[Artificial Disc Replacement / Lumbar] M6-L on L4/L5 with Mr. Boeree, UK.

[mike86]

Preparations and Arrival

Read this thread in regards to my phone consultation and other things pertaining to my decision.

My blog: My Herniated and Degenerative Disc Healing Attempts

Paperwork with the clinic was a breeze. After I got approval from my insurance company, which covered 100%, I booked my ticket with Continental Airlines. I booked an economy seat on the way over and a first class seat on the way back. I made sure that I booked a return flight with the new flatbed seats. I'm staying in a Holiday Inn that's 3 minutes away from the Hospital. I highly recommend this hotel! The food is fantastic and the rooms are efficient. Plus, it's probably the best value near the hospital. It's very business oriented too.

I arrived in London Heathrow with two family members. We had 6 big bags and decided to take the train to Eastleigh. BAD IDEA. Take a taxi or hire someone! Not only will it be a shorter ride, but you won't be switching buses and trains with 6 bags and a bad back.

We arrived in the hotel, had lunch, took a quick nap, and headed to the hospital for some pre-op assessments.

Pre-Op

The Nuffield Wessex Hospital isn't ostentatious at all. It's very humble and to-the-point. Eastleigh, the town, isn't the most exciting town in the world, but that's not why I'm here!

I met with an assessment specialist first. They ran a series of tests, including bloodwork and EKG's. After that, I met with Mr. Boeree. He has a very kind presence to him and i'm very pleased with the the topics we covered. A few important ones:

-He stressed that he is not operating for a cure, but instead an improvement in symptoms.
-In the case of a revision surgery, fusion is the only option.
-He does do some work during the operation that would make a revision surgery easier.
-I can stay longer than 5 days if I need to, free of charge.
-The M6 has worked wonders!
-He said my L5 and the Sacrum are partially fused in the transverse processes. This could explain why my L4/L5 is degenerative, given that it took all the load that was supposed to be distributed between two discs. He also explained how i have a pretty nasty annular tear in my disc.

He also showed me the M6:





I was given a few guidebooks and guidelines on how to prepare for my surgery. I was allowed to have water up until 2 hours before the surgery. They recommended that I have as much water as possible. They also said I should bring swimming trunks and comfortable sweat pants. Fortunately, I bought plenty of plain hanes shirts and cotton sweat pants.

The Operation

I arrived at 70AM and the operation started at 100AM. The slight delay was due to some X-rays that needed to be done given that the ones I brought couldn't be opened. No biggie!

I met the anesthesiologist, who by the way, was very clear and thorough on his tests. I walked over to the operating room and they put me to sleep. I asked them if they could take pictures with my camera, and they did! Here is a pic of my operation:



I woke up in the recovery room, but I can't remember anything from it. Then they took me to my room with my family waiting for me. I had a huge smile in my face.. I was very happy!

I immediately fell asleep again and kept waking up randomly probably due to all the checks that they did on me. If there's something I wanted to say about the staff, it would be: WOW. They are thorough on their checkups and they couldn't be nicer!

Pain was minimal and increased as the anesthetics wore off. I had a morphine pump that I could control, but I barely used it. Pain was very manageable!

They gave me a sandwich to eat last night and then I fell asleep.

This morning the doctor and the physio came to visit me. Mr. Boeree said he found a severely damaged disc inside, with a very complicated annular tear alongside the back of the disc. He also said there were no complications and the surgery went beautifully. I managed to stand up and walk around the physio with no pain at all! This is me walking:



I managed to take a longer walk but i'm getting very lightheaded. It's also a lot more exhaustive that it seems. The moment I arrive in the bed again I feel like falling asleep.

Everything is looking great so far!

[tyler]

Fantastic news Mike !!

[helmut]

Now you are a member of the club, congratulations!

Btw, I think you will have a bit more than just improved symptoms. You should be fine in a few weeks, just stay away from the ladies for a while.

[Gilbert P]

Hi Mike

Thanks for the updates, sounds like you are doing great

All The Best

gil

[mike86]

It's been 5 days since my surgery on November 3rd. It seems like it was yesterday, but that's only because I've been in a hospital room all this time.

My recovery is going really well, except for some annoying muscle spasms in my lower back. They show up randomly and severely weaken my walking ability sometimes. It seems my muscles are adjusting to the increased height of the disc, which is only a few millimeters but you also have to take into account all the surgical work done in the area.

I've been walking around the hospital about 4 times a day, down the corridor and back. Walking is VERY comfortable and I feel ZERO pain walking. The post-op team is VERY serious about taking it easy... It's something I wasn't expecting considering all the stories I read online about walking miles a day after surgery... but spinal surgery is something I respect and definitely don't want to screw up. I know any little mistake could set me back months in recovery, but thankfully everything has been going really well.

I did hydrotherapy for the first time today. They took me to the heated pool downstairs to do 5 ot 6 exercises to get my core strengthened and my muscles moving a bit. Then they recommended that I stay in bed for the rest of the day.. They continue to stress: DO NOT OVERDUE IT. I agree with them, I prefer to be on the safe side!

Now i'm back at the hotel near the hospital. My family's here, a little bored, but they understand they need to take care of me. They usually go out for the day and come back at night with food. I entertain myself with movies and reading. I'll be staying here for another week and then heading back to the states.

As for pain levels, there is absolutely no wound pain, which surprises me considering that they had to go through my stomach. I can squeeze my abs with no issue at all. There is a bit of back pain that comes and fades depending on my activity level. Some pain in my legs is there but should clear soon. But like I said, while walking, I feel NO pain at all and is actually very comfortable.

They say after 6 weeks I should be 80% recovered and 100% after 3 months. They recommend hydrotherapy for 6 weeks and then more land-based core-strengthening after that. They say the disc should have very little risk of slipping or subsiding, but still I should avoid bending, twisting, etc.

Sorry for the big flip flop in topics but i'm very drowsy from the muscle relaxants. Otherwise, so far, very happy with what i'm seeing!

[ajj1001]

The post-op team is VERY serious about taking it easy... It's something I wasn't expecting considering all the stories I read online about walking miles a day after surgery... but spinal surgery is something I respect and definitely don't want to screw up. I know any little mistake could set me back months in recovery, but thankfully everything has been going really well.

They have got it absolutely right, do rehab cautiously and your recovery will go much better. Its a big op for you to get over even though the younger you are the quicker you recover. You've got to concentrate on building up your reserves to cope with the next task of getting home.

[mike86]

Thank you everyone for following my posts. Your comments have been wonderful and very uplifting. Here are my latest comments:

My Herniated and Degenerative Disc Healing Attempts: X-Rays, M6 Size, Therapy, and Stiches

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This is the 2-day post-op X-Ray of my L4/L5 level. It shows a good implantation, good location, and a very large M6 disc. The small gap between the L4 and the disc should fill with bony in-growth. There is an increased disc height of a few millimeters. I will try and measure this with previous X-Rays.



The doctor told me he managed to install the Large M6. Here is the reference and serial number. I noticed in the bottom that i says Rev 2, which probably means this is their second version of the M6-L.



I've been to Hydro-therapy at the hospital twice already. Tomorrow is my last session. I will also get my staples removed tomorrow. The incision is about 2 inches below the bellybutton. I will measure it's size tomorrow.

Muscle spasms are calming down a little bit. I sill have to be very careful with my movements so as to not piss them off.

So far, no complications.

[Carson]

Glad you have it all behind you and recovering. Would be easier to follow a single recovery thread now that you're post-op; one thread will provide traffic to your blog just the same.

I'd like to understand the possible revision to the disc, ie, has the disc seen a revision or not and what it was. Interesting. It's so difficult to get answers from manufacturers on devices that are awaiting FDA approval.
Best of luck with the hydro-therapy. No incision pain is a blessing unto itself! Here's to getting back on your feet and to life

[Cindylou]

Thanks for all the updates Mike. You have been so thorough and providing pictures to boot. It's been a very interesting thread, to say the least. I don't think I know anyone who walked miles right after a lumbar adr, and don't you go being the first. lol Your staff are so right: slow and steady. It sounds like you are doing that, so all good. And your age will definitely speed up your recovery. I am also amazed at no incision pain. That's unbelievable. Count your blessings is right. Here's to an uneventful and successful recovery! Cindylou

[mike86]

Glad you have it all behind you and recovering. Would be easier to follow a single recovery thread now that you're post-op; one thread will provide traffic to your blog just the same.

I'd like to understand the possible revision to the disc, ie, has the disc seen a revision or not and what it was. Interesting. It's so difficult to get answers from manufacturers on devices that are awaiting FDA approval.
Best of luck with the hydro-therapy. No incision pain is a blessing unto itself! Here's to getting back on your feet and to life

I imagine the first M6-L disc looked something like this, which I got from an old M6-C brochure from 2007:



Pretty decent revision for the M6-C! The new one looks a lot more refined.

As for the incision pain, I agree.. I remember having an inguinal hernia surgery and the incision pain was gruesome. I only get little itches from this one, which only means it's healing nicely. I can squeeze my abs, inflate my stomach, etc.

By the way I tried sitting down for lunch today.. I ended up going back a couple of days in my recovery. I had 0 pain this morning, and after that sit-down I have 4/10.. darn it. No biggie, and it's completely expected.