09/02/06 - a changing picture

Well, what do you know? I guess there's only so much you can tell from X-rays and scans - there's nothing like hands-on examination...

Having spoken to the consultant this morning, we discover that far from the original plan to fuse T3-L5, the team decided that her thoracic curve is only a compensatory curve rather than a fixed curve, and have only fused T10-L5. So they managed to do that all from the anterior incision - no posterior access necessary.

For those less "expert" readers who are merely following this blog for news updates, that means they think the upper curve will correct itself over time, as it is not a real defect, merely the spine's own attempts to compensate for the lower curve.

The plan is to leave it at that, pending a check-up in 6 weeks, when they can assess whether it is straightening out on its own, or whether there will be a need for a further op. Fingers crossed! After going through this once, she won't want to do it again in a couple of months! But if they're right, then recovery should be quicker and easier than we feared.

BTW, she's back on the ward already - scarcely 18 hours post-op. That's a lot sooner than either of us expected. OK, she's still got wires and tubes everywhere, but it's a good sign that she's considered stable and doing well.

That's probably most of the exciting stuff over until she gets back home ("touch wood"). Any further updates between now and then may be a bit shorter.

"Hubby".