4 weeks post op - Spinal Cord Disorders Message Board

Ramsfan · 01-19-2004, 06:55 PM

I just had my 4 week post op appointment with my NS. He was pleased with progress but still wants me to wear Aspen collar for another 4 weeks. (darn!!) Since I am fused from C3 through C7 he said there is no flexibilty in my neck which puts all of the stress on my newest fusions when I move my neck. He wants to make sure the fusions are fully set before discarding the Aspen. He said I can remove it while sitting in recliner to watch tv and sleep in soft collar. When he showed me the xrays of my neck you could see the plate and the screws through the bone. Kind of freaky. At least sleeping in the soft collar will be much more comfortable than the Aspen.

DonnaKay · 01-20-2004, 02:02 PM

Congratulations!

I wrote yesterday that I now respect my collar because of how well I am doing. I hated it while it was on, but now that it's behind me I can now say I'm glad I wore it. You will get there in about 4 weeks! You had a lot of fusions! How many plates do you have, or is it one really long one? I saw my plate and what surprised me was that two of the screws were screwed into my prior fusion. I was so proud that that was even an option! How screwy am I? lol What I thought was cool was only being able to see 2 screws because the other 2 screws were directly behind the 2 visible ones. I thought that was pretty decent carpentry! I loved looking at my x-rays!

Take care!
Donna

Ramsfan · 01-20-2004, 07:12 PM

Donna,

This was the 1st plate I had put in. It is a double and covers 3 vertibrae. I also thought it was neat that you could only see 2 of the screws because of perfect alignment. It's scary to think that a doctor has to have such steady hands to drill holes and put screws in your bone so close to the spinal cord. I guess it's like anyone else who has a job that does the same thing over and over, you can practically do it with your eyes closed. I asked about the chance of the screws backing out and he told me that the plate had little sliding covers that slide over the screws to prevent that. Even though it is uncomfortible I also respect the collar.

Take care,
Frank