The Verdict Is In

We just arrived back from Toronto to meet the neurosurgeon.  Dad's scan apparently has been the talk of the hospital this past week as different doctors have looked in and given their opinion on this very rare and unusual situation.  The doctor that inserted the Halifax Clamp in the back of dad's spine 17 years ago even had a look at the scan.  The neurosurgeon was very positive regarding the upcoming surgery.  He is hoping that dad may not require a tracheotomy (as long as there is no emergency ahead of the surgery). He will be on a respirator for the duration of the surgery and there is a slight possibility that he may have to be on one afterwards also.  He addressed our concern about more nerve damage to dad's spine during surgery and reassured us that he is operating far enough away from his spinal cord that there shouldn't be complications in this area.  To be safe, they will be doing regular nerve tests during the surgery to keep an eye on this.  The surgeon is literally booked up with surgeries until September so he has to do some schedule shuffling to fit dad in.  He expects the surgery to occur sometime over the next two weeks.  The next step here involves returning to Toronto to meet the anesthesiologist and go over the pre-op work up. The surgeon will need to be very careful when working around dad's esophagus as there may be scar tissue from earlier surgeries that cause it to stick to his spine.  He will be moving the esophagus to the side during surgery and will need to be extremely cautious as the one bone spur is sharp and sticking out enough that it could puncture his throat.  Despite this information, the neurosurgeon was very positive and left us feeling a little better about the actual surgery and related complications.  After surgery, dad will need immediate radiation to prevent the bone growth from rapidly growing back.

We also learned some shocking information today about dad's original injury.  The A.S. apparently caused dad's spine to be frail, (possibly) before ever being involved in his accident (although can't be proven), and the doctors are speculating that the blow during the car crash that severed dad's spine was most likely due to the level of A.S. development!!!  We thought the A.S. was a result of the paralysis and it looks like it really is the other way around!  Absolutely unbelievable!

I have included a photograph of one of the images of dad's neck. In the red circle you can see the bone growth sticking out of his C3-4 level vertibrae.  The yellow arrow points to the area that will be drilled and removed.  The dark area is the actual throat and you can see the opening that dad is currently breathing and swallowing through....see what I mean about a picture saying a thousand words?