***Updated*** Ive Got an Appointment with Dr. Kozin

Forum for parents of injured who are seeking information from other parents or people living with the injury. All welcome
gawilliams
Posts: 45
Joined: Sun Oct 31, 2010 12:47 am
Injury Description, Date, extent, surgical intervention etc: Daughter born 8/16/10 has OBPI in the right arm....First surgery(nerve graft) done at 5 months(performed by Dr. Kozin).... four avulsions, one rupture (at the spine)..... As of 4/9/11 still no movement in arm, wrist or hand. As June 2013, bicep, elbow, shoulder function active, flexing with gravity, still no wrist or hand/finger function.

***Updated*** Ive Got an Appointment with Dr. Kozin

Post by gawilliams »

I cant believe it. We got an appointment with Dr. Kozin for Dec. 9th. I am so excited to get a 2nd opinion. The Orthopedic she is seeing now seems so negative. He acts as if there is no hope for her. He didnt even examine her today. He just said "well I dont see any movement " and I told him that she has been moving her shoulder, you just cant see it that well when she has her clothes on. He is so vague. Then he stabbed my heart when he said, "if the injury is in her neck, there is nothing that can be done." I asked about surgery, and he says there is no point because the results arent that good. Then he says," well they have 18 months if they need surgery." Now everywhere that I have read says if surgery is needed, it needs to be done in the first 12 months. I honestly feel he isnt working for us, because we have medicaid. I cant help that, I was laid off from my job in April (4months pregnant), I had to get it. Well, he has scheduled an EMG (nerve study) which is tomorrow and a MRI on Dec. 2nd. After that is done, Im looking for someone else locally. I hope everything goes okay. Her OT seems to be happy with her progress, just because its a slow process. Right now she just has shoulder movement and she is 3 months old. We are just praying everything will get better. Sorry, I know this was suppose to be about the appointment, but I had to vent. Thanks.

***Update***
Well, we took Lauren to see Dr. Kozin. It appears she has a Global Brachial Plexus Injury, per Dr. Kozin. We really liked him. He was upfront about her injury, though it was hard to hear even after expecting the worse. She will need surgery to see how severe her injury is and if they are able able to, will have nerve graft surgery . I will keep this updated, as well as my blog. http://lotsofloveforlauren.blogspot.com/
Last edited by gawilliams on Sun Dec 12, 2010 1:31 pm, edited 1 time in total.
User avatar
F-Litz
Posts: 970
Joined: Fri May 26, 2006 6:53 pm
Injury Description, Date, extent, surgical intervention etc: LOBPI, LTBPI at age 6.5, Sensory Issues, CP, Diaphragm Weakness, Aspberger's
Location: Ambler, PA

Re: Ive Got an Appointment with Dr. Kozin

Post by F-Litz »

if you are online tonight and see this - can you call me? (215) 643-5913 and if you don't have free long distance, email me your phone number and I can call you? francine@litzfamily.com
I'm in PA (for time zone) -- and you can call me up to 1 am.
User avatar
bfaithda
Posts: 88
Joined: Fri Jul 20, 2007 10:40 pm
Injury Description, Date, extent, surgical intervention etc: My name is Bridget, my son Brayden has a LOBPI. He was born 5-14-07 and weighted 11lbs 3ozs and was 22inches long and got stuck on my pelvis coming out. All 5 nerves were involved 2 ruptured and 3 avulsed, and also had Horner's Syndrome. He had primary surgery in St. Louis with Dr. Parks when he was 3 months old. He used synthetic materials to fuse the nerves together, because the nerves in his calves were not long enough. Brayden currently does aqua therapy, PT, OT and speech therapy. He has little movement in his arm and hand, but that does not stop him from having fun and being a normal boy!!!
Location: Owensboro, KY

Re: Ive Got an Appointment with Dr. Kozin

Post by bfaithda »

Good Luck with your appointment, and the EMG and MRI! I am glad you are getting another opinion! It sound to me that this Ortho doc has no clue when it come to BPI Injuries. I live in a small town, and I had to change Orthos when my son broke his BPI arm. Then had to explain some info about BPI's to our knew one. But he at least listened checked out my concerns. It is always good to do your own research!
katep
Posts: 1240
Joined: Mon Mar 29, 2004 3:20 pm

Re: Ive Got an Appointment with Dr. Kozin

Post by katep »

That ortho is a complete idiot. Use him for the MRI and EMG referrals, and then dump him!! But make sure you request copies of the MRI and EMG results for yourself, too. It will speed things up when you see a "real" doctor. You should be able to request the MRI on CD. You might have to pay something like $25 for it, but it is worth it... you can send it to other docs (such as Kozin) for review if you have the disk.

Kate
User avatar
marleneross
Posts: 37
Joined: Fri Mar 12, 2010 10:21 am
Injury Description, Date, extent, surgical intervention etc: Lindsey - ROBPI - 12/15/2009

Re: Ive Got an Appointment with Dr. Kozin

Post by marleneross »

I would hold of on the MRI & EMG until you see Dr. Kozin next month. Dr. Kozin from my experience does not recommend them. He says there are too painful and does not provided any information. Please e-mail me privately and we can talk if you would like....but I would wait the month for the EMG to see what he suggests.

Marlene
Mica
Posts: 350
Joined: Sat Jan 20, 2007 11:27 am

Re: Ive Got an Appointment with Dr. Kozin

Post by Mica »

I strongly second the advice to hold off on the EMG and MRI. Strongly.

We put our daughter through an EMG when she was about 3 months old, right before we took her to see Dr. Kozin for the first time. The test was extremely painful for her - and worse, not truly indicative of recovery in an infant. Dr. Kozin (and most pediatric BPI specialists) feel a clinical exam is the best indicator of recovery in an infant.

At three months, lack of movement below the shoulder does not mean she will never recover movement. That is ridiculous.

You will be in very good hands with Dr. Kozin. Also, there are many parents on this board (several who have already reached out through this thread :) ) who can help you get through this. Hang in there, don't give up, and don't listen to anyone who tells you to give up on your daughter!
gawilliams
Posts: 45
Joined: Sun Oct 31, 2010 12:47 am
Injury Description, Date, extent, surgical intervention etc: Daughter born 8/16/10 has OBPI in the right arm....First surgery(nerve graft) done at 5 months(performed by Dr. Kozin).... four avulsions, one rupture (at the spine)..... As of 4/9/11 still no movement in arm, wrist or hand. As June 2013, bicep, elbow, shoulder function active, flexing with gravity, still no wrist or hand/finger function.

Re: Ive Got an Appointment with Dr. Kozin

Post by gawilliams »

Thank you for the replies. The support everyone shows really helps me get through some days. They already did an EMG, she really had no feeling except for the back of the shoulder. Everywhere else in the arm was what I called "Sleeping" :) . The MRI is scheduled for 12/2 and she sees Dr. Kozin on 12/9. Should I email Dr. Kozin to see if I should hold off on the MRI? Thanks for all of the input. It is greatly appreciated.
Mica
Posts: 350
Joined: Sat Jan 20, 2007 11:27 am

Re: Ive Got an Appointment with Dr. Kozin

Post by Mica »

I would definitely contact him before the MRI.

Hang in there. Things really do get better. Our daughter has a bilateral injury, and at three months, could barely use her left arm and had absolutely no movement in her right arm or hand. I thought the terror of all of it would last forever - but take heart, and know it doesn't. You will all get through this together. And, this community is here for you.
Kath
Posts: 3242
Joined: Mon Nov 18, 2002 4:11 pm
Injury Description, Date, extent, surgical intervention etc: I am ROBPI, global injury, Horner's Syndrome. No surgery but PT started at 2 weeks old under the direction of New York Hospital. I wore a brace 24/7 for the first 11 months of my life. I've never let my injury be used as an excuse not to do something. I've approach all things, in life, as a challenge. I approach anything new wondering if I can do it. I tried so many things I might never have tried, if I were not obpi. Being OBPI has made me strong, creative, more determined and persistent. I believe that being obpi has given me a very strong sense of humor and compassion for others.
Location: New York

Re: Ive Got an Appointment with Dr. Kozin

Post by Kath »

I'm sorry to hear that your doctor does not think there is hope for recovery... I am robpi and had no movement at your baby's age and am typing this two handed... Each injury is different and heals differently but to offer you such an uneducated answer is irresponsible. I just turned 71 and I have had no surgery, just extensive pt both at home and via NY Hospital when I was small. I have a global injury and Horner's Syndrome, a few years ago a new pcp told me I must have had a minor injury...he had never seen a case of bpi and made a stupid guess...I changed doctors because I had already seen my MRI an emg results and met many bpi specialists and knew better.

I've had many mri's and emg's and from my point of view emg's are very painful for days after the test is completed. Maybe you should contact Dr. Kozins office and ask about going for both of these tests with someone who is not experienced with bpi injury. I was told that special position was needed for MRI and it was done a few years ago under the direction of a bpi specialist.
Good Luck with your visit with Dr.Kozin an I am so happy you found UBPN.
Kath robpi/adult

Kathleen Mallozzi
Carolyn J
Posts: 3424
Joined: Tue Apr 06, 2004 1:22 pm
Injury Description, Date, extent, surgical intervention etc: LOBPI. I am 77 yrs old and never had a name for my injuries until 2004 when I found UBPN at age 66.

My injuries are: LOBPI on upper body and Cerebrael Palsy on the lower left extremities. The only intervention I've had is a tendon transplant from my left leg to my left foot to enable flexing t age 24 in 1962. Before that, my foot would freeze without notice on the side when wearing heels AND I always did wear them at work "to fit in" I also stuttered until around age 18-19...just outgrew it...no therapy for it. Also suffered from very very low self esteem; severe Depression and Anxiety attacks started at menopause. I stuffed emotions and over-compensated in every thing I did to "fit in" and be "invisible". My injuries were Never addressed or talked about until age 66. I am a late bloomer!!!!!

I welcome any and all questions about "My Journey".
There is NO SUCH THING AS A DUMB QUESTION.
Sharing helps to Heal. HUGS do too.
Location: Tacoma WA
Contact:

Re: Ive Got an Appointment with Dr. Kozin

Post by Carolyn J »

I am happy you found UBPN too, Mom! I am 71 and have an LOBPI and recieved no interventions. Having found UBPN at age 66 and correct information about my injuries, I have attended 2 UBPN Camps,met and heard Dr Kozin and faithfully follow all Message boards including the Traumatic BPI Board where I've learned alot about pain management and doing things one-handed. It'a all good information here!! :D

Did I say I am HAPPY you found UBPN???!!! :roll:
Hugs,
"Gramma" Carolyn J
Carolyn J
Adult LOBPI
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