This is the first blog entry where I explain to family and friends what is wrong with my spine and why I'm getting surgery.
The Surgery
I am having the bottom of my spinal cord detethered by having my filum terminale cut. This filum is a thin cord at the bottom end of our spinal cords which does not contain any nerve, but anchors the spinal cord to your "tailbone", the sacrum.
The surgery is minimal as far as neurosurgery goes. I will have an L4 laminotomy (removal of part of the bone at the back of a lower vertebra). Some muscles and stuff will be moved aside, and then the dura (the sack that holds your spinal cord and fluid) will be opened. The neurosurgeon will find the filum amongst a bunch of nerve roots, and then cut it. I will be closed up, and the procedure will be done in an hour or so.
The neurosurgeon doing the procedure is very good at doing it in a very small space. The risks are low, but are primarly due to the fact that the dura is opened, exposing cerebral spinal fluid (CSF), and exposing nerve roots. The most common complication is a post-op CSF leak, which I hope we will avoid.
Read Part Two: History of my Struggles
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1 comment:
Hey there, enjoying reading your blog. I just came home from having the SFT at TCI. Had to write when you wrote that the surgery should be done in an hour or so. I've been told that the surgery usually last 2.5 hours to 3hours. In my case, it took 7.5 hours due to a large amount of paper thin tissue that was part of the tethering.
I had a rough time in the hospital but really am glad that I had this surgery. I already feel great relief from many symptoms, and many are above the waist.
I will be going back for the fusion and then a halo for 3 months. You can read my blog at www.jeffersonfracture.blogspot.com.
I wish you well for your surgical plans and will look forward to reading how you do. Dr. M told me during ICT that my brainstem is elongated and that is proof of my TC, and also that I have "a chiari" of 5.7 mm, but I do not have chari (ACM) , my assumption is b/c I do not have a small posterior fossa. It is hoped that the release of the filum will allow the brainstem and tonsils to march back upwards where they belong!
I know you can make it through this, write with any questions if you like.
take care!
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