[Artificial Disc Replacement / Lumbar] "A Grave Error" with Prodisc Implantation in Germany

[sportsnut3007]

I too think DR B does over state his success as has been hinted from your facts and also the spine blogger jokes about in one of his writings. I do think the man is probbably the best surgeon out there as he does all kinds of spine surgeries. Thats what sucks about stupid fda and insurance companies not covering procedures. If one goes to germany and revision is needed you wil have to pay out of pocket and no one will want to touch you. Thus, those with funds are able to get the care they desire while most of us can not afford this. Maybe this is good, maybe is bad as some have more complications with newer devices. I think the newer discs have a greater chance of lasting a lifetime than others. But, then again no spine device has been shown to last life of the entire patient, so who knows. I hope they master the extreme lateral discs and find ones that have the cushioning affect (i.ed.3df discs) as I would imagine these would be easier to explant and revise to another adr or fusion. Just like the knee implants were first done in europe and then came here, so will new spine technology at a snail's pace which again is good and bad. Also, they need to get mesoblast approved asap as this will potentially revolutionize spine care, although who knows if the discs will stay hydrated long term. Although, I predict insurance companies will not cover stem cell treatments as the procedure is very easy thus increasing number of people who will want it, thus increasing insurance cost and furthering the divide of those with funds and those without. Also insurance premiums will rise which will outrage the public even though a dollar spent on healthcare is a better dollar spent than on entertainment. Of course there is risk of cancer and disease transmission with allogenic cells with that, but I think is a chance worth taking, but we will find out I presume.

[Job13]

Thank you ALL so much for your compassionate replies.
Keano16, sorry, I did get your email but got wrapped up with others and overlooked yours...

Greg, especially thanks for your prayers, we greatly appreciate it. I spent whole year in Germany after Prodisc implantation with no help, no family, no friends, in bed, in pain, alone, reading Bible and listening sermons of Robert Furrow from Calvary Chapel Tucson AZ (which perhaps saved my life). My first CD was book of Job. Robert Furrow presentation deeply moved me... Again, thank you for your prayers.

Linda, we got caught into the same "he is the best" sort of thing in 2006. No, not everyone talks highly about him (cant comment more), but yes, a few forums do promote him so it seems. One forum is adrsupport where Dr.B is on the board of advisors (or at least he was in 2007 according to the admins announcement). Sadly, when I posted my "failed ADR story" on adrsupport, soon after I was banned, my husband was banned, another very proactive person was banned (tmont), and several other members either were banned or left when they saw how we were treated. But many, didnt even know why I disappeared from the forum (I suppose it wasnt a good advertisement for someone).
Another forum was created by someone who is a very good friend of DrB (they go sky diving together etc). You figure..
If it was my L5/S1 level (unfortunately mine is L4/5), I would never put ADR there. Its the last level and we read that its hardly moving anyways, why to gamble? but its just my opinion.

sportsnut3007, personally, I call it "self perpetuating prophesy": Good/right-time-right-place adverts; A few people write here and there "he/she is the best"; few more people catch on because everyone else says so; and all the sudden it explodes into one huge "no one is better". Soon, no one knows why but because everyone around says so, it must be true!

Anyways, with my posts, I simply hope that my experience, the story and my web page will help many to make informed decisions, whatever those decisions might be. I write only about my personal story with Straubing. We state (I hope) only facts. We refer people to web pages where they can read what other doctors or media say. And in the meantime, if I have an opportunity to connect people with similar stories with each other or similar problems - I do my best.

I also hope that someone who is left in a terrible situation might stumble on my postings and perhaps would want to speak up too. Speaking up about bad experiences might help others to avoid them.
I also hope that my story might help some people to regain their mental strength (if a full physical one cannot be achieved). Many have a network of friends, family support, grown up children who might help (even if its only a moral sort of help), or perhaps people have small kids that they are responsible for, that they have to go on to upbringing them etc. Sometimes we dont realized how important those seemingly trivial things are when we have them. Our both families and friends were in different countries. Thankfully we had each other...

Long post... I would have to write more in the next post (i.e 2.5 year post revision).

[KBear]

I had been on those exact 2 forums and saw the exact same thing. It's not that I think someone can't say they love their surgeon and think their great, it's just when those who don't use that surgeon are almost persecuted. Glad you found us and shared your story, knowledge is power.

[ajj1001]

Its good to have a forum where you can talk about everything, things that have worked and things that have gone wrong. I would have gone made without being able to vent here about my ADR problems.

[Job13]

I have just learned a few weeks ago that my 2X oversized Prodisc & an additional large corpectomy at L5 made it impossible for me to have a successful fusion. I.e I am not fully fused and the process of fusion seems to be stopped in 2008. If Dr.B did not deny the problem and fixed it in the beginning, instead of leaving me for the whole year lying down with ovesized disc, I might have had a chance. Leaving the disc in for so long, stretched all my ligaments and muscles so that the L4/5 space could not be put back to normal during the revision. Plus, needed L5 corpectomy farther exacerbated the above situation.
From basic biology one knows that in order for bones to grow together, they have to be put reasonably close to each other for a chemical reaction. I had already 2X space left at L4/5 and my L5 was dug out. We didnt know about corpectomy really until one year from the revision. Xrays didnt show anything but to see my CT was rather distressful-large L5 defect.

Even though I am feeling better after the revision (even with my not completed fusion), the word "better" means different things for different people and pain tolerance is different for everyone also.
Unfortunately, I cant work, which requires sitting 10+ hours a day with an intricate chip designs and meticulous concentration staring in the computer. Not only I have a failed fusion but I have my lower right screw head sticking into my muscle, which creates a very bad referred pain to my butt, leg and hip and muscle spasm at the hardware site. Painful hardware test showed that it is a problem but I cant take it out without a solid fusion...

The most heart breaking part of it all now: I cant have (carry) a child with no fusion. Its devastating for us. I would consider a surrogacy but we spent $130K to fix Dr.B "error" and have no funds for the above. We lost everything.

All I have now is my voice, our devastating story, my husband's and mine ability to use technology, internet, resources, connections, you name it, in an attempt to give a voice to those who are hurt by doctors and left to die. It is essential, in my opinion, because more people might get hurt in a future, especially if some doctors use 90% of their patients for ADRs while only 5-7% of those 90% are indicated for it.

Thanks for reading!

[KBear]

The most heart breaking part of it all now: I cant have (carry) a child with no fusion. Its devastating for us. I would consider a surrogacy but we spent $130K to fix Dr.B "error" and have no funds for the above. We lost everything.

Don't give up, I honestly thought I would never have another because of my spine. This was the most depressing part of it all for me, as all I wanted was another one. I had all but given up and accepted it wasn't in the cards for me. Now, 4 years later, a couple of doctors who lied to me, 1 who made me worse and a couple who fought for what was best for me; I have been given permission to have a child from all of my doctors. It can happen, I have heard of way worse situations getting better, the impossible being fixed. There are some amazing stories on here of people who beat crazy odds. You have to stay positive (which I know is not easy when you feel like crap) and never quit. While it's good to share too, don't dwell on it as it will bring you down (I know from experience.... I can't count how many times I replayed my accident in my mind, which only made me more bitter). Once I accepted where I was and decided to fight for myself, I started on my road to recovery, it was a long one and I'm still on it; but I'm getting closer everyday.
Good Luck to you,
Kathy

[trkdoc714]

Job,

I hope medicine catches up with you in the near future. You've been through more than I can fathom and still kept your sanity.

You were a large part of my decision making process on the direction I took with my spine issues. The sales tactics of spine brokers and the entities that employ them are disgraceful (to be polite). I was nearly taken in as well, but had the good fortune of being advised by forum members (and now friends) in the right direction.

Your story was in stark contrast to the false Stenum stories. Yours is real and has not been embellished or exagerated as time passed. We can learn a lot from your experiences. Even if only one person is prevented from the same fate, the telling of your story has saved that one person from the agony you have endured.

My prayers will be with you.

Bob

[Justin]

Hi Job,

Thanks for sharing your surgical experience. I wish you the very best. Please tell your husband "hello" for me.

[Job13]

Hi Justin - Matt says hi to you too. He would love to get on your board for a chat but has no time right now.

Kathy: well, when you have only 30% of fusion, its least likely that you can carry a huge "load" on your back...and my time is running out anyways. But you are right, a little hope will not hurt any.

Again, thanks to everyone for prayers and kindness. I will keep "popping up" here and there.

One thing I want to comment on:

I've heard nothing but great things about Dr. B

Well, I think you maybe only hear good things for a very good reason ....

It seems, someone is very good at controlling the internet... And THIS is how we got lured into it too. Good outcomes. Great reviews. Great testimonials. Phenomenal outcomes. Nothing bad.

Except later we learned that perhaps, very bad outcomes are just being wiped out and choked...

1. I posted my story on adrsupport where my surgeon was/is on the board of advisers and not only i was banned, but my post now is evaporated, like it never existed. My outcome (or speaking about it) was not desirable, I suppose. Good luck finding any negative reports there.

2. I posted a very short, a few sentence post on youtube just a few days ago, where one of "patient's advocates" advertises the same doctor. I only said that I had a bad outcome with Dr.B ADR surgery (since only great outcomes are advertised there, to be fare, I thought one bad will not hurt). I guess it did hurt: my post was gone the same day.

It is outrages how some doctors (or their employees) control the whole internet. I made a picture of it as I suspected that it might happen (disappearance of my post). I personally dont think that "patient's advocate" is doing a good service to his "preferred doctor" because when it becomes more known that bad outcomes are being simply wiped out, no one will believe in "everyone is a success" illusion. Why I said preferred doctor? Because his web page says ""For artificial disc replacement surgery we are exclusively recommending Dr.R----- B------."

That 'patient advocate' site says they dont charge fees to their clients because "EMT is a patient advocate organization" and then in media, the article says they charge 7.5% of the procedure. So, if they do not charge patients, do they get paid then by preferred doctors? In that case, its paid advertising, and its deceptive to claim they are patient advocates.

IMHO if an organization is paid by an exclusively recommended doctor, its NO LONGER a patient advocate org, by DEFAULT.

Another "interesting" comment in the web page claims that they "make no clinical judgment about the superiority of one ADR over the other." However, they refer you to Prodisc-L ADR.

Sad that some people think that all people are fools out there.

P.S. For those who are injured on Medical Tourism, I made a post "For People Injured While on Medical Tourism in Germany" (it was redirected: sorry! I wasnt sure where to put it).

Thanks again for reading and hopefully, my posts will make a difference in someone's life...
Anastasia

[Keano16]

I sympathize with your case, because its so similar to my mother's one. Be persistent and share your story with others that are willing to listen.