Surprised

 My visit with my spine surgeon did not go well last Tuesday. He had 5 x-rays taken. After he had viewed them, he came into the examination room and told me my cervical spine did not look the way it should 3 months post-op. There was too much motion evident on the extension and flexion views. 

He ran into a complication during the surgery on December 22nd that he had not anticipated. When he tried to position the new titanium plate, he found the level where he planned to insert the screw was soft and mushy as he put it. This was the donor bone graft from my 2003 surgery not my body's original vertebra. He put in a longer plate so that he could insert the screw elsewhere. 

He is concerned that the lack of stability and evidence of motion on the recent x-rays means we might "lose fixation", his terminology. The motion also means there is a risk that the two fusions he did with cages and bone bits might not actually fuse. He laid out 3 options: wait, do posterior cervical fusion to place rods and screws on the back side of the spinal column, do posterior cervical fusion with a minimally invasive procedure that would not require cutting through the muscles but would put cages in the backside to eliminate motion. I was stunned. I certainly don't feel emotionally ready to face another surgery. 

I told him to schedule the minimally invasive surgery, but when the scheduling nurse (the same one I had in December) called, I told her to pick a date in June. I will wait until almost 6 months past the original surgery. I also told her I was not 100% confident I was going to have the surgery; that I was going to seek a second opinion. She encouraged me to do that so I could have peace of mind. She said I could always cancel.

Today I called about an appointment with another spine surgeon who specializes in cervical surgery including the type of minimally invasive procedure. I am waiting for a call-back for an exact time.

It is true that I am taking a risk that a screw could loosen and perforate the esophagus or the plate could slip and harm the spinal cord. I see those risks when I read stuff on the internet. But my doctor did say waiting is an option. I have to believe that if it was urgent, he would have said so. Because of the risk, I think I will probably end up doing something to reduce that risk eventually. Just what and the timing are something I will discuss with the second-opinion doctor. 

Yesterday morning my doorbell rang. A bouquet was being delivered from a local florist. My sweet husband knew I was feeling down after the doctor visit. He decided to cheer me up. The decision to delay surgery so I have a few months to enjoy life again has also helped me tremendously. I wish I could ease his concerns about me.