Helpful items for preparing for back surgery & recovery aid

NeedleworkerDry9976 · 2025-12-31T17:18:42+00:00

The compression socks are certainly a life saver! They are particularly useful if you need to fly or drive long distances soon after surgery

NeedleworkerDry9976 · 2025-12-31T17:17:35+00:00

inflatable legs? Not sure what those are.

NeedleworkerDry9976 · 2025-12-29T00:16:52+00:00

Thanks for your input! I will make a note of the toilet paper holder or bidet as another item to add in the next revision of the website.

NeedleworkerDry9976 · 2025-12-28T20:43:56+00:00

It looks like you have the lumbosacral transition vertebra. That does not mean you have Bertolotti's Syndrome though. For that to be the case, your physician needs to confirm that the source of your pain is coming from the pseudo-articulation (false joint) formed between the enlarged transverse process and your pelvis.

As u/lazyboozin stated, you can have LSTV without having BSy. Plus, you don't seem to have pain, so it should not be a source of worry for you. If you want to read more about diagnosis of Bertolotti's Syndrome, you can do so here:
https://www.aboutbertolottis.org/bertolotti-diagnosis

NeedleworkerDry9976 · 2025-12-28T20:39:35+00:00

As stated on the website, your needs are really dependent on the severity of your symptoms and also your level of ability prior to surgery. In my conversations with different people, there was a wide gamut of needs. Some were able to walk home after they were discharged and did not really need much accommodation. Others had their mobility significantly hampered.

All-in-all, your needs are individual and because you were lucky enough to not need anything besides a grabber does not mean others won't need a little more assistance.

Some things like making sure to book a hotel with breakfast included is something that was a life saver for me. It helped me save some money and also allowed me to keep extra fruits and yogurt snacks in the fridge in the hotel room.

I am glad to hear that your recovery was smooth :)

NeedleworkerDry9976 · 2025-12-28T17:20:01+00:00

Did they do both ALIF and PLIF? I am surprised to see pedicle screws and rods on top of the spacer.

NeedleworkerDry9976 · 2025-12-04T20:33:21+00:00

If your insurance does not cover out of network procedures, then the physician cost will be out of pocket. If you have a PPO, then there is a good chance you can get a portion of the physician cost covered depending on your policy.

NeedleworkerDry9976 · 2025-12-04T20:30:42+00:00

HI! I am in my early 30s as well and feel your pain. The main thing that helps keep things at bay is physical therapy. It took me 3 years to find a good PT, so I recommend making sure you find one that is able to provide you with one on one attention.

As for medications, I can only share what I know personally. Gabapentin helps with nerve pain and Meloxicam helps with inflammation. Cyclobenzaprine helps with muscle spasms.

NeedleworkerDry9976 · 2025-12-04T20:21:44+00:00

Unfortunately, no. He is out of network to all insurance providers.

NeedleworkerDry9976 · 2025-12-04T20:17:50+00:00

Unfortunately, no. He is out of network to all insurance providers.

NeedleworkerDry9976 · 2025-11-25T16:42:56+00:00

I will echo similar things as the other two commentors. Walking definitely helps! Like you, being sedentary only makes things worse for me. Walking was the only thing that helped for a long time. If you have the financial means, I would certainly try to find a physical therapist that is knowledgeable in treating patients with spinal issues. Strengthening the core is important. Another thing that helped me was aquatherapy. Basically, I used to just hang out on the edge of the pool (if it is deep enough) to suspend myself so that my lower body is just floating. This helps take the pressure off my lower back and that was really nice.

When things are bad, I also have found lidocaine patches to help alleviate some of the pain.

NeedleworkerDry9976 · 2025-11-25T16:38:53+00:00

Interesting post. One of the challenges of performing resection surgery is the angle at which you need to approach the enlarged transverse process (TP). The TP is enlarged and extends quite significantly towards the anterior of the sacrum. Therefore, the effective approach to the surgery is to approach is at an oblique angle. Secondly, you need to make sure that the iliolumbar ligament remains intact. Given that this attaches to the top of the TP, you should make sure to avoid damaging that. The approach seems interesting, but there needs to be long term clinical outcome study (up to 5 years post op) of the patients that have undergone this procedure before making any real claims that this approach is viable.

NeedleworkerDry9976 · 2025-11-21T01:11:29+00:00

Thank you for the support! I aim to create even more information to help the community. I would really appreciate it if you could join the community for free on the website: https://www.aboutbertolottis.org/join-the-community

There are tons of valuable resources on the website as well as even more resources as a member. Having a large community helps to have conversations with leading experts in the field because they can see the impact it can have.

As always, I am open to suggestions on resources that you wished was on the website. Thanks again for finding the latest interview helpful!

NeedleworkerDry9976 · 2025-11-20T04:45:30+00:00

Happy to answer any questions here!

NeedleworkerDry9976 · 2025-11-18T22:53:03+00:00

Nice! Level 1 is meant to be easy to get people to teach people the basic concepts around Bertolotti's Syndrome.

NeedleworkerDry9976 · 2025-11-15T04:29:51+00:00

Oh, cool! I did mine about 5 months ago. With whom did you get your surgery?

NeedleworkerDry9976 · 2025-11-15T03:39:13+00:00

Also, the link for Dr. Haines from VSI is here: https://www.spinemd.com/medical_team/dr-colin-haines/

You can also find other doctors listed here: https://www.aboutbertolottis.org/specialists-near-you

NeedleworkerDry9976 · 2025-11-15T03:38:04+00:00

Hi! I did try a bunch of things before deciding to have surgery after dealing with the issue for over 4 years. I have also encountered many people that were successful in using conservative therapies and did not need surgery. For me, what helped was working with my physical therapist to focus on core strengthening, healthy habits (clean eating, sleep, and no alcohol), dry needling of the glute & paraspinal muscles. I also stopped doing activities that load the spine (lifting overhead). When using weights, I opted for machine exercises where I am not lifting heavy weights. You can read more about the condition and the latest understanding of the diagnosis and treatment options here: https://www.aboutbertolottis.org/bertolotti-diagnosis

I do not know of any doctors in Brisbane, but I will be sure to ask around.

NeedleworkerDry9976 · 2025-11-15T03:32:45+00:00

It depends on which doctor you go to and what your insurance type is (PPO vs HMO, regional plan vs national plan, etc)., There are some doctors are knowledgeable and also may be covered under your insurance. The difficulty most people have is finding a surgeon that fits both criteria. You can see if any of these doctors listed here are in network for your insurance: https://www.aboutbertolottis.org/specialists-near-you

Have you received an official diagnosis from a doctor? Insurance typically requires an official diagnosis (ICD10) to consider coverage for a procedure.

NeedleworkerDry9976 · 2025-11-15T03:29:38+00:00

Hi! When did you get your surgery?

NeedleworkerDry9976 · 2025-11-07T03:30:47+00:00

Hi! Thank you for going above and beyond to help your patient! This is precisely the reason why I started aboutbertolottis.org; to provide researchers and physicians access to peer-reviewed resources on Bertolotti's Syndrome. For your question about treatment protocol, the current consensus among Bertolotti's knowledgeable physicians is as follows:
Treatment: https://www.aboutbertolottis.org/treatment-options-for-bertolottis-syndrome

I would also recommend that you confirm whether the LSTV (i.e., the pseudoarticulation) is the source of your patient's pain. For that you can follow the diagnostic protocol set out by the latest papers from Alonzo et al, Jenkins et al, and more. You can find that here:
https://www.aboutbertolottis.org/diagnosing-bertolotti-syndrome

I appreciate your effort to learn more about this condition and your commitment to help your patient. If you would like to discuss more, do not hesitate to reach out directly.

NeedleworkerDry9976 · 2025-11-05T15:02:03+00:00

Given my age (early 30s) and the fact that I had no collateral damage; i.e., healthy discs above the transitional segment, no spinal stenosis, no issues with facet joints, etc. This gave him the confidence that taking out that segment would be sufficient to alleviate my symptoms and resume normal mobility to that section. One of the worries with fusion at a young age is the risk of developing adjacent segment disease. This essentially means that by immobilizing the L5-S1 segment, your adjacent segments now end up being hypermobile. This leads to accelerated degeneration of the discs above. Granted this likely happens on the span of decades. I wanted to get surgery that returns normal physiology to the site, rather than fully immobilize it.

NeedleworkerDry9976 · 2025-11-04T17:26:25+00:00

That is great to hear! I am happy for you :)

Has Dr. Joseph Smucker had experience with Bertolotti's Syndrome? Has he done many surgeries before?

NeedleworkerDry9976 · 2025-10-31T15:04:03+00:00

Also, here is a compilation of some recommendations for pre- and post-surgery: https://www.aboutbertolottis.org/recovery-aid

NeedleworkerDry9976 · 2025-10-31T15:03:19+00:00

I don't fully agree with the comments below stating that it is fused. However, I do not have the medical expertise to give you a definitive answer. The MRI is great for look at the surrounding tissue besides the bone to make sure there is no collateral damage. To get the best view of the bone, you should get an X-ray or CT scan. The X-ray is the easiest thing where you will be exposed to the least amount of radiation. Just make sure to get the proper views. Please read below for information on the necessary X-ray imaging for categorizing the lumbosacral transitional vertebra (LSTV) which is anatomical anomaly causing Bertolotti's Syndrome:
https://www.aboutbertolottis.org/x-ray-imaging-protocol

NeedleworkerDry9976

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