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Is this broken hardware?
I’m in worse pain ever! (fusion from L-1 to above shoulders.) just pulling a left shoe off, I heard a loud pop somewhere near left hip and flaming searing pain since. One step or try to pivot it even makes me scream out in pain.
Saw Dr. about neck pain from previous CT of neck. I told him this trumped neck! But he hadn’t ordered a CT of this yet.
I’ll go to ER today. Pain is that bad. Can this be a broken screw?
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@cbeasley Have you contacted the surgeon who did your thoracic fusion? You are correct that pedicle screws can pull out and surgeons talk about that at conferences about correct screw placement to avoid the problem. Imaging is the only way to know for sure. You may be referred to a spine surgeon if the emergency department finds an issue. I think the choice of the surgeon that you trust is important if more surgery is needed. It might be worth looking into who you want to consult so you can advocate for yourself and be prepared with the information.
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1 ReactionI just saw the Ortho surgeon that did huge back surgery on June 1st. My CT disc I bought “was” for neck pain, & original purpose for visit.
He sent in a young foreign Dr. to see me first…poor English, nothing against him, I just didn’t he got gist of what I said.
Then Dr. came in. Showed how bad neck vertebrae are above neck fusion someone else did neck. But not bad enough for surgery.
I said lower back pain trumped neck pain today….my lower back pointing toward pelvis was killing me. He said if worse, we’ll CT it. But not done yet even after calling back today, no call back.
I’m 68 & I’m NOT wanting surgery, but I know when something isn’t right. Q
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1 ReactionA simple x-ray should show if something is off with the hardware.
If not hardware, it’s either another slipped disc or impinged nerve because of my stenosis.