Openbah / Journal of a Marine Officer Candidate

Category: Marines

  • Two months until my FVFG

    Two months from today I will be at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital in NYC having my free vascularized fibular graft surgery.

    I’ve been trying to take advantage of being able to walk as often as I can. Thanks to the snow and ice on the ground it’s a little more painful than normal, but I manage to get a mile or two in every day.

    Knowing about this surgery so far in advance almost makes things worse. Being on crutches is tough, but it’s the little things that really make it hard: getting groceries, carrying meals from the kitchen to the couch, going up and down my building’s front steps, getting in and out of cars, opening doors, just to name a few. Every day I am one day closer to losing the ability to do all those small things. (more…)

  • Surgery scheduled

    Mark your calendars, I have scheduled my surgery for February 19th at Columbia Presbyterian. I’ll be in there for almost a week, so I expect all of my NJ/NY friends to come visit and cause a ruckus in my hospital room.

    As expected, I am not looking forward to having another surgery. Even worse than being on crutches for another 6 months, is (more…)

  • Appointment at Columbia University

    My doctor’s appointment at Columbia University (New York Presbyterian Hospital) went as expected yesterday. Dr. R. thinks that an FVFG is the best route to take. Surgery is long, usually lasting 6-8 hours. They need to graft a section of my fibula, drill a hole in my hip, insert the graft, and (more…)

  • More detailed description of free vascularized fibular grafting

    Free Vascularized Fibular GraftingDue to its high complexity, free vascularized fibular grafting for the hip is performed at only a few medical centers throughout the country by fellowship-trained Orthopaedic Surgeons, who are highly experienced with this procedure. Vascularized fibular grafting involves removal of dead bone from the “ball” of the hip that has poor or no blood supply and replacing it with a healthy, vascularized (blood-rich) bone from the lower leg, the fibula. A portion of the fibula (the smaller bone in the lower leg) is removed with its own blood vessels and then inserted into the “ball” of the hip. With use of a microscope, the blood vessels of the fibula are then attached to the blood vessels around the hip to restore blood flow to the “ball.”
    (more…)

  • MRI explained