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1558509 tn?1294774276

Titanium rods

I had surgery just over a yr. ago.  After an near fatal car accident I had to have a fusion from T-3 thru T-9.  I also have 2 titanium rods and some plates and screws.  After a yr. I am in horrible pain and I believe it is all the stuff in me that is causing the pain.  It is not a good quality of life being on pain medication and as time passes, a little over a yr. since the surgery, I feel this is as good as it get's.  Has ANYBODY had rod's removed, and if so, were you happy you did it?  Surgery is not something I look forward to.  I need lot's and lot's of opinion's people.  Praying for an answer to my question.  And, may peace be with you!
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1558509 tn?1294774276
I was pretty vague in my question, did not go into enough detail.  I too, wore a torso brace for 9 months total.  My neuro-surgeon wanted to wait six months after my accident to see if the brace would push t-5 and t-7 back away from my spine.  Unfortunately t-7 got worse, a wedge shape peice of bone was buldging further into my spinal canal and if that were to happen I would be paralized.  I saw my surgeon a couple of weeks ago, he believes because I have lost so much weight that the pain I have is from the rods.  We discussed removing all the hardware, stating they have served their purpose but now they are just there.  The rods are so close to the skin you can see and feel them.  I can feel it all the way from my shoulder blades to my waist.  I was ejected from the truck as it flipped 4 times.  I fractured all of my vertebra from c-spine to the sacrum.  Fx all my ribs front and back, brain bleed, and on and on.  My ribs on the right healed but are displaced and I am very limited on the right side, I can feel the rod pushing those ribs on the right.  Frankly, I do not feel very human, very mechanical, very painful, I describe it like something is fileting me from the inside out!  But I still would like to think I am NOT as good as it gets though!!!  Thus I am having trouble making up my mind what I should do!!  Overwhelmed in Michigan!!  Thank you sooooooooo much for responding to me!!!!!
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Avatar universal
I do know you should not be in significant pain this far out from the injury and surgery. You must go back to a neurosurgeon or an orthopedic surgeon, they will order a scan, so they can see what might be causing your continuing pain.  Could be any number of things, maybe some nerves are being compressed somehow or the hardware hasn't held up or your muscles are badly wrenched, and the doc can decide what approach to take with this.  They might not have to remove the rods... they may have to stay to permanently stabilize your back.  Some people do have problems with back surgery, so it's not uncommon to have someone check it and see what must be wrong.  I was also in a car wreck, compression fractures of three vertebrae in my thoracic spine like you, altho I did not have surgery, rather I spent two months in the hospital flat on my back in bed until the fractures healed and bones fused (the disks vaporized on impact), and I wore a metal and leather buckle back brace for six months after.  I quit pain medicines just three months after hospital... altho I still to this day get really uncomfortable in my back from time to time.  But my length of time to get off drugs compared to yours is how come I know you shouldn't have any constant pain now under normal circumstances, so you've got to be seen by a specialist.  You are NOT as good as you can get, in my experience.
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