A Trip to St. Louis

We arrived at St. Louis Children's hospital on November 14th for a 2 pm appointment for more x-rays. We were to see Dr. Lenke at 3:30.  After getting x-rays, we were waiting in Dr. Lenke's office and Namoi came to tell us that he had a VERY complicated surgery that morning. He was still in surgery and they were not sure when we would see the doctor but we would be delayed at least 2 hours (We were just glad they didn't send us home!). She also asked for the x-rays from KU.  Apparently, they had only received the doctor's report and no x-rays.  ANOTHER MIRACLE....... Dr. Lenke accepted Danielle's case without even seeing her x-rays! God is so GOOD!

Putting on a hospital gown for the first time and ready for x-rays! She will definitely have to get used to this.

We saw Dr. Lenke at around 6 pm.  After viewing Danielle's x-rays he informed us that her curve was now at 60 degrees.  Not only had it increased 8 degrees since April, we found out she also has kyphosis in her upper back.  Kyphosis is a curve in the thoracic or upper part of the spine.  The most common symptoms with abnormal kyphosis are the appearance of poor posture with a hump appearance that can cause muscle fatigue and back pain.  Dr. Lenke then told us about he surgery he would perform. He would make an incision down the center of Danielle's back.  Making an incision down the center of the back (and not through the side/ribs) is less risky and patients heal more quickly.  He would scrape some of her spine and use a cadaver bone.  He will straighten the curve by using the scraped bone fragments and the cadaver bone. He will then use rods and screws.  The rods and screws will be in place permanently and serve as a brace. During the healing process the cadaver bone and her bone fragments will fuse her spine.  If he corrects the kyphosis he will have to go up higher on her spine.  At this point he wasn't sure if he would address the kyphosis or not?  He wanted to take a closer look at all her x-rays.  He thought that correcting only the curve might make the kyphosis worse and the rods would stop right in the center of her kyphosis causing her spine to just bend over the rods. Correcting the kyphosis will not limit her mobility more than if he were to not correct it, it would just be a longer surgery and longer recovery time.  Surgery will last anywhere from 5-6 hours.  Danielle will spend 1-2 days in ICU and another 5-6 days in the hospital.  She will then be home for 4-6 weeks before returning to school.  Dr. Lenke told Danielle that for 4 weeks after surgery she will wonder why on earth she did this. She will be in a tremendous amount of pain (a much different type of pain she is in now) and recovery will be slow and steady. This is a major surgery. For the first four months she is to do no bending, lifting, twisting or squatting. She is to lift no more than 10 pounds for 4 to 6 months.  After meeting with the doctor, we met with Melissa Pape, BSN, RN to schedule surgery.  We were given 4 dates to go home and discuss and get back with them within a week.  Our four dates were February 13, March 12, May 20, or June 3, 2014.  We left the hospital at 8pm.  Once again we had much to discuss and think about.



Dr. Lawerence Lenke M.D. practices at Washington University in St. Louis and is an Orthopedic Surgeon  for St. Louis Children's Hospital and does adult surgery at Barnes-Jewish Hospital.  He is an AMAZING doctor!  You can find out more information about him and his team at this link:
 spinal-deformity-surgeon.com/

I have also provided a link on the side of my blog!