Anyway, the doctor took a look at him and immediately ordered an X-ray done. Then came the bad news: one of the screws inserted into his spine at L4 and L5 had shifted, so now the plate was bent and the top right screw misaligned! So the tip of he screw was now poking into his nerve and causing great pain! This meant another operation to correct it!!!!!
Before this, the doctor had already reassured Hubby countless times that his bone had fused and everything was secure and he could return to his normal activities, even going to the gym and playing golf. So that is exactly what he did, he went back to playing golf and practicing his swing for hours at the driving range. Now the doctor changed his tune and said that the bone graft must not have fused properly and thus the joint shifted, causing the screw to become misaligned!!!
I think the problem was, most of his patients are elderly people who are less active. So in his experience, when he recommended that his patients return to normal activity, there was never a problem, as they did not swing the golf club for hours a day! I think the twisting motion puts the most strain on our spines.
Whatever the case, this guy is the best in Sarawak, so second op it was then!
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| This was taken (after the first op) on 24/4/13 - around 5 months post-op |
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| This was taken around 9 months later, before CNY on 29/1/14. Notice how the top right screw has shifted to point upwards. |
So on the 5th day of Chinese New Year Hubby went in for his second spine operation. All the kids were carted to Sis No.2's house, except for Solomon who went to Kung Kung Titus' house to stay with cousins Benedict and Dominic.
This operation was not as major as the first one. For the first one, there were two incisions on his back, for this one, there was only one incision, following the previous one on the right. The procedure also did not delve as deep in as compared to the last one. The screw was not replaced, it was just removed, then placed back in again at a different spot. The doctor also added more bone grafts. The bone grafts are small pieces of bone placed between the joints to make them grow and fuse the joint into one whole piece. This time to be extra sure, he used Hubby's own bone, harvested from his pelvis, instead of artificial bone which was used the first time around. Using our own bone gives a better chance of fusing. This procedure using pedicle screws to secure a spinal joint and putting bone grafts to fuse it into one is called TLIF: Transforaminal Lumbar Interbody Fusion.
Fortunately, Hubby recovered much faster from this operation. Immediately after the first operation, he was in so much pain, it took him half an hour just to get off the bed to go to the toilet! This time round he managed to walk pretty fast and did not need a walking frame at all. The doctor also prescribed a lumbar support, which is like a corset, except it has metal plates to make it sturdier. Hubby says this helps a lot as it limits his movement and prevents painful positions. The doctor should have asked him to use it the first time around.
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| The lumbar support helps a lot. |
Anyways, Hubby was house bound for only 3 days, before he escaped on the 4th day!! Well, recovery is slow, but much faster if compared to the first procedure. Let's pray that there are no more operations in the horizon! Hopefully by the end of the year, his back will be as good as new! Hubby is giving up golf for good and both him and the doctor are now more conservative! No more gung ho nonsense...
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| The latest x-ray taken after second op - 5/2/14. See how the screws are nice and parallel. Let's hope they stay that way! |
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