Connect
← Return to I’ve had all my hardware removed after T2-T10 fusion. Ask me anything.
Discussion
I’ve had all my hardware removed after T2-T10 fusion. Ask me anything.
Spine Health | Last Active: Aug 7 11:47pm | Replies (27)Comment receiving replies
Jennifer, the recommendation you made to the testing labratory https://www.orthopedicanalysis.com/ is excellent advice. I will be meeting with my orthorpedic surgeon next week to discuss the surgery he is recommending and I will be adding this to my list of questions. Some of the allergic reactions that patients have reported are scary. It would be nice to know in advance if I might be allergic to the material that will implanted for the fusion.
Thank you for sharing!
Replies to "Jennifer, the recommendation you made to the testing labratory https://www.orthopedicanalysis.com/ is excellent advice. I will be..."
Connect
@berniej1 Thank you. One thing to also be aware of is that it may take a period of time before a person develops an allergy. I did these blood tests from Orthopedic Analysis and they did not show allergies to any of the tested materials prior to my spine surgery. I had issues with pierced earrings years ago, and reacted to all of them and had to give them up, so this test result surprised me. The spine surgeon I was seeing at the time refused to authorize the tests, so I asked my primary care doctor, and they took the blood sample and I sent it in. Insurance did not cover any of it.
When I had spine surgery (with a different surgeon), I was able to have it without hardware with only a bone disc spacer so I had no chance of an allergy issue. That is how they used to do fusions before hardware plates were invented. I stayed in a neck brace until it fused which was 3 months. My spine surgery was 8 years ago. 4 years ago, I broke my ankle, and got titanium plates to fix the bones. It was 6 months after that, I was getting large patches of hives on my arms and legs. I had to stay on antihistamines all the time or the hives took over. I could not have the hardware removed for at least a year. I did have the hardware plates removed from my ankle, and I stopped getting hives. My surgeon didn't really connect the hives with the titanium plates, but I did.
I had also had dental work removed after my spine surgery that contained various metals and I replaced some teeth with failing root canals with ceramic dental implants. My health improved immediately, which was a significant improvement for my asthma. It was not long after becoming metal free, that the ankle fracture happened.
I also want to share a link to a practice in Texas that treats patients with immune problems from implants. Environmental Health Center Dallas https://www.ehcd.com/ There is information available on their website. If implants and hardware cannot be removed and are causing problems, there is hope in treatment.
It's great that you will be discussing this with your surgeon. Hopefully this can guide you to a good decision with your specialist.