SPINAL SURGERY
Kristy’s Story It’s part of a degenerative process in which the disc becomes dehydrated,
One of the most important days in Kristy Jericho’s life was the day that her orthopedic surgeon, Thomas D. Kramer, M.D., gave her something she had
worn and stiff; it subsequently tears. When that happens, enzymes leak
waited a long time for: a diagnosis. Kristy, a critical care nurse at a southwestern
into the surrounding tissue, causing inflammation. It can also be the
Pennsylvania hospital, had endured months of excruciating back pain that
result of trauma. The classic symptom is increased pain upon sitting.
wreaked havoc on her life. She was forced to leave the job she loved and she
Disc pressures are highest when we sit.” An annular tear can expose nerves, causing the severe pain that Kristy
became essentially bedridden, unable to sit and barely able to stand and walk. She could no longer do the things she enjoyed, like cooking, driving, going
was enduring. After confirming the diagnosis, it was clear that Kristy needed
out to eat with her husband, Tony, and walking her beloved dog, Charlie.
surgery, quickly. In April, Dr. Kramer performed a posterior lumbar fusion,
Life became an endless cycle of agonizing pain, pain medication and
placing screws into her spine. His goal was to relieve her pain and get her
fruitless visits to medical specialists. “I had started having back pain at work,” Kristy recalls. “I took Motrin and kept working for a few months but it worsened to the point that it felt like my back was breaking. An MRI showed a herniated disc at L4-5 and I was referred to a spine surgeon. Subsequently, I was referred to an
“
off the pain medications. “Sometimes, people with
Dr. Kramer was
a blessing ... All the doctors looked at the
orthopedic surgeon, a pain medicine specialist, a second
same MRI, but he was
spine surgeon and a neurologist. I was told it was muscle
the only one who
spasms and given a muscle relaxer; I was told it was bursitis and was given steroids. The pain just got worse; it was off the charts.” With worsening pain and still waiting to see a spine specialist, Kristy had to take opioid pain relievers and stay
really listened to me ...
severe back pain do get better with injections and pain management,” he says, “but this was a situation where the patient had a problem that required surgery, and instead she was placed on narcotics. The classic sign of an annular tear was right there; she had increased pain with sitting.” Kristy is grateful to Dr. Kramer for his surgical expertise, but gives equal credit to his interpersonal skills. “Dr. Kramer was a
That made all the
blessing. He treated me with kindness and
difference.
respect. All the doctors looked at the same
in bed, as that was the only position she could tolerate. For a woman who is normally very active, who often works 16-hour shifts at a demanding nursing job, this helplessness
”
KRISTY JERICHO, SPINAL SURGERY PATIENT
MRI but he was the only one who really listened to me and paid attention. That made the difference.” Kristy, 53, always wanted to become a nurse,
was barely tolerable. Kristy had to depend on her husband to do all the
but did not go to nursing school until the age of 40, after she had raised
shopping, housework and cooking. Her father, who resides next door, drove
her two daughters. She says she learned about the importance of listening
her to her appointments. It took an emotional toll. Continuous pain, isolation
in nursing school. “When you give a patient time and attention, you are
and fear created enormous anxiety. Kristy felt let down by the very system that
showing them that you care,” she reflects. “It’s not easy;
she was so proud to be a part of. “I love being a nurse and working in health
you have to learn to be quiet and stop talking.
care; it’s my passion. I felt like I was being dismissed. No one seemed to
Listening isn’t passive; there is skill
understand what I was going through.”
involved.”
Except for Tony. Her husband of 35 years was her rock and, it so happened,
Kristy’s recovery has been long and
the key to her eventual recovery. “Tony is a sales representative for orthopedic
difficult, but she is gradually feeling
surgical products,” she says. “He knew Dr. Kramer and liked and respected him.
better; she can now sit for an hour
He suggested that I see Dr. Kramer.” Dr. Kramer, a board-certified orthopedic surgeon at St. Clair Hospital, talked to Kristy, examined her and looked at her MRI. He told her that she had an
without pain and stand in her newly renovated kitchen long enough to prepare home-cooked meals. As for
annular tear — the root of the disc at L4-5 was torn and nearly severed. “An
practicing her profession of nursing,
annular tear is in the back part of the annulus, which is the tough outer layer of
one thing is certain: she will be listening
a disc, made of fibrous tissue,” Dr. Kramer explains. “It’s like a hole in a car tire.
attentively to patients. n
THOMAS D. KRAMER, M.D. Dr. Kramer specializes in orthopedic surgery. He earned his medical degree at the University of Pittsburgh, and completed residencies at the University of Alabama Hospitals and Healthsouth Medical Center, Birmingham, Ala. He later completed a fellowship in spine surgery at the University of Maryland Hospitals. Dr. Kramer is board-certified by the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery. He practices with Greater Pittsburgh Orthopaedic Associates. To contact Dr. Kramer, please call 412.262.7800. Volume IX Issue 3 I HouseCall I 13