I need medical advice

Lake Gator

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This is what MRSA looks like.

IMG_1607_zps952b286b.jpg

I'll see you your MRSA and raise you one surgery do-over.

20141008_093600.jpg
 

Gatorbreath

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This is what MRSA looks like.

IMG_1607_zps952b286b.jpg


Yeah, that's my ugly pus. A few days earlier, the ladder fell over as I attempted to come down from the attic in my office, the attic opening having been built into the ceiling of a bathroom. I was by myself. I hung on temporarily from a pair of roof trusses trying to steady myself for the landing on the countertop. As my weight pulled me down, my right arm came down on a three-inch carpenter nail and it was impaled. I had to rip it free in order to get down. My office looked like a murder scene afterward.

Anyway, the ER doc gave me an antibiotic that didn't work. A few days later, this is what it looked like. The arm was at risk. My fiancee, having spent half of her 20 years in nursing in a trauma unit, demanded a second antibiotic and we finally got it under control.

Not gonna lie, brother. That pic and the accompanying story made my stomach turn a few times....
:puke:

Glad you were OK, though.
 

78

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'78, anybody ever tell you that you look sort of like Mickey Rourke? I think he might have even had a similar wound back when he was drugging at the hands of a hooker he stiffed.

I'd trade him just one night with the Basinger of 30 years ago. :naughty:

 

ufgator812

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'78, anybody ever tell you that you look sort of like Mickey Rourke? I think he might have even had a similar wound back when he was drugging at the hands of a hooker he stiffed.

I think you're supposed to stiff the hooker....
 

78

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Don't lie. You'd trade for one night of Basinger NOW.
It's funny. After I posted that trailer, I googled her for grins to see what she looks like now. Holy crap, she's still got it going.
 

Lake Gator

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Damn is that you? What the hell happened?

Yes. It was never supposed to look like that. A little history.

September 2000 I had fusion surgery on C2 to C4 vertebrae performed by a highly respected orthopedic surgeon in Orlando. Purpose was to replace bulging discs causing severe pain in right shoulder and deteriorating strength in right arm. Access to the spine was via a small incision to the right of my Adams apple. The surgery was a complete success and left a modest, discreet scar.

September 2014, 14 years to the day, I needed C4 to C6 surgery. A bulging disc was impinging on the spinal cord causing motor control issues with my arms and hands. Basically the same procedure as earlier thru a small incision just below the scar from September 2000. Same surgeon too.

The surgeon needed to push aside the esophagus area to gain access to the spine and in doing so, the esophagus ripped open!! That brought spine surgery to a screeching halt and a gastroenterologist was summoned for emergency repairs. I awoke with a feeding tube down my throat and a concerned wife telling me the news. Apparently I had formed scar tissue from the year 2000 surgery causing my esophagus to adhere to the spinal area. When the surgeon attempted to move the esophagus aside...it tore.

Two weeks later, healed but still needing spine surgery, the same surgeon tried again. Only this time he entered from the back of the neck, removed parts of my spinal column permitting the spinal chord to flex away from the bulging disc. The surgery was a success and my symptoms improved. However, I was left with a scar to make Frankenstein jealous. Today it's fully healed though I have a noticeable canyon-like indentation where spinal column protrusions were removed. Some people grimace and groan when they see it. Big fun.
 
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bradgator2

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Damn lake. This should turn into all our war wound stories. I have some good ones, but no pics.
 

Lake Gator

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Damn lake. This should turn into all our war wound stories. I have some good ones, but no pics.

I only told the nickel version to trim length and prevent boring folks. I'd like to hear yours and other wound war stories. Pics are interesting but well written prose can create a movie in one's mind's eye.
 

78

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Yes. It was never supposed to look like that. A little history.

September 2000 I had fusion surgery on C2 to C4 vertebrae performed by a highly respected orthopedic surgeon in Orlando. Purpose was to replace bulging discs causing severe pain in right shoulder and deteriorating strength in right arm. Access to the spine was via a small incision to the right of my Adams apple. The surgery was a complete success and left a modest, discreet scar.

September 2014, 14 years to the day, I needed C4 to C6 surgery. A bulging disc was impinging on the spinal cord causing motor control issues with my arms and hands. Basically the same procedure as earlier thru a small incision just below the scar from September 2000. Same surgeon too.

The surgeon needed to push aside the esophagus area to gain access to the spine and in doing so, the esophagus ripped open!! That brought spine surgery to a screeching halt and a gastroenterologist was summoned for emergency repairs. I awoke with a feeding tube down my throat and a concerned wife telling me the news. Apparently I had formed scar tissue from the year 2000 surgery causing my esophagus to adhere to the spinal area. When the surgeon attempted to move the esophagus aside...it tore.

Two weeks later, healed but still needing spine surgery, the same surgeon tried again. Only this time he entered from the back of the neck, removed parts of my spinal column permitting the spinal chord to flex away from the bulging disc. The surgery was a success and my symptoms improved. However, I was left with a scar to make Frankenstein jealous. Today it's fully healed though I have a noticeable canyon-like indentation where spinal column protrusions were removed. Some people grimace and groan when they see it. Big fun.

Holy moly, LG. Please never have another ortho cut on your spine. Neurosurgeons only. How are you doing now?
 

Lake Gator

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Holy moly, LG. Please never have another ortho cut on your spine. Neurosurgeons only. How are you doing now?

This guy specializes in neck surgery and is highly respected. He never touched the spinal cord. He removed enough bone structure to allow the spinal cord to flex away from the impinging disk. Then he pulverized the removed bone to make a paste which he repacked around the supporting hardware holding me together. New bone growth resulted essentially replacing the hardware. I had previous successful experience with him and my neurologist approved him. Oh, he attended UF School of Medicine and interned at Shands early in his career.

My motor control issues are gone. Now I'm working out to recover muscle mass loss over the pass two years for a variety of reasons...some due to my neck problem. Feeling great, I'm a glass two-thirds full type of guy.
 

LagoonGator68

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Keep your carpenter's tools away from my damn vertebrae. Micro for me please.
 

divits

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I figure this is as good a place as any to ask for some advice about a growth I've developed in a rather embarrassing place....

8h5GZxk.gif
 

78

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This guy specializes in neck surgery and is highly respected. He never touched the spinal cord. He removed enough bone structure to allow the spinal cord to flex away from the impinging disk. Then he pulverized the removed bone to make a paste which he repacked around the supporting hardware holding me together. New bone growth resulted essentially replacing the hardware. I had previous successful experience with him and my neurologist approved him. Oh, he attended UF School of Medicine and interned at Shands early in his career.

My motor control issues are gone. Now I'm working out to recover muscle mass loss over the pass two years for a variety of reasons...some due to my neck problem. Feeling great, I'm a glass two-thirds full type of guy.

Was it ever determined what caused the disks to bulge? I've had similar issues, though not to that degree. Really glad for you it worked out.
 

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