Repeated Discectomy And Laminectomy And TLIF Fusion Of L5/S1
Jan 13, 2014
Back in 2012 after 2 years of severe sciatica that was treated with painkillers, I finally got an MRI which showed disc herniation at L5/S1, I had a microdiscectomy & the surgeon said it was a difficult procedure as the disc had calcified. I did however have some relief & a huge reduction in pain.
After about a year the pain had increased to the point my mobility was affected & I was referred back to my neuro, he carried out MRI & another micro discectomy & unfortunately this actually left me immediately in more pain.
So I had another MRI which showed again more herniated disc trapping my nerves, this was only 6 weeks after my 2nd op, my surgeon said he could do no more for me but he then referred me onto a colleague for a TLIF fusion of L5/S1.
Which was done, but again no significant improvements so after 12 weeks my neuro sent me for more MRI & CT scans, this showed halo's around my fusion screws, crowding at L5/s1 & a post op collection around the incision site, he prescribed 6 weeks antibiotic course & re-did the scans.
There was no change to the collection & he then decided he would need to operate again in case of infection.
When he operated he found no infection inside but there was 'bugs' in the fluid collection in my back.
He said the fluid was seroma & he was confused as seroma fluid never has bugs in it?
Whilst he was in my back he did yet another discectomy & laminectomy, he said he did not check the fusion itself as it meant disturbing scar tissue.
At this point he said nothing more can be done for me.
This is heartbreaking to me, I'm 39 yrs old, I have a physical job as an electrician & I don't want to be sat about or lose my job.
My pain is still extreme in my right leg & hip, my buttock still feel numb & my calf feels tight & achy.
My last op was only a week ago but after 4 surgeries on one small place, I still feel in excruciating pain & it feels like there is no light at the end of the tunnel, my back around the incision site is still swollen like it was before this surgery & I'm worried the fluid is coming back, the build up of that fluid had caused problems on my left side & had not got any smaller in the 5 months between the surgeries.
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After being diagnosed with lumbar spinal stenosis in 1992 and undergoing several other treatment options that were not successful, I had back surgery, a laminectomy w/bone fusion. I then developed urinary incontinence, which is still a problem for me. and also lost my mobility. I am now spending most of the time in a wheelchair, although I am able to use a walker for very limited distance walking. I still suffer from back pain but do get some relief from a prescription pain med. I just wondered if anyone else had developed urinary incontinence after having back surgery?
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I'm 48 suffered with cervical spondylosis for around 6 years, in the last two years it's got so painful. I have tried all meds, last year I had an op foraminotomy where they drilled the left side spurs C4 to C7. But the last year has been a nightmare the pain is worse. I have now had more MRI & CT scans more meds and having two injections next week. I asked the long term affect of my neck I was told I have a neck of a 70 year old. What dose this actually mean? Wheelchair what?? I am also on the list for a anterior cervical discectomy & fusion.
I have a fall time desk job which doesn't help at all but have a mortgage... holiday is taken as sick days.
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I am recovering from Anterior Cervical Discectomy, which became necessary to avoid drastic further deterioration.
I would like to tell you about my experience and what helped me. My problem started quite unexpectedly with a persistent back ache at work (I am an office worker). Within days it was so bad that I was vomiting with pain and had to stop working (I was commuting to London). I was on morphine within three weeks, but it did not help either. I won't list here all the various painkillers I was prescribed, which helped to certain extent, but the pain was so bad that I was suicidal. The doctors communicated with me hardly at all except writing another painkiller prescription. I felt totally abandoned by them. I tried osteopathy, ordinary physiotherapy and Bowen's therapy. Bowens worked the best but nothing would give more than a few hours relief from the extreme pain. My husband then hit on the Tens machine and that was the only thing that really helped. I would recommend it without hesitation. I dropped the morphine, which was a bit of nightmare for me anyway, and managed to live with the Tens machine.
Unfortunately my problem rapidly progressed to me losing strength from my arm and from my fingers and a neurologist recommended the dissection and fusion. It is not an easy fix, but to me it saved my life. I went back to work four months after the operation, seven months after first feeling the pain. I could not say I'm as good as new, but the pain has gone. My neck is stiff, gets tired very easily and a bit uncomfortable. I cannot lift, push or pull anything heavy. But I'm here, enjoying my family and grandchildren. I couldn't ask for more. I'm 63 and now feeling my age, that's all.
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After my marriage 8th month i was pregnant later doctor scanned and said there was no fetal pole yolk sac undergone D&C. AFTER 6MONTH gap again doctor said that i am pregnant with 45 days scan they said same no yolk sac no fetal pole they gave me tablets mifi and misoprostol .i was totally depressed went to break my relationship. i did all the investigation feed up with life... NOW 2013 november 21 was my last period on 50 th day scan doctor said that heart beat was there fetal pole yolk sac was seen good review after 10 days, i was been a happiest girl in the world .... ON 60 rth day scan doctor said no heartbeat was seen?
what should i have to do why this happens to me now they gave tablet to abortion.
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My wife and I have been through one miscarriage and may be going through another--the first simply stopped developing at 8 weeks. Each time we got pregnant while I was using Viagra. Is there any evidence that Viagra causes miscarriage?
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has anyone experienced repeated jerky body movements while taking statins...
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18 months ago I had a spigelian hernia repair. Everything seemed to go well until the following April when I was in a lot of pain around the site of the op. I subsequently found that I had 2 more hernias, a femoral hernia and an inguinal hernia. Both were repaired at the same time last August. It transpired that the mesh had come away from my 1st repair and wrapped itself round my inguinal hernia but this wasn't discovered until the actual repair was carried out.
Now I have similar pain and another hernia. My GP says that it is an incisional hernia and it is at the end of the scar from the last repair! I'm scared that the pain will become as bad as it was last year and worried for my job as I always seem to be off recovering from surgery.
How am I getting so many hernias? My consultant implies that it is because I smoke but surely that can't be the only cause!
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I had a herniated disc from July 2010, which trapped the Sciatic nerve and caused on going constant pain through my bum into my leg. After trying physiotherapy and so many different types of tablets nothing worked. Eventually after a long 18 months i had a discectomy to remove the part of the disc which was herniated. So that was in december 2011. I am now in just as much pain with pain which has now spread to the foot.
Has anyone else suffered the same or more pain after an operation?
What methods have you tried to deal with pain and what tablets did you use?
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I'm 25, a stay at home mum to 3. I've had problems with my back for a few years now which was put down to spinal stenosis. I've been in and out the gym for a long time, but I started to enjoy running in the morning too. My back then started to get worse, so I was referred for physiotherapy.
At the end of November to the start of December 2015 I started to get sciatica symptoms, it started just over a week after I started physio, I kept going for a few weeks which was difficult but I wanted to give myself a good start at recovering. I got very bad very quickly on the 18th Feb, I couldn't do anything without being in agony. I was admitted to hospital for a week to try manage the pain, I was given an injection into the nerve ending and sent home. This worked for a day!
The symptoms came back with a vengeance, I couldn't do anything, walking only to the toilet, which I'm ashamed to say I didn't make it in time every time. I couldn't sit up. I spend my time on my front with my knees tucked under me, it was the only position that reduced the pain to make it easier to deal with. I was on 50mg of mst, taking oramorph every couple of hours, and a few other meds. My gp was amazing though, he could see the pain was too much, and instead of a referral to surgery, he called a spinal surgeon himself. After getting an appointment the following week the surgeon agreed I needed urgent surgery, thankfully! After my pre assessments I has my discectomy. date for the 14th April 2016! So I've been lucky to be seen to soon.
The surgery went to plan, they done all they had to and without any problems. My blood pressure and heart rate caused some issues after the surgery, BP too low, heart rate too high. I was given 2 drips which did improve it temporarily. The results were instant, the pain had reduced, I could sit and walk the next day. There was pain, but nowhere near as substantial. I was sent home 2 days post op, on the ground i my pain medication from the gp Monday morning.
Today is Monday, since I've come home I've felt a whole lot worse, i feel ill. I struggle to eat, I keep getting dizzy spells, my heart keeps going crazy, hot flushes, then coldness. If it weren't for this, the recovery would be so much easier. I'm hoping it corrects itself, and doesn't warrant a visit to the gp. I feel I've overdone it and my leg has been very painful today, since this afternoon I've done nothing but worry about my future. Will I recover? Will it get bad again? Will I have a good quality of life? I only found out just before my op there are 3 damaged discs the middle one l4/l5 is the one that herniated. What would that mean for my future? Will that cause more problems?
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I'm a 29 year old father of two and a plumber by trade. I have suffered with two herniated discs for two and a half years and am now suffering quite badly and trying to stay in work. I have gone through physiotherapy and have had a nerve root injection with no avail. I have received my letter to go for a pre op health check etc for a lumbar discectomy. After reading other stories on here etc I'd like to try and shed some light on is this worth having or not?
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I have my discectomy booked and I go in tomorrow morning, I met the surgeon yesterday he seems really positive and he seems to have a good reputation, he said I won't need a laminectomy I thought everyone needed that... Don't they? Is he just trying to make me feel better! I was asking him about mega blood loss, spinal fluid leaks, staples and he was a bit like what have you been reading! I am so scared, he said they used to do a laminectomy but now they don't and I don't get a micro discectomy as they have sufficient lighting only difference is a microscope!
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I am just past the 7 week status of my Laminectomy, and am still uncomfortable. K can walk around my house all right,but as soon as I went out to walk down my street ,I can't walk it hurts.I do have an appointment with a hip specialist in a few weeks, but the pain in my groin area is non stop and I am wondering if.
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I had L4/L5 microdiscectomy and laminectomy about 4 months ago. I had on and off low back pain for 6-7 years but it became unbearable couple of years back. Prior to surgery I had buttock pain and I couldn't walk or stand without pain. I am recovering pretty slowly. I am off pain meds and I walk 45 mins a day and do gentle back stretches as advised by the surgeon. The surgeon said that I had a big herniation and he removed about 60-70% of the disc. Is it common to have that much removed?. Will I be able to recover fully or will i need more surgery like fusion in the future. I am just 27 yrs old and I don't want to live in pain.
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I am a 65 year old female soon to have a L4/L5 Laminectomy with resection of Synovial Cyst (L4/L5) I need more information about the surgery, and what to expect as far as recovery time, etc.
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In January 2013 I started having left leg pains and started taking ibuprofens or store brand pain killers. Over the last 3 months the pain has become chronic, numbness in my big toe and foot, tingling, and pain in my buttock. This is only happening in my left leg. To make a LONG story short. The MRI showed a cyst pressing against my spine causing the pain. Initially my chiropractor thought is was a disc issue causing my sciatic nerve issues. My neurologist suggested a laminectomy Surgery however his concern was if I need fusion. I had an x-ray done that indicated there is some slipping. The neurologist gave me his best guestimation of how long that area of my back would last without the fusion. If he could have given me a high % that the fusion is necessary I would be at peace with it. Decisions, decisions. I was told the recovery is about 4 -6 weeks and longer with the fusion Do you have any knowledge on either procedure?
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Hello,
I'm new on this board. On October 1st 2015 I had decompression surgery (L2-L4), a laminectomy and removal of a synovial cyst that was very high up on the spine (L2)- it was compressing the cauda equina in a bad way. Since then I have had a lot of nerve pain in my groin (both sides), hamstrings, plus sciatica down my right leg from the hip to the toes (according to the neurosurgeon, this is a 'small hernia' due to stenosis and a trapped nerve on S1/L5/L4 that he will operate on when the pain gets too much for me). Not sure if the sciatica is related to the cauda equina syndrome, but imo the cause of both is spinal stenosis. The nerve pain got less throughout the months (except for the sciatica) but the last weeks it's returning again more, on both sides. I had an MRI done two months ago for the sciatic pain and the doctor saw 'something' on the L2 facet joint that could be a new synovial cyst, or else it's scar tissue, he wasn't sure. My gut feeling is that the cyst is growing back and pressing on the cauda equina again- or could it be that i'm still recovering from the first surgery (now 6 months ago)? I sure hope it's the latter, as it was a big operation and the surgeon said that fusion may be next, as the facet joints move too much and in this way the liquid will keep forming new cysts. Ugh. Mid August I will have a new MRI to see whether the synovial cyst is back or not.
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I am a 50 year old female who had lumbar laminectomy at L3/4 eight weeks ago for lumbar stenosis and spondylolisthesis. The surgeon also performed a dynamic stabilisation at this level. As I understand it, this involves the insertion of a flexible and rod and screws, similar to fusion but allowing more flexion at this level while at the same time preventing the vertebra from slipping. Prior to surgery, I was unable to walk or stand for more than 5 - 10 minutes without becoming uncomfortable because of weakness in my legs and a tight cramping sensation in my buttocks. Surgery has relieved me of these symptoms, but I now have aching in my lower back, groins and hips when standing or walking for more than 5 - 10 minutes. I wasn't given any physio follow-up after discharge from hospital, but have had a couple of sessions with a private physiotherapist. She seems to think that these pains are due to the ligaments and muscles having to stretch as my spine as been realigned and my pelvis is now tilted forwards instead of backwards as it was before. Has anyone else experienced similar pains and if so, how long did it take for them to resolve? I am also very stiff first thing in the morning and when getting up from a sitting position. I do not have any pain when sitting or lying down.
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I've finally joined up to ask for some advice after lurking for the past year (injured my spine weightlifting in February 2013).
I have a prolapsed disc, confirmed by MRI, which is causing constant pain in my entire left leg. I appear to be a lot luckier than many on here, in that I can walk but running is out of the question most days as it sends huge pain down my leg when I 'bounce' while in motion.
My surgeon seems to think surgery isn't a great idea in my case as he's seen many people get worse or show no improvement. Can anyone share their recent experiences with me that might help in me deciding what my next actions are. I've been doing physio and so far it's only served to move the pain into my lower back - however the leg pain remains the same.
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Does nerve pain on the feet and calves go away after spinal surgery? I've been suffering from burning nerve pain since my back surgery. I had a laminectomy and fusion at t22 l1.
What can I do to help. Other imaging?
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i am having a posterior lumbar 4-5 laminectomy with synovial cyst removal on August 27,2015. I have a 5 day trip to Germany planned 6 &1/2 weeks later.
I now know the recovery to be longer than the one week I had thought. I know it is at least 6 weeks, after my pre surgery intake with the wonderful nurse I have. Does anyone have feedback about a 8 hour plane ride to Europe with only 6 weeks recovery time? Thanks
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