My Scoliosis Surgery Story and Recovery Formula

Settings Personal Goals and Achievements for Spinal Fusion Recovery

People out there who are keeping tab on my progress of my scoliosis spine surgery recovery I  want to apologize cause I don't do frequent update as per your expectation.    Few months back someone wrote me an email with the opening sentence

“Hi, I don't know whether is this thread is still active.? …....” 

My reaction

If this is the first time you stumble into my blog, this is my "weird back"  before the Scoliosis spinal fusion.  My shoulder was tilted, my pelvic is uneven, my torso is shorter and shorter by years due to the curve progression.

This is my recent "selfie".  My skirt hangs well now compare to before the ops?

Settings personal goals and achievements will continue to motivate one to move on, staying alive and kicking.   I also set goals and things that I want to achieve to motivate me on my scoliosis surgery recovery.

On my admission day I forewarned my spine surgeons (my main spine doctor and the junior doctor who is helping out in the operation) that no matter what happen have to ensure that I can walk again. In a serious stern tone, I told them that is it my wish to go to Nepal. I want to witness vulture migration. As the general anesthetic is being injected to me, the very minutes before I doze off I quickly switch my mind to imagine that I am standing at the ridge top of Australian Based Camp at Thulakharka the foothill of Ananpura. Yes I will walk up to be there at 2050m above sea level!

As of now in the month of Nov 2015, I am passing the 20^th month of post ops. I am recovering on a good track. For physio I started off with brisk walking then since 4^th months post ops I progress to be a wannabee fish.

I usually swim 3 – 4 times in a week except on those days when swimming pools are close during Hari Raya or I am on a long holiday trip. Those days when I am taking leave from swimming I will do superman exercise  instead.

Since beginning of this year I started to wear back my high heels shoes to office.

My back has no complain even after I had made trips traveling on rough pothole gravel road to Orang Asli settlement to bring to them spine care awareness and scoliosis screening.

Recovering is solely the responsibilities of the patient. In order to achieve my goal, I eat rightly do all the physio as per my doctor advice to build back all the necessary muscles to hold up my new spine.

As I wait impatiently of the day my weight carry/lifting restriction to lift off, occasionally I send message to my spine doctor asking the same old question. ( Is there any kind of exercise to speed up the fusion? When the restriction is lifted? )

On the 6^th months post ops clinical appointment, I was very nervous sitting outside of his clinic waiting for my name to be called. Thoughts and doubts like this keep running through and forth in my brain, “OOOOh did I make it? Has fusion started? Does it manage to achieve to the satisfactory level?...” Goodness I am tormenting with all these unnecessary thoughts..
Such relieve and I wish that I can jump to express the joy when my spine doctor said “...ok...good...no more restriction now...”

Knowing very well that all strenuous activities need to reserve after 18^th months post ops. Yet I still have the thought of having in mind to do Nepal trip on my 8^th months post ops. I wrote an email to my surgeon informed and seeking permission with the traveling condition of porthole dirt gravel road.
Yikes his reply is “All strenuous activities are after 18^th months post ops.....”

However, little by little I did all the trip preparation for the next season. I make sure of my Passport validity, bought the air ticket , chart my mandatory leave, Applied Visa, get a better tracking shoes, bought the wind breaker, sleeping bag , thermal wears..etc..etc.

YES I will be there to witness vultures that has being rare and extinct.  I will let you all know whether do they really have bad breath cause their role is to clean and consume carcasses.

I will have a good look at this "sacred holy mountain"..

I am very excited on this trip and I can't wait to see how a millet and buckwheat plantation. I also hope that I can have a look of a legal opium farming. I want to have a glimpse of the opium plant that produce morphine. Morphine  that is what I used as the painkiller during my 1^st and 2^nd day post ops.

All three of us have these  things in common.
a) We have scoliosis. 
b) Our scoliosis curve had progress from mild till severe
c) Due to severe curve, we need spine surgery.
d)  We have undergone scoliosis spine surgery
e)  After the surgery we have titanium screws, nut, rod and crosslink to hold our new spine.
f)  We set personal goals and  achievements.
 
In today medical spine medical technology surgery are faster and safer compare to the former days. Even thought it is the fact that scoliosis surgery is very complex and has lesser life risk compare to when we are on the road. It  is still very important that you do spine surgeon selection. Yes very true that spine surgeon we also called them orthopedician. In actual fact spine surgeon are the rare bits of orthopedician that are specifically specialist on spine.

You can formulate a list of selection criteria eg

 1) how many times in a year, month, week that he/she perform somewhat of this kind of surgery?

2) What is the industry success rate ? What is his/her personal level of success? Patient recovery rate?

3) Is the hospital well equip? Does it have the full medical team in that single hospital.

4) How many operative hours would your case need? The longer operative hours the patient are expose to more risk eg deep scar infections, excessive bleeding, facial swells, longer recovery process.

5) What level of your risk?

6)  Till what level of Vertebrae that you will be fuse

My Spinal Fusion Scoliosis Recovery Formula

Notes :- I had Posterior Spinal Fusion for Scoliosis on 17/2/2014. I underwent this treatment at  UMSC (University Malaya Specialist Center).  My surgery was lead by Prof Kwan Mun Keong. University Malaya Specialist Centre  (UMSC) is the private wing of Pusat Perubatan University Malaya (PPUM).

At current I am in my 7th months post operation. I am really glad that I undergone this spinal surgery.  Besides having a number of my health problem resolve it also improve my self-confidence and self-esteem.

I hope my sharing on scoliosis and me will serve as an encouragement to those who have spinal deformities like me. There is hope/help for you in today modern medical technology.

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14th Aug 2014 is my 6th month post operation clinical appointment.  I have “butterflies in my stomach”.  What would my full spine x-ray show?  Are the titanium screws intact? What would my spine surgeon says once he look at my 6th months post operations full spine x-ray?  Would he deliver bad news and suggest that I need to undergo another surgery because the fusion does not happen as per expectation?  Would there be any possibilities during fussing of spine process my spine curve increase before it fully settle down in fully fussed up stage?  Increase due to certain sleeping posture and some minor twisting position I did during my clothes wearing?

These are my thoughts while I was driving down to UMSC for my clinical appointment at 2.30pm.  After the full spine x-ray taken I took the lift to head to the waiting area of room 12 – Prof Dr Kwan’s clinic at UMSC.  There are so many people waiting together with me. Among them I notice a foreigner elderly man in big body build but he is in so much pain.  Is he having spinal problem that lead him to have problem even with simple mobility?  From his look he might be from the Saudi Arabic country.  Those relatives who gave him a helping hand to assist him to walk into room 12 speak in foreign language.  Wooow… my spine doctor must be world famous. He has patients come all the way from the far foreign land. 

Soon my name “Wong Chor Mun” was being called.  I walk into his room greeted my surgeon.  With a worry heart I ask him are all the titanium screw and rods that hold my spine intact and not loosen. He blow up my spine x-ray image and comments “….your spine is fussing up.. very good .. you are doing very well. There is no dark ring nor hollow ring around the screws.  I expect this kind of result in 9th months post ops due to your age but your recovery progress like the teenager….You are no longer on any weight lifting restriction …however you not allowed for any competitive sports and high risk activities… continue your swimming and the superman exercise to build and strengthen your core muscles.  You are allowed to do your own exercise. You are allowed to do light running…”

Yahoo…with those statement my heart is relieve but  But … huh.. my naive and simple brain cannot apprehend what is competitive sports.  He explained to me competitive sports are eg relay races, football, basketball, cross country… Woooh…oooh Hah!! no more weight lifting restriction!… I can plan to go for holiday… 

From a 64 cobb degree I have being corrected to 25 cobb degree 

Now I have a balance shoulder (My frontal plane has being corrected). My gravity line has improve (I have a better sagittal plane. 

Hmmmm since I am not allowed for any stress activities until 18th months post ops..then a light and easy… eating… sightseeing … birding holiday with do I guess?

Yes!!! I can wear back my trekking shoes very soon...

From my own experience, spinal fusion heals as intended is not a loop sided responsibility to stop at sourcing the best spine doctor in town to get the spinal implant properly installed only.  It also required the commitment of the patients post-operative cares that leads to the successful spine fusion result.  We need to aware that during recovery stage we need to modify our movement in order to avoid no body bending, twisting and not allowed to carry/lifting things with more than 3 kg.  If the patient body mass is lower, then the weight lifting restriction is even smaller than 3 kg. 

Every movement need to be very careful during recovery period to avoid destroying the surgeon’s handiwork.  I have a good laugh when I discovered that I am not the “weirdo” who do bed turns with my eyes wide open and cautious mind in the initial recovery period.

Click on this  link to find out what need to take precaution during recovery

                          watch this you tube clips to find out what need to take precaution

                                                        http://youtu.be/wRea1GrRkxA

Even though with the list of NO and don’t, I am being prescribe to perform some exercises (physiotherapy).  This is essential to work out the muscles and to promote new muscles growth to support the new spine.  

Walks

From day 1 we are encourage to walk.  During the hospital stay in between of bed rest we are to increase the amount and length of walks each day. Once I am allowed to go outdoor that is after the bandage removal, I do brisk walking for at least 10 – 15 minutes daily.

Core muscle stretching exercises

Before discharge from the hospital, the physiotherapist thought me 2 form of exercises that I need to do 1st thing in the morning and before I retire for bed.  His advice to me “Perform this while lying on the bed for 20 times… once in the morning and before you sleep.”

1.  Bridging exercise

2. Sit up and down on a chair or wall squat.

extracted from http://www.athleticadvisor.com/injuries/head_back/back_strengthening.htm

As my recovery progress to the 4th month 

I being advice to do swimming 4 times a week.  There are times I do the night session swim also my skin got tan.

Have the routine superman/thoracic extension exercise 1st thing in the morning and before retire to bed exercise.  The superman exercise/thoracic extension exercise and swimming as the physiotherapy is indeed very helpful in gaining back my back flexibility. 

                                                    
Click on this link to find out how to strengthen your spine..

extracted from http://www.athleticadvisor.com/injuries/head_back/back_strengthening.htm

Unlike the youtube video clips, we need to perform this lying on bed.  I discovered the mattress need to be hard in order to perform this.  Due to this exercise is quite strenuous for spinal fusion after ops patient, it need to be done in great care.  Being advice by my surgeon to start with only 2 repeatedly times for the 1st week and increase progressively until 20 times over the week as per his prescription.

Is there any particular food to stimulate bone fusion?

My surgeon advice to all of his after ops patients is no “pantang” (abstain) on food.  A balance diet will do.  To play safe in order for me to avoid fusion failure and quick recovery on the incision scars, below is what I practice.

Protein that my muscles need in order to heal more quickly.

Food that are high in PROTEIN are 

http://www.healthaliciousness.com/articles/foods-highest-in-protein.php

The bones need Calcium and zinc in order to heal more quickly and fussed up properly.

Adequate calcium is the requirement for spinal fussed up properly.  Food rich with calcium are http://www.healthaliciousness.com/articles/foods-high-in-calcium.php

Personally I change my daily breakfast menu to a cup of milk, two pieces of bread & a slice of cheese.  To top up the remaining calcium I use calcium vitamin pill where I ritually pop in after lunch and dinner.

The skin required vitamin C to promote the wound to heal faster and nicely.

Vitamins C that are found in many fruits and vegetables are essential to wound healing because it helps the body to form new cells/tissue.