Limb Lengthening-Internal Femurs-Dr Rozbruch 2017

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Nice! Congratulations 6feet!
I would say that great part of this whole process is the decision to do it which takes months if not years of research,, scariness and  convincement of yourself and others like family and friends. That's the pre- psicologial "pain" . The process after the surgery can be dificult, but if it's planned carefully, it can be much less painful than the "pre-surgery" decision process. Congrats! I hope you stay well.

I'm anxious to learn with your diary.

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Very glad to hear the procedure went well and that you're in good spirits! Enjoy the epidural . Quick related question - were you under general anesthesia for the procedure or combination of spinal and something else?

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Quote from: jbc on March 21, 2017, 08:09:37 AMVery glad to hear the procedure went well and that you're in good spirits! Enjoy the epidural . Quick related question - were you under general anesthesia for the procedure or combination of spinal and something else?

Spinal epidural and sedation. He doesn't use general anesthesia for this procedure.

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Continuing from last night, dinner was great. More importantly, I slept pretty well. Went to sleep around midnight, they woke me up at 3am because they have to check vitals every 3 hours, but I went right back to sleep again until 6am. When I woke up they had my meds ready for me as well as supplies to brush my teeth, wash yourself off, etc. Breakfast was a ham and egg wrap with juice and fruit. They took my lunch order at the same time. Around 9am, an assistant brought in the precice device to walk me through how to use it (it’s pretty straightforward really).

Around 11am, the physio guy came in with my walker so I could start taking some steps. Went pretty smoothly because I’m still in no real pain. It was fun being able to get out of the bed and move around on my own. We did some of the stretches as well. Sitting on the edge of the bed, i can straighten my knee to the full 180 degrees (parallel to the floor), i can also bend my legs 120 the other way (90 degrees is perpendicular to the floor, so about 30 degrees more). So it's quite good.   

In the early afternoon, Dr Rozbruch stopped by to see how I was doing. He heard from the physio assistant that my range of motion (ROM) was very impressive so that was encouraging to see. He said the adjustments will begin 4 days post-op. Other than that, I’m just hanging out chatting up the nurses and eating well and trying to stretch as often as possible. Pain is 0-1 out of 10, stiffness is much less than yesterday.

Will report later.

-6FS

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Last night, they started weening me off the spinal epidural meds and switching over to oral painkillers. Woke up this morning and the pain went from barely discernible (0-1 out of 10) to mild (3 out of 10), but still pretty good overall. The catheter's out so went to the bathroom like a normal person today. Physio also cleared me for discharge because i'm able to get around quite well on my own, so i'll be leaving this afternoon. Just waiting on my wheelchair to be delivered to the room. Tonight I sleep in my own bed. That's a win.

-6FS

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6FS - I'm so impressed and pleased for you (but not surprised) at how brilliantly your journey is going even at such an early stage. To know you're in such good hands means that half of the worries which pose such problems most have due to limb lengthening are non-existant - I'm shocked at how little pain you are having, is it comparable to anything as to give a guide?

You say you're going home tonight which I assume is because you live relatively close (whereas other patients stay in guest houses etc.), your way sounds much more pleasant. Does that mean you will be lengthening with precice device yourself at home? Will you go back to HSS/Rozbruchs office for intermittent check ins and how often will you be doing this? What will your daily routine look like?

It's really great of you to share your journey with your Rozbruch experience, I've been following it closely from the journey and have been anticipating March 20th, though probably not as much as you!

Take it easy man. 682.

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Quote from: 682 on March 22, 2017, 09:20:57 PM6FS - I'm so impressed and pleased for you (but not surprised) at how brilliantly your journey is going even at such an early stage. To know you're in such good hands means that half of the worries which pose such problems most have due to limb lengthening are non-existant - I'm shocked at how little pain you are having, is it comparable to anything as to give a guide?

You say you're going home tonight which I assume is because you live relatively close (whereas other patients stay in guest houses etc.), your way sounds much more pleasant. Does that mean you will be lengthening with precice device yourself at home? Will you go back to HSS/Rozbruchs office for intermittent check ins and how often will you be doing this? What will your daily routine look like?

It's really great of you to share your journey with your Rozbruch experience, I've been following it closely from the journey and have been anticipating March 20th, though probably not as much as you!

Take it easy man. 682.

I appreciate that a lot man.

I'd compare the pain to going for a hard sprint without stretching, pulling your quad muscles pretty aggressively, and having the resulting soreness.

Yup, all lengthening is done by the patient. I check-in at his office every 2 weeks.

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It's interesting that you describe the pain as soreness, that sounds much more manageable than what I had envisaged. How is the sleep? Has the lack of pain actually surprised you? I can't imagine you'd have thought it as this pain free. I assumed their would be a marked and distressing increase of discomfort after the epidural wore off. Though I imagine with Rozbruch's expertise and proficiency is responsible for much of it, I can imagine he causes a lot less damage during the surgery than other doctors, with clean osteotomies and efficient performance, with no time wasted. The fact is, you're at a level where most patients take months to get to after surgery without having to go to those painful lows prior and there has to be a reason why.

Being able to be at home during lengthening will be much more comfortable being somewhere familiar without the complete disconnect of normal life than what most people experience which I find one of the more off putting aspects (foreign hospitals away from home, different language, external uncomfortable devices surrounded by strangers etc.), I imagine this will keep your outlook and spirits much higher and make the whole process so much easier and more enjoyable. You start lengthening tomorrow right? I've seen a video on the Precice device lengthening, it looks like a futuristic gadget and sounds like a hydraulic press right? It's truly amazing how far technology has come.

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You're right about his osteotomies. Dr Rozbruch is very good at them and this means his patients have a better recovery and less pain. It's a pity he's so expensive.

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Certainly a win!
I hope the pain keeps under control.
Someone told me that the most important in the next days is to stay ahead of the pain. Good luck and congrats again for going home.