Facing a 6th surgery for more failed hardware

Bless you. I had one bout of failed cervical fusion and broken screw pressing on my esophagus. Dr told me it was due to cadaver bone and said I must use my own bone so they removed it from my hip. No more hardware failure but beginning problems due to being 18 years now and wear and tear above and below

@shampoopickles Welcome to Connect. Thank you for your military service. I'm curious how you picked your name here, and it gave me a chuckle as I imagined pickle flavored shampoo.

Did your doctor have an opinion as to why your spine hardware keeps failing? Is this instrumented with rods held in by screws? If the screws are not placed at the correct angle, they can pull out. That is something I heard a surgeon say when I was watching an online video from a spine conference. Will you be staying with the same surgeon or seeing another for a different opinion?

That is a lot of surgery for someone so young. Are you an active person with sports that may be too much for a spine patient? I have had cervical spine surgery, and I won't do anything that pounds my body. I only want to do things that are easy on my body because my plan is to avoid further damage or the need further surgery. With fusions at the lumbar end of the spine, you have your body weight magnifying all your movements, so there is a lot more forces affecting the spine. I'm a bit surprised you were able to join the military after spine surgery.

I'm sorry you are going through this. That is a lot of tough surgery to go through. Are you having another surgery to fix the hardware? Do you have any answers as to why this is happening? Is there something that can be done differently next time?

Jennifer

My name is a rip off the name Gurkin Shamps which I saw elsewhere online years ago. It made me laugh and I called the guy Shampoo Pickles. Since then I've been using where I can.

As for joining the Corps, to my knowledge I was the first ever to join with this. It took 2 years and 13 trips to the medical evaluation. Once in I was able to physically outperform most of my peers and no one really knew till my scar was seen. Then the stories came out.

Obviously the Corps was a physical life but never had issues till the screw broke. Since the 2013 incident I have slowed down. Nothing too crazy at all. I go fishing in my free time. I may walk a few miles in a day but overall I am fairly subdued.

I have not been able to see my doctor yet about the hardware. Technically it may not be broken. I am confident it is due to my history, experience, and the pain pattern that follows the broken hardware. Every bit of hardware that has broken has been titanium rods/screws. The first screw that broke on deployment was a perfect storm of bod things happening. I don't count that as a hardware failure in the same way because I had blunt trauma to that direct screw. The other times the rods have broken under normal conditions. In 2022 I sat in a chair and bent over to put a shoe on when it popped. The most recent I was at work and lifted the weight of a 2 liter of Coke.

I currently have no plans for surgery but I know it will come up. I am wanting to find other options, doctors, treatments, and questions to ask. I know I will never be "normal" but Im not going to live my life in a chair.

Wow....I can understand your not wanting to have more surgeries. I am doing my best to avoid a fusion from T12 - S1 and the restrictions it will place on my life style I enjoy an active life. However, I am 66, not 32!

My surgeon Dr. John Starr in Washington DC specializes in complex spinal surgery. Sub specializations include complex deformity, revision reconstruction, spinal trauma and tumors. He is currently on the medical board for the FBI, Secret Service, and the State Department.

I am not sure where you live, but I would be happy to refer you to him, to evaluate your current situation. He is with WOSM, Washington Orthopedics and Sports Medicine.

Dr. Starr has never pushed me to have surgery and it has been close to 2 years since my 1st appt. Rather he has stated, I am a candidate for surgery and my back will not change. I know a lot of people have had success at the Mayo Clinic, but it seems to be more difficult to get in for an initial appointment.

So for now, I am revamping my life to work around the pain of standing vs revamping my life style around this lumbar fusion. However, I am questioning if this is an option for you if you have hardware failure, but I am hardly an expert. It would seem to me that you would need that resolved 1st.

If the docs recommended for another fusion, I had a gal from this site reach out to me with her success story. She started her 2nd year out post complex fusion, and is cross country skiing and hiking, biking and even golfing (adapted swing) Very encouraging. I will see if I can connect you.

Note sure if my note is helpful, but please know you are supported. Tamra