Patient Stories

Dear Dr Diwan, Dr Thomas, Helen & the rest of the wonderful team at Special Spinal Services.

I am writing to thank you for the wonderful treatment, support and understanding I received from your clinic in August of this year.

Unfortunately this is the 2nd time you have had to operate on my back in the last 5 years due to 2 unrelated injuries, the first on my lumbar spine, the last on my cervical spine.

When I had to walk into your office on that 2nd occasion and again, hear that surgery was necessary, I was so relieved that if I had to undergo surgery a 2nd time then I was lucky to be in extremely competent hands with you and the rest of your wonderful team.

Helen ensured that I understood the entire procedure including all pre-op and post op requirements, Raewyn took the hassle out of all of the paperwork and Sally at Special Spinal Rehab made sure that I started my healing before I was even operated on. Dr Thomas was wonderful with his post-op care & it was a pleasure to see his smiling face each day whist I was recovering in hospital.

I would like to thank you all once again for such a wonderful experience at such a very difficult time.

With my deepest thanks & best wishes

Heather from Caringbah

On 18th March 2003 my life changed dramatically.
Dr Diwan inserted Prodiscs into two levels of my lumbar spine L51S1 and U/L5.

Thanks to this miracle in surgical procedures I know have NIL pain.

I have started riding a mountain bike again. I am mainly riding on bike paths but have started venturing into the bush on well-defined trails. I walk most days at least two km I can walk 5km with no problems. I can swim l km with flippers.

I hope to snow ski again - probably in another year. I am continuing to do core stability exercises that will be a lifetime commitment as they certainly make a huge difference with my day-to-day strength.

It is a slow process of regaining the confidence lost after so many years of unrelenting pain and the drugs to manage daily life.

Before the surgery I was in a Boston back brace and a compression brace 24/7. I swam in a Boston brace as well. My spine just could not support itself and I was in agony. I would also wear a tens machine 24/7 to help with pain relief. I was taking a cocktail of drugs for pain, anti-inflammatory drugs, sleeping medication. I would get two hours sleep at a time mainly through sheer exhaustion.

I was at one stage using crutches to help me walk. Most of the time I was laying on the lounge room floor just to get relief.

Now it seems like a horror story, a dim memory of 5 years of sheer hell. I think the most demoralising words ever spoken to me was by a specialist who told me that this would be my lot in life and to live with it. There was nothing that modern surgery could do to help me. They even organised pain management and were deciding on surgery to insert something to medicate direct to the discs and area that was triggering the pain. I had a call from one of those specialists 3 months after the PRODISC's were inserted telling me they were concerned that I hadn't followed through with the pain management program etc etc.

Do you know it gave me immense pleasure to say thank you but I really had no use for it as I was totally PAIN FREE.

Thanks to Dr Diwan and his very special team I am enjoying life pain free. Each day I notice a difference, but I must emphasise exercise, core stability exercises are now a part of life. Each day I make time for my back. I used to play competitive sports when I was younger (soccer, referee soccer, tennis A grade, Squash A grade, snow ski intermediate. For fun - water ski ,MTB riding, horse riding, swimming, bush walking, orienteering) and over recent years have missed out. Not any more. I intend to regain some of the more sedate activities I used to do. It will take time but I now have such a positive outlook on what I will be able to do again.

Thanks Helen for your encouragement and advice.

Regards
Jan from Kingsgrove

When I was about 16, I was diagnosed with Scoliosis. I noticed that one of my hips stuck out more than the other so mum and dad took me to the local G.P. She did the usual tests and sent me to get X-rays. Just as she suspected, very curvy! I was then referred to the Spine service. After lots of X-rays and check ups every few months, the doctors decided that the best thing for me was to have the spinal fusion surgery. As I was at school, we decided that I'd have the operation after I had finished my HSC. The doctors were very supportive and very helpful with everything.

I went into hospital two days after my 19th birthday. I had never been to hospital before, so when my family left that night, all I could think about was the morning to come. It was the scariest night ever! I was woken very early the next morning by the nurses, to prepare me for the surgery. Mum, Dad and one of my brothers arrived to see me off. As soon as the rails went up on my bed and we started on our way down the halls, I got really nervous. Then my family were told that they weren't allowed to go any further with me. That's when the tears started to flow. But the nurses were really comforting and gave me a teddy to cuddle. Then I was wheeled in. There were lots of needles to put in then I Was off to sleep! The next thing I remember is when the doctors woke me when the surgery was completed. Boy, did I feel sick!! Then back to sleep. I woke up in ICU with Mum by my side. All of my family were there, but had to take turns to see me. I was so groggy and so thirsty. I spent the night in ICU, where I had a very uncomfortable sleep but I knew I was going back to my room in the morning so I relaxed.

My brother and his wife came to see me every morning and Mum and Dad came with my two other brothers every afternoon. I was really sick at first. I had a reaction to the antibiotics so all I wanted to do was sleep and the last thing I wanted was food, even though it looked great. I think I was in hospital for about 8 days. I had physio every day, once I could get out of bed, which was really hard. Walking up and down the halls, climbing stairs, and lots and lots of coughing! Then there were more and more X-rays. They looked pretty cool, bit like a meccano set. There are 2 rods and 4 screws, I think!

Once I felt better and was able to shower and get out of bed on my own, I was allowed to go home. I spent most of my time in bed because I was just so tired. My dog kept guard of me; she slept at the end of my bed to protect me. My family were fantastic, especially Mum. She was always at my side, doing everything I needed. She had also had the same operation when she was my age so she totally understood what I was going through.

I had a pretty speedy recovery and was back at work in just a few months, I even went back to dancing. I' used to my scar now, which is very neat and has faded quite a bit, but if anyone asks - it' my shark bite!

The surgery was a great success and I have the doctors at Spine Service to thank. And my family. I couldn't have done it without them. Two years on, I feel great and there's nothing I can't do... except may be bend backwards. I'm just looking forward to going to the airport now, I wonder if I beep!

Elizabeth, 21yrs.

Spine Service
St George Hospital Orthopaedic Department.

I am writing to express my extreme gratitude for your caring, comprehensive and professionally excellent treatment when I was in great pain with collapsed vertebrae in my lower back in November 2006.

I had consulted the Spine Service through my doctor for recurring and worsening problems with my back; four of the vertebrae had collapsed forward and were blocking and pressing on the nerves so that I had a lot of pain and difficulty walking and even standing. I had tried physiotherapy, pilates, and even accupunture to relieve the pain, but with little relief. The Spine Service Team explained that because it was a structural problem with the spine itself the only lasting solution was to straighten and stretch the vertebrae back as close as possible to its normal position. They explained that it was a major operation and that it would take several months, while the nerves healed, before I would be free of pain and able to walk, stand and bend normally.

They answered all my questions and explained everything carefully and in detail, even providing videos, prior to the surgery. They also provided a complete support and care program for my recovery after the operation - physiotherapy, counseling, phone support and pain management - and I always felt I had somewhere to turn when I became depressed and impatient with my progress.

It did take quite a few months before I could stand and walk normally without pain, and there were times during those months when I thought I couldn't cope. Now, 2 years later I surf, ride a bike, do long exercise works, and even toss my grandchildren around; the pain I had for years before the operation is now gone, and I have been "given back my back ".

'Eve',
South Coast, NSW