Discovery Channel Surgery Date?

[hdcrash]

hi ellen did john have his surgery in april 2003 i had mine in janurary 2003 i avulsed c5 c6 c7 and streched t1 and c8 i had the intercostal neve graft surgery but they are waiting to see the results of that before they do the gracillus muscle transfer the recovery is so slow its hard to notice anything yet thats great sounds like hes recovering quickly they say the younger you are the better your chances of recovery good luck keep us posted

[EllenB]

Hey -

Yes, the surgery was in April '03. The Mayo doctors were able to get the intercostal nerve to an inch from the gracilus muscle, so we had hoped/expected to see some hand grip function fairly quickly. You're fortunate that your C8 & T1 were only stretched & not avulsed.

Did your doctor give you a general idea of when you might begin to see some results? Keep us posted.

Ellen

[admin]

Ellen-
I had 8 surgeries done @ Mayo in MN. Dr Wood (retired) and Dr Bishop. Dr Spinner, Dr Shin, and Dr Steinmann joined after my last surgery so I haven't had them work on me, as of yet. You mentioned your sons pain and the meds he takes for them. Does he see a Dr @ Mayo for his pain? I've been trying to find someone to help me with my pain. Dr Wood told me I would need PT for the rest of my life but I haven't gone in 6 yrs! Dr Spinners resident put me on Neurontin, and told me I needed to find a Dr in the pain clinic there or back home to monitor me but I didn't like the side effects and I was taking 4500mg a day. Plus, like Susan, I want another baby. Please help me and tell me who you talk to for the pain and if your son has PT. Your son is right, stress is when its at its peek. Its so hard to live a normal life with this pain. Good luck to him and his future. I couldn't have gone through all of my recovery without my mom, he's so lucky to have you.

[EllenB]

We have a pain doctor we're working with here in Atlanta, & see him around once a month. John doesn't tolerate the "codine" derivatives at all, so the three on my earlier email work best for him. We're trying now to slightly lower the Topomax dosage but will wait 'til the weekend to try it.

From all the other postings I read on this site, it seems the best way to manage the pain is thru distraction & staying busy. I have utmost admiration for all of you because I can see how much you suffer - seems the pain is the final insult after all the other complications from losing use of an arm. Does Dr Steinnman work with pain or is he new to the BPI group?

Take care,

Ellen

[hdcrash]

yes he said i should start to see results within 6 months to a year im past the six month mark but can hardly tell a difference yet in about 5 months he is going to determine whether or not to do the muscle transfer surgery he wants me to have some type of feeling in my hand first i have had some feeling in my thumb for awhile know but jus got a spot of feeling about the size of a dime on the under side of my wrist below my pinky the other day its amazing something so small can have that type of effect on you what type of excercise do they have him on for his fingers that is amazing he can already move them.

[admin]

Ellen~
Dr. Steinmann is across the hall from Dr. Spinner. Dr. Bishop wanted me to see him for a possible muscle transfer. Dr. Bishop wanted Dr. Steinmann to assist him in my surgery. Dr. Steinmann, to the best of my knowledge, is a shoulder specialist. I was told by Dr. Bishop that he, Dr. Spinner and Dr. Steinmann would do the surgery. Dr. Shin was not mentioned but he was there for my last appointment. My 1st visit was 16 yrs ago with a total of 32 trips but this last visit was my first one in 7 yrs(got married and had three babies) These Dr's (all but Dr Bishop) were new to me. I want to go back to see a pain specialist there. I live 50 miles North of Chicago but haven't found much luck in locating a Dr with knowledge of my injury. Good luck with John, I pray his pain will some day go away.

[EllenB]

The fingers & thumb will grasp as a unit (not individually). Since the nerves firing this muscle are intercostal, John is training the grip function by taking a sharp breath. Over time, he won't have to use breathing to make it work. At this point, the finger movement is very slight but it's a start!

That's wonderful that you are starting to get some feeling back in your hand. Keep the faith.

Take care,

Ellen

[EllenB]

Oops - placement of my reply on page 2 is confusing... message just posted is in answer to a question from Chris (hdcrash) bottom of page 1.

Ellen