scoliosis harrington rod failure

[krissee35]

Hi.
Am 41 female, in good health. Had scoliosis all my life, and had harrington rods placed in 2002. My curves were 67* by 56*, approximately, with a spiral.Now that surgery has failed and we're going to have posterior laminectomy L 4-5 fusion, Oct. 8th. I have started losing bladder sensation, and have had pain ever since the surgery in 2002. I also have a complete block at the tailbone, stenosis, and ARC.
Am just wondering and hoping I am making the correct decision about this next surgery........I swore I would never have another.
Any thoughts or comments?
Thank you.

Kris

[philnoir]

Jackee, you need to pay attention to the dates here at MedHelp. This was once a thriving community, but has fallen out of popularity of late. We believe that is due to too many people using phones with tiny screens to access the internet (especially while they are driving -- good thing I don't travel with a shotgun!)

If you click Mike's name, you'll see a popup with another link to his profile, and you can see that he posted here once in 2011, probably did not get a response, and moved on.

However, your new thread saying "Where is our Help?" is the best way to get your message across and may get someone's attention.

However, do as I recommended in that thread.

While you're here, read about all the people with failed back syndrome. They're all out there somewhere (if they haven't blown their brains out by now.)

Sorry this has become such a violent post -- perhaps I've been watching too much TV of late. (I just watched Robert Mitchum blast those Chinese communists out of the sky flying an F-86 fighter in the Korean war.)

Best wishes.

[Jackee1]

I have been searching for help, and compensation myself. I can truly relate to your testimony. I have the old Harrington Rod myself, my surgery was in 1979. I have to wear Depends, I now have degenerate disk disease that has spread to my neck. I was told my spine is not stable enough to get another surgery, and if they do surgery on my neck my head will be off set to the Right. I ask who wants to walk around with their head to the right of their shoulders instead of the middle. My Pain is so bad that I am now a Pain Management patient. If anyone finds help for us please let me know. Like you said, everyone can get paid for everything else what about us. I'm disabled, and can't stand, walk, or sit for long lengths of time and that includes riding in a vehicle. When I lay down or sit down, and get up I can't straighten up and the pain is so bad I be in tears. Are there no Attorneys out there that will fight for us? Is there some way we can give our email addresses, or information to each other Incase someone finds help we can inform others.

[Luvdamommy]

I had scoliosis an S curve. Harrington Rod in 1981 at 12yrs old. Removed in 1984 because of very bad back pain and painful with movements til the ambulance had to take me to ER. I was 15. Doctors asked me can I bare with the pain or did I want the rods to be removed. I bared with it until they set a removal date. They left in the Clips where the fusion was. But around age 26 my last x-ray showed no clips and when I asked about It the dr. said don't worry about it and gave me all my film and told me there's nothing else he can do.  I was about 28 when I found out by a physician that no longer worked there remembered my case and told the rod broke. Weather or not that was the case I'm still in pain. My last MRI on my back in 2011 I was told I have metal clips floating in lower back. My spine is curving under the fusion some days I can't stand up straight, hip, leg and knee pain I can feel my hip shifting and the right leg getting more shorter than the left.. I try to stretch and exercise only to not be able to get out of bed the next morning. And no pain meds helps after a while and I refuse to be an addict or addicted to false relief because after 3 straight days of taking meds around the clock and no relief is false. And yes I agree there should be a lawsuit with the faulty Harrington Rod and its Hardware.

[sdc110461]

Did you succeed in finding help from a lawyer? I am very interested, I too have had many problems with the harrington rod being the cause. I will offer my help if you are still trying. Please email me at ***@****. Thanks.

[lighthousegirl]

I also had the Harrington rod and fusions done for scoliosis in the early 1970's.   I know at the time this was the best treatment for severe scoliosis, but it's sad to know so many of us suffer now. I know now they use the titanium rod that allows for the natural lordosis of the spine. I hope future generations don't have the same complications we have had. What angers me is we had no idea that we would have problems from this years, decades later. It certainly is not something you knew you needed to plan your life around. Being told you could live a normal life, unaware of what the complications were for the future.

[JenniferP777]

I've been searching the web, looking for information regarding Harrington rod removal, and I stumbled upon this site. It's pretty interesting to find so many who share a common thread for chronic pain except that it also breaks my heart. I had two Harrington rods installed in 1987, and I felt fortunate that I had minimal setbacks until 2001, when my left leg and foot went numb. In 2010, I fell down the stairs due to loss of coordination from muscle atrophy, and I was casted for a sprain and charcot arthropathy in my foot. I've had complications with two different AFO's (orthotics braces) because of the neuropathy blocking any pain sensations from blistering caused by the brace. All too often, I'm in urgent care with ulcers and deep infections. In 2013, I had a sudden onset of radiating pain down my leg that  grows in strength and then diminishes every 30 to 60 seconds. I still have this pain over a year later, but thank God, it's not as severe as it was. I take Gabapentin and way too much Advil for the leg pain and increasing back and hip pain. I'm frustrated by the (seemingly) apathetic response I've had from most of the specialists I've seen. It seems like dead end after dead end as the direction I get steered is typically pain management. As I'm really not looking for reasons to have surgery, I really didn't jump headlong for the idea of having a spinal neurotransmitter installed in my abdomen for the pain. I really believe that we (Harrington rod recipients) belong to a class of patients over which an overwhelming majority of doctors have nothing to offer but a big question mark.