Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I have been away from the internet for a few weeks, and just read through the recent responses. Thanks all, for reminding me of a few things-
-a lot of us are dealing with these situations, with parents who are capable enough to make their own decisions, but not necessarily making wise decisions
-sometimes procedures work well, despite what we adult kids might anticipate.
-skepticism about scalpel-happy docs is a good thing.
-ICU psychosis, post-anesthesia disorientation, whatever they call it. Needs to be part of the decision made here.
Still no decision made, which I take to be a good thing. i.e. no surgery scheduled. Her injections worked, that is clear to us, although she would like to be walking better. (Wouldn't we all?!) None of us want to keep bringing it up, certainly. If the idea just fades into the past, that's fine with me. If the positive effect of that last injection wears off, my thought is to try again to convince them to give patches, pills, etc more time to work.
She went to PT once. twice? Quit.
The all-day every-day driver (seems to me, anyway) is my dad. 89. He went to an occupational therapist who specializes in driver assessments, and spent an afternoon being evaluated, and to our surprise, she passed him. He tests well, it seems. Well, at least there is a document at the DMV that states his adult children are concerned about his driving abilities.
Again, thanks for reminding me we're not the only ones. Might any of you be my siblings? Could happen..
We have a couple of pain management doctors in our office as well as the neurosurgeons. They do some amazing things with back pain and headache pain. Glad they tried epidurals. And yes, it does depend on the skill of the operator (doctor) with the injections. I've noticed that some doctors in our area as a whole have much better outcomes than others. If the injections are working then I would encourage the patient to keep on that path. Also, pain management specialists usually mange pain meds for the patient as well. They are able to coordinate all of the meds that the patient may be on for any reason and how they all interact. They may also ask patients to take a urine screen so they can know exactly what the patient may be taking that might be prescribed by another doctor Don't be offended, it is just a means of checks and balances...and liablility.
There are so many different back surgery procedures, and some are more difficult recoveries than others. If someone is just going in for a diskectomy (they shave a bulging disc so that it is not bulging which creates stenosis) that is a fairly easy procedure and recovery is quick. Fusions are another story. That is a major surgery and should not be taken lightly. Depending on the age when a fusion is doen it may lead to further surgery at a later date. The hardware used in a fusion is harder than bone and eventually the vertebra above and below the fusion will need to be fused as well. We see this more with patients who have initial fusions before 60 or so.
And everyone needs to remember when you consult a surgeon you are consulting someone who lives to cut. Also, if you are considering back surgery I would try to find a neurosurgeon instead of an orthopedic surgeon. They are vastly different. But any "doctor" surgeon or not, should give you all the alternatives, risks, benefits, percentage of success with a specific procedure, and how many of these procedures they do or have done. Same with the pain specialists who do the injections. Reputiations for all of these specialties get around, especially if you know a nurse or OR tech at a local hospital/surgical center. They know who gets good outcomes, who has lots of comebacks, who has patients that end up with infections (we have one surgeon in town we call the "germ"!), etc. Back surgery should not be taken lightly and I would be asking a ton of questions and taking my time, getting second opinions, before proceding.
....And everyone needs to remember when you consult a surgeon you are consulting someone who lives to cut....
A very good post, except for the above broadside.
No, a surgeon is someone whose living is cutting...there's a great difference between that and what was said above.
And, especially apropos elderly patients, no surgeon is going into a back operation where he or she feels there are high odds that a patient will go into the OR, but a corpse will come out.
Originally Posted by utsci View Post
....And everyone needs to remember when you consult a surgeon you are consulting someone who lives to cut....
What? That sounds like when Barack Obama's indictment: “...doctors would rather take out tonsils than treat a sore throat because it pays better” or “… doctors would rather cut off legs for $50,000 than take care of a diabetic before it got to this point”?
Are people just randomly showing up in surgeon's offices using the dartboard technique?
"Oh I think I'll go find some surgeons today instead of making decisions with my doctors about the best route to go with this back problem."
This reminds me of the time I had a boyfriend with a hiatal hernia show up at a surgeon's office. The guy asked "WHY are you here? Who sent you? We just don't randomly go performing procedures without at least a referral from your GI doctor."
Maybe if you don't want your hair colored you need to stay out of the colorist's chair at the hair salon. Just sayin....
The post-op/rehab after in and of itself would be difficult. Complications of of bed rest could occur such as pneumonia, blood clots going to the lungs, phlebitis, urinary infection leading to sepsis, bed sores from immobility,etc. and could create a lengthy hospitalization...or worse. I would wonder, seriously, about a surgeon who recommends such a thing. Will the quality of life be increased enough to risk all of the risks inherent in a surgery such as that? Have you tried a physiatrist? They do physical medicine.
Last edited by Nanny Goat; 11-20-2014 at 03:54 PM..
The main thing I would worry about with surgery in an 87 year old would be pneumonia that would end up resulting in her death. She would need to be up and active to prevent pneumonia and to get her strength back and the recovery would not be easy. Her recovery would also place an additional burden on your dad. Is it worth that?
My mom had some kind of lesion in her colon in her 80s. They ended up doing a hemicolectomy. The lesion turned out to be benign. But the rest of her life she had accidents because she couldn't get to the bathroom fast enough because she only had half of a bowel. She also had periods where she would have diarrhea out of control and had to be hospitalized to get it under control. In retrospect, I wish she hadn't had the surgery and I'm sure she would have said the same.
My dad had prostate cancer and elected to have a prostatectomy. That was the decision he made. But at the time he was diagnosed with prostate cancer, he said he felt fine and didn't even know he was sick. He was really never the same after the surgery. He had to wear a pad because he dribbled urine and that bothered him a lot. He still had to have the Lupron shots, which gave him hot flashes and messed with his emotions and he was really a different person. I know in retrospect he wished he had never had the surgery. He would have rather lived out whatever time he had left without surgical intervention. He lived for 13 more years before the cancer spread all over his body anyway, but I can't say that they were happy years for him.
I think you just have to weigh for yourself whether the potential benefits are worth the potential risks.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.