Last Tuesday, 8/7/07 I had surgery to correct a back condition that I have had for a very long time.
About 10 years ago I was diagnosed as having Spondylolisthesis. It’s a spine condition that occurs when one vertebra slips forward on the adjacent vertebrae. It produces both a gradual deformity of the lower spine but also a narrowing of the vertebral canal. When that happens pain usually results. There are five grades, grade I is the mildest and grade V is the most severe…I was a grade IV. Basically, that means that the L5 vertebrae was slipping off of the S1 vertebrae crushing my disc and pinching the sciatic nerve root in both of my legs. My back would feel disjointed and I would ache and fatigue quickly. My spine was basically pushing against my stomach causing a “swayback” which looks very much like pregnancy. The only exception was my stomach was not “big”.
Anyway, I had a posterior lumbar fusion with instrumentation with laminecty & discetomy. I was admitted on Tuesday morning and the procedure lasted 5 1/2 hours.
Right now I have to stop…can’t sit here anymore. My meds are kicking in and I’m feeling a little sore. I just wanted to let you all know that I’m doing well.
This is what my spine looks like now:
