Michael — Duluth, GA
At the time my problem started, I was around thirty-two and what you could call a "former athlete," someone who used to race bicycles, did the occasional triathlon, running and a lot of weight lifting. I was basically working out five mornings a week. One morning, I was coming home from the gym and I was rear-ended. Being "super jock" I thought I was okay. From that day forward I had back pain, which gradually got worse and worse. I tried to work out through it doing whatever it took to keep my lifestyle the way that it was.
I went to my General Practitioner who prescribed me a basic muscle relaxer and sent me for x-rays. I tried going to a chiropractor, thinking my back was just tightening up. Of course that turned out not to be true, and I wasn't getting any better. This whole time I was trying to work out, but it got to the point where my legs were going numb. So, I went to a neurologist who prescribed a heavy-duty anti-inflammatory, which basically numbed me into oblivion. I lived on the drugs for 6 months and felt really good. I was able to work out a little bit more, not to the extent I used to, but I was able to make myself think that I felt okay and disguise the fact that I was hurt.
Then suddenly my back started hurting. I guess my body started to get used to the drugs I was taking. I was then faced with the decision of either going to a doctor or starting to take more drugs. Not wanting to live a life on pills, I decided to go to the Hughston Clinic. I had a second MRI taken, which showed a little bit more deterioration of my disc. I was put into physical therapy, which was a total waste of time and given cortisone shots, which only helped me feel better for a couple hours. I just wasn't able to do anything. When you are in a situation like mine everything from your workout life, to your sex life, to being able to sit in a chair at the office are basically taken from you. However, the thought of going through surgery and being out of work for 6 weeks was completely undesirable to me and I was going to do everything I could to avoid it.
After my third visit at the Hughston Clinic, my physician suggested I go down to Columbus and go to their specialist, Dr. Kenneth Burkus. My wife and I climbed into the car thinking that we were going for a second opinion. Dr. Burkus looked at my MRI and said, "We operate on Thursdays, when can you be here?" It was very difficult to hear, after I had been through hell trying to fix this problem, that if I would have had surgery 8 months to a year ago, I would have been way ahead of where I was.
Dr. Burkus talked to me about a program using INFUSE® Bone Graft with the LT-CAGE® Device. He described the protein that is created naturally in your body—Bone Morphogenetic Protein (BMP)—which lets your body know it needs to grow new bone in order to heal something like a broken arm. During the surgery, sponges soaked in INFUSE® Bone Graft would be placed inside an LT-CAGE® Device, and the LT-CAGE® Device implanted where bone needs to grow in order to fuse two vertebrae together. The bone would grow back if he used INFUSE® Bone Graft/LT-CAGE® Device and he did not need bone from my hip (iliac crest). I have many friends who have had the iliac crest bone taken from their hip for spinal surgery and they told me how the pain was worse in their hip than in their back or neck after surgery. Being an athlete and wanting to get back to that as soon as possible, taking bone from my hip was a big fear.
When I left I was still a little skeptical as to whether or not I really needed the surgery. So without telling anybody, I completely stopped taking my medicine. By the next night, I couldn't walk at all. I couldn't sit in a chair without severe pain. I was in such bad shape 15 to 16 hours after not taking the medication that it made me realize either I lived my life on the painkillers or I got this surgery. So, I called up and made an appointment with Dr. Burkus.
When I went in for surgery I was scared to death, I didn't know what was happening. I woke up from the surgery and I literally thought that I was paralyzed. I thought they had cut a nerve or something because I felt zero pain.
It has been 6 months since my surgery, where Dr. Burkus used INFUSE® Bone Graft/LT-CAGE® Device, and I have never felt anywhere remotely the same type of back pain that I had. People who go on the internet and read these fusion horror stories should know that I have run into at least 10 different patients on my visits to the Hughston Clinic and everyone has the same story: "The only pain that I have had since the moment of my surgery has been muscular." That's simply your muscles getting used to the new structure in your back and the fact that you have not stood up straight in years.
A month after the surgery, I put the pain pills away and I haven't even had an aspirin since, other than for a headache. I was back at the clinic for a follow-up and there was a woman there who also had the same surgery, but did not get the INFUSE® Bone Graft/LT-CAGE® Device. All she could talk about was how her hip hurt, and all I and another patient who also had INFUSE® Bone Graft/LT-CAGE® Device could talk about was how we were walking two days after our surgery.
It is important for people to know that by living your life on the pain pills you are just kidding yourself. You can either live your life on the drugs or you can get the problem fixed. It is not the horror story that people tell you it is. I am living proof of the success, six months after my surgery I can go out now and ride my bike 30 to 40 miles, pain free.
It is important that you discuss the potential risks, complications, and benefits of the INFUSE® Bone Graft/LT-CAGE® Lumbar Tapered Fusion Device with your doctor prior to receiving treatment, and that you rely on your physician's judgment. Only your doctor can determine whether you are a suitable candidate for this treatment.
After reading this please keep in mind that all treatment and outcome results are specific to the individual patient. Results may vary. Complications, such as infection, blood loss, or nerve damage are some of the potential adverse risks of spinal surgery. Please consult your physician for a complete list of indications, warnings, precautions, adverse events, clinical results, and other important medical information.
