Disc-replacement surgery helps nurse become a mother
Pulse editor
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Being the first patient in Georgia to receive innovative disc-replacement surgery paid off for nurse Laura Alvis. The prize was her daughter, Sarah Clair, born in July 2008.
“Before this surgery, my husband and I had quit contemplating having a child,” she said. “We wanted a family, but I didn’t think I could stand the additional pain, and [I] didn’t know what further damage it would do to my back.”
Photos by ALICE MURRAY / AJC Special
Laura Alvis, a nurse at Piedmont Hospital, holds her daughter, Sarah. Until she had disc-replacement surgery, Alvis thought she would never have children.
Alvis, a nurse at the wound clinic at Piedmont Hospital in Atlanta, had suffered from a bad back since she was 16. It wasn’t diagnosed accurately until 12 years ago, about the same time she became a nurse. She had a severely degenerating disc.
“In 1997, I sought out specialists and they prescribed a whole range of epidural steroids, muscle-relaxing medication and physical therapy,” said Alvis, BS, RN, CWOCN.
In order to work effectively, she eventually gave up the drugs. As her condition worsened, she sought new treatment from Resurgens Orthopaedics in 2004. At first, Alvis tried nonsurgical interventions, but none of them worked permanently, so her therapists recommended surgery.
“By the time I met Dr. [Paul] Jeffords, I was depressed and never out of pain” Alvis said. “I couldn’t assume any position that would relieve the pain and had to cut back on my hours at work.
“My husband, Scott, and I married in August 2005, and it seemed like our whole dating, engagement and married life was him taking care of me. He’d have to strap me into a traction machine at night.”
Most patients with degenerative-disc disease deal with the pain through physical therapy and medication. In the past, patients who didn’t respond were forced to grin and bear it or have surgery, said Jeffords, a spine surgeon at Resurgens Orthopaedics in Atlanta.
Until recently, the only surgical option was to remove the degenerating disc and fuse the two bones together, he explained. That often put added pressure on the upper spine and led to less mobility.
During a fellowship at the Texas Back Institute, Jeffords learned how to perform disc-replacement surgery using an artificial ProDisc made by Synthes. Introduced in Europe in 1991, thousands of the surgeries were done there before it was approved by the Food and Drug Administration for use in the United States.
“I was able to perform 70 of these surgeries in Texas, gaining a lot of experience before the product was widely available,” Jeffords said.
He brought his expertise to Atlanta.
“The advantage of disc-replacement surgery over fusion is that patients can return to normal motion relatively quickly after the operation, with better function and faster recovery,” he said “It’s an elegant solution, because it removes the source of the pain, while maintaining the spine.
“I’ve had patients play 18 holes of golf three months after surgery. One returned to competitive martial arts.”
Not every patient is a candidate for this type of surgery.
Alvis had the surgery in 2007.
“I was walking within hours and, with physical therapy and then regular exercise, I was able to return to work in eight weeks,” Alvis said. “My husband calls me the bionic woman.
“What I am is a better nurse. Before, I had never had a catheter or a major incision or been on a pain pump. Now I can relate better to my patients. I understand more of what they are going through.”
After eight pain-free months, Alvis and her husband were ready to start a family.
“I never had a problem with my back during pregnancy,” she said. “The whole pregnancy and delivery went well, but I couldn’t have done it without first having this surgery. Sarah weighs 17 pounds now and I can carry her in a sling with no pain.”
Sometimes, Jeffords calls Alvis when he has a candidate for disc-replacement surgery.
“I love talking to them as a nurse and a new mom,” she said. “So many women with this problem want a baby, but are fearful of the surgery. I can tell them it’s a great option.”
Jeffords enjoys watching Sarah grow.
“She’s so cute and it’s very satisfying to see smiling faces and to know you helped your patients get back to doing whatever is important to them,” he said.