a patient, and I went with the other one because his published medical literature closely aligned with symptoms I was having that at that time and that had been misunderstood by all the surgeons before I came to Mayo. Dr. Bydon's research focuses on spinal cord regeneration and you couldn't find a better expert for a spinal cord issue.
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I have a tumor in my spine T12-Ll. I am very active 72 female who runs, bikes, hike and backpacks. They found the tumor 2 years ago but I feel it is changing in size. The risks are high for surgery so I'm reaching out to see if anyone has had a tumor removed from their spine and what their outcome is.