Physio left me alone in traction and I passed out!!

[ray198196]

A few months ago I woke up with a severe stiffness in my neck. It did not go away and on the 10th day I decided to see a Physiotherapist. He said that I may have a problem with my disc and decided to put me into traction. However after 2 or 3 minutes into traction I started to feel nauseous and light headed. I called out for the physio to let him know but no one came.  I called out several times and even shouted but still no one came. I then passed out and woke up with the physio standing in front of me calling my name. I was in a cold sweat, very weak and had to be helped to an adjacent bed where I lay for 30 minutes until I felt a little better. I was then sent to my GP who advised an MRI scan. It turned out I had quite a large herniated disc in the c5/c6 region which is very unusuall for a 27 year old. I went for a consultation with a neurosurgeon who said that the most likely reason I passed out was because of the disc interaction with my spine. I am now told I need to get c5/c6 fused as my neck is unstable and am at risk of damage to my spinal cord.  My question is, should I take a case against the physiotherapist for leaving me in the traction unattended? What should I do? Thanks in advance. Ray

[kittyluv1]

Based on your continuing symptoms and the status of your spine, you might be risking additional problems if you do not elect surgery at this time.
I had cervical fusion C4-C7 done almost four months ago and my neurosurgeon was very clear in advising surgery in order to prevent spinal cord damage and neurological changes that could result in permanent damage.
The medical doctors here in the USA would probably confirm the treatment plan offered by your neurosurgeon.  I'm not too sure how you would be able to have your MRI films reviewed by anyone in the states as they would likely request a medical exam to correlate the findings to your physical symptoms.
I hope your limited insurance plan will allow you to obtain surgery.
If you have any specific questions regarding cervical fusion, I would be happy to assist you.  Let me know ----

[ray198196]

Hey kittyluv1, I was hoping that I might be able to get an ADR but I am told that I cannot as the ruptured disc has migrated up behind the vertebrae and so they would have to remove too much of the bone in order to extract the ruptured material.
The therapist was acting on his own without any treatment plan recommendation from a doctor as I went to the physiotherapist before seeing anyone else. He performed some test on the degree of movement I had in my neck then decided that I had some problem with a disc so put me into traction.
Is there anywhere else that I could possibly send my scans to for opinions on my condition? I have heard of the cleavland clinic but not sure how it works with these guys. I'm from Ireland and have a limited health insurance plan.
Thanks again

[kittyluv1]

This is a difficult situation --
How did the therapist decide to use traction?  Was he following any specific doctor's orders?  It is not usual to obtain treatment from a registered therapy program without medical doctors providing a treatment plan.
Even though you had a bad reaction to the traction, it is doubtful that it caused any further damage to the C5-C6 herniation found on your MRI.  The herniation is large enough to have the neurosurgeon say fusion surgery is needed.  The disc was causing nerve compression and resulted in a short episode of unconsciousness.
It might be beneficial to ask the neurosurgeon if you are a candidate for artificial disc replacement rather than fusion.  If your problems are localized to the one level, ADR might be better to maintain function and mobility as opposed to the fusion.
Keep us posted ---