Jenny had her ADR  at Stenum in early August, 2003, doing fine.

Her story;

My low back pain problems started in 1988 with a pinched nerve in my neck.  I went to an Osteopath (similar to a chiropractor) for treatment. He picked me up, my back to his back,  and cracked me.  The next morning I could barely get out of bed. I went back to him the next day hoping that he could "fix" me.  He again cracked my back. I lived in agony for another week and then went to a chiropractor with no success. After about a month I finally went to an Orthopedic Surgeon who said I had a herniated disc at L5S1. After another month of bed rest he put me in the hospital in traction and IV's. I gradually got better and was able to go back to work. Over the years my back would "go out" at least once a year. I'd be treated with Physical Therapy, anti-inflammatories, muscle relaxants, etc.  During the last couple of years my low back hurt most of the time. It had gotten to the point where I couldn’t stand, walk or sit for more than a few minutes without changing position.  I went to several doctors who said my MRI showed Degenerative Disc Disease at L5S1.  They tried a series of 3  Epidural Steroid Injections which didn't work at all.  Then Facet injections and a facet rhizotomy… nothing worked. I went to another doctor who said my only hope was fusion surgery.  I'd heard so many horror stories about fusion that I spent countless hours scouring the Internet looking for any alternative.  I came across a website by a patient named Mark who had Artificial Disc Replacement surgery in Germany and was pretty much cured from years of back pain.  I then learned everything I could about the surgery that was on the Internet.  I went to a doctor in Maryland who was part of the FDA trials who said I met all of the criteria for the study so I immediately contacted my insurance company.  They told me that because the surgery was still undergoing FDA approval in the US that my HMO wouldn't cover the cost of over $60,000.  I then sent (by email) my MRI and a cover letter to 3 doctors in Germany who had been doing the surgery for years. I heard back from Stenum Hospital near Bremen the next day.  The doctor thought I was an excellent candidate for the surgery. The cost would be $21,000 Euro for everything.  After a while I heard from the other two doctors who also thought I was a good candidate.  I chose Stenum because it was an actual Orthopedic Hospital and not just a clinic and also they gave me a total package price so no surprises. The International Director, Mr. Petersen was very responsive to all of my questions, usually emailing me back the next day and even calling me to see if I had any questions.  I made all of the arrangements via the Internet and my husband and I arrived in Bremen on Aug.7, 2003 and were picked up at the airport in Bremen by one of the hospital staff. We went directly to the hospital for preliminary tests and x-rays. I found that they use a team of 2 doctors for the surgery.   Dr. Ritter-Lang was originally from the spine team at the Charite Hospital and worked directly with the developers of the Charite 3 Artificial Disc.   I met with Dr. Zechel, the staff surgeon, who answered all of my questions and assured me that I was the perfect type of patient for this surgery. I  had surgery at 7PM the next night.   I kept a journal during my time in Germany so I could remember how I felt day by day.

Friday night I awoke in the recovery room after surgery and immediately asked for a shot. The nurse gave me a shot of morphine which put me right to sleep.  When I awoke, my husband was sitting next to me.  He said I asked for more shots every few minutes.  Sometimes the nurse would give me one, sometimes not.  My husband said he was worried that I would overdose, but I’m sure the nurse kept track of how much I could have.  I guess that I was in a lot of pain but thank goodness I really don’t remember much.  The next morning I was taken to my private room where I was given a morphine drip which I could administer myself when needed.  It didn’t quite do the trick that first day  so the doctor ordered  some type of pain injection every few hours as needed.  The combination worked great and I was able to get up and go the bathroom that day with the help of a walker, a nurse and my husband.  I slept a lot the first day but was able to get up in the middle of the night to go the bathroom by myself (with a walker).  By Sunday morning (about 36 hours post-op) I was able to walkabout 100 feet down the hall with my walker.  The nurses seemed shocked at how well I was doing.  I felt pretty awful but better than yesterday.   By that afternoon I was walking a little further and I must have been feeling better as I cared enough to put on a little makeup.   The next day I walked to the bathroom without the walker.  The doctor said I could finally get a waterproof bandage for the incision so I could take a shower.  The incision didn’t bother me too much except when I sneezed or coughed.  (To this day though, I still need to wear stretchy pants, no zippers).

I still hadn’t eaten anything except salty broth because my intestines weren’t working properly.  When it was clear that laxatives weren’t going to do the trick, I was given a suppository, which kicked my intestines into gear within a few minutes.  I was then finally able to eat solid foods.

I had new x-rays taken and met with the doctor. The artificial disc looked like it was perfectly placed between the vertebrae.  I met with the Physical Therapist who helped me walk with “sticks” which are similar to crutches.  She showed me how to do some light isometric exercises in bed and the proper way to get in and out of bed. 

The next day I showed the doctor where I was still hurting and he said my disc had been so collapsed that it was starting to self-fuse.  He had to stretch my vertebrae so far apart during surgery that he could hear the muscles and ligaments stretching.  He said the pain should improve a lot before I have to fly home and to take pain pills.

The next day (4 ½ days post-op) I was able to walk the halls slowly without a walker or crutches.  We tried to go out to dinner but I could only sit for a few minutes. Luckily the big meal in Germany is at lunchtime so the restaurant was empty.  In retrospect, I realize that after the first couple of days I wasn’t taking enough pain killers because they made me so sleepy.  I think that I should have taken more and just slept…what else is there to do in the hospital?

Thursday, 5 ½ days post-op we moved to the Marriott in Bremen.  One week there (including a wonderful breakfast) was included in the package price.  Keep in mind that if I wanted to I could have stayed in the hospital as long as I wanted at no extra cost.  It was totally up to me, but I was ready for a change of scenery.  The hotel was very nice, right in the center of town, a 5 minute walk to the Town Square where everything is happening.  The first few days it took me alot longer than  5 minutes and I had to stop half way there.  I felt like I was improving every day but I had new aches and pains which changed location daily. Sometimes my hip, other days my butt, SI joint, hamstrings, etc.  It scared me that maybe I wasn’t healing properly but when Mr. Petersen called to check on me he assured me that this was normal.  He said it could take a couple of months for everything to get used to its new position.  One good piece of advice he gave me was “if you only heal 1% each day, in 100 days you’ll be completely healed”.    One day Mr. Petersen even took us on a car tour of Bremen and to the Old-Town shopping district…can you imagine an employee in the States doing that?    I was able to walk a little while in the Town Center each day and go out to dinner at night.  We drove to the hospital a couple of times for Physical Therapy.

After about 10 days post-op we drove to Hamburg, which is the big port city.  I could walk more by then but still needed to sit often.  I had major hamstring pain for a couple of days which kept me resting more.

Two weeks post-op I had final x-rays which again looked great.  The doctor spent a very long time with us answering all questions.  He never made me feel rushed like the doctors in the US. In fact all the staff could give lessons to the US hospitals.  The doctor assured me that the pains I was still feeling were normal considering all of the trauma my back had been thru and the majority of the pain should be gone in a couple of months.  I was told certain precautions such as not vacuuming, stretching or going to the gym for 2 or 3 months, just to make sure the disc integrates properly with the vertebrae.

We then flew to London for 1 ½ days of sightseeing. (Mostly on a double-decker bus but some walking too.)  The 8 hour flight home was completely full so I was in economy class.  Luckily I had plenty of Percocet. 

As I write this I’ve only been home for 3 days and feel better already.  I still have trouble sitting or walking for too long but most days it’s better than before surgery.  I’m still on a couple of Percocet and Anti-inflammatories but obviously was able to sit at the computer to type this.  So far I feel like it was a great success.  I know people who have had  fusion surgery who are still in bed at this point.  I’ll try to update my progress from time to time.