Devastated & Scared in Maryland ~ long

anyone know revisionist in washington, dc area?
could situation be considered malpractice?
any feedback/experiences would be much appreciated & helpful w/ decision to do surgery & what kind. thanks for listening.

low back pain since 3/01. disco gram + 7/05. 1st surgery 08/05, TLIF @ L4~L5. (i'm morbidly obese). no screws/rods, just clamp (Spire plate) placed @ L4~L5 spinal processes. since waking from surgery, left lower leg, ankle & foot numb. recovery going fair, 'til 3 mo out, sitting on bed & reached for paper. had different feeling at surgery site along with severe pain radiating down left leg & foot. x-ray showed cage migrated into the space where nerve root is. neuro said need to go in, replace w/ larger cage & would place screws w/ rod .

2nd surgery 11/05. couldn't get cage out, just tapped back in place. left leg & foot still numb afterwards. 2-3 wks post-op had same severe pain in left leg & getting worse. can�t tolerate sitting now. can�t tolerate walking/standing > 10 min. i'm in bed (hospital-type) for 23h a day. on left side, flat w/ heating pad or ice, most comfortable. still doing 10-20 min walk outside to prevent atrophy. using cane & in severe pain. on fentanyl patch, 75 mcg, dilaudid 8mg every 4-6h. wk ago stopped neurontin 600mg 3x/day & skelaxin 800mg 3x/day because they were not helping. still have break thru pain w/ all meds.

6 wks out from #2 surgery, x-ray shows cage is out again, in same place as pre-op #2 surgery. neuro (not spine specialist) said, 1)could leave as is, 2)take cage out or 3)try putting in larger cage, but may come out again. being more educated now, i wanted another opinion/s. husband asked for myelogram and EMG. neuro's assessment of results: cage is not pressing on nerve, pain is chronic from before 1st surgery (never had this type of pain before 1st surgery, had severe low back w/ occasional pain in legs, only) and he could not do anything to help.

last wed, saw spine specialist @ UMD. his interpretation: myelogram & EMG show pain is not chronic & shows cage is impinging on nerve. also L4 screw not placed correctly & probably impinging on nerve too. said this is a very serious problem, suggests taking all hardware out, but is very difficult to remove a cage once in, especially posterior. then would do 3 level fusion, L3-S1 w/ rods & pedicle screws @ L3, L5, S1 (L4 too damaged to use) on left, on right side, screws would be placed each level. would use bone from hip to fuse. if can't get the cage out will have to go in anterior also, to attempt removing it.

best he could give me: a small chance pain better, good chance won't change pain or could make worse, "because the damage has probably already been done." or cause further damage to get cage out. though, w/o hardware, may be helped w/ electrical? implant.

i�m feeling so very scared of having a 3rd surgery. like, something going terribly wrong. feeling very anxious about 10 yr old going to school tomorrow after homeschooled for his entire life. crying since appt @ UMD. thanks for sharing your stories. they give me hope.

i heard there are spine specialists that are experts in revision, whether fusion or ADR. i�m researching now. have appt @ UVA, 3/3/06. thanks, again.

[Juli]

Hello Nancy,

I am very sorry to hear about your ordeal. I had ADR/Fusion back in September. I did not get any warm fuzzies from any surgeons in the DC area so I went to NYC and had mine done by Dr. Bitan. There are a few other well known, highly regarded doctors in the Northeast. I can think of Dr. Yue in Connecticut and Dr. Balderston in PA that I have heard really good things about.

I do know a couple of people have mentioned Dr. Towson who is in MD but I would want one of the well known big hitters in your situation. I do not know how experienced Dr. Towson is. You might also try Dr. Yue who is in Connecticut or Dr. Balderston in PA.

You might also want to contact Mark at the Global Patient Network. He is a well regarded referral service and is very experienced with helping people negotiate through the different options and getting you in contact with a doc before having to make an appointment. Although he charges, I found it well worth it. He was able to have both Dr. Bitan and Dr. Zeegars review my records and call me to discuss my case and confirm I was a good candidate before I made the trip to see them.

Good luck and keep us posted!

thanks juli.

hope your recovery is going well. seeing that you have been thru it i don't feel as scared. lots of others have been thru so much and are seeing success. it gives me hope.

[JoJo]

Nancy-How awful for you. I am sitting yere with tears in my eyes, just thinking of the pain you are in.
Juli has given you such wonderful advice, I have nothing to add but a sympathetic ear. It seems to me that there must be something someone can do to help you. Although I have never had contact with Mark myself, I know that he has helped many people here, and knows many of the doctors.
Please don't give up!

[sfmcfar]

Hi,

It's Dr. Paul McAfee IN Towson, MD. He did my L5-S1 in November and I couldn't be happier. He also literally wrote the book on ADR revision surgeries and is one of the top ADR docs in the country.

[Dale S]

Hi Nancy,

I'm so sorry for your pain and suffering. It's terrible to go through all you have and still find no relief. Back pain and possible sources of relief have ruled all of our lives but whether you're in a malpractice situation or not is something you'd need to discuss with another doctor or lawyer.

I agree with Juli that on-line consultations are very valuable and if nothing else, reinforce your current doctors opinions.

Whatever choices you make, I hope you find the one that 'cures' your pain. I wish you luck and good fortune.

Dale

ive heard alot of good things about Dr. Paul McAfee
in md
chuck

Nancy..I would also reccomend Dr. Paul McAfee. He works out of St. Josephs. VERY skilled

[Harrison]

Here's some contact info for the doctor:

http://www.spine-health.com/doctor/PaulMcAfee/

I AM SORRY FOR THE PAIN I KNOW THE FELING 2 FAILED BACK SURGERIES AND I AM ONLY 32, IN NEED OF A FUSION BUT I HAVN'T DECIDED YET, I KNOW WHAT YOU ARE GOING THROUGH AND THE PAIN CAUSES DEPRESSSION AND OTHER EFFECTS,I AM LIVING THAT NOW, I WAS TOLD I COULD NOT PURSUE A MALPRACTICE SUIT BECAUSE OF TIME LIMITS, I DONT KNOW HOW IT IS IN YOUR STATE BUT HERE IT IS DIFFICULT. HANG IN THER AND I WILL BE PRAYING FIR YOU
T YOUNG