Discectomy failure?

[Ardwulfram]

Hi everyone

Well, its been about 10 months since I was here posting about my disectomy/laminectomy. All had been going well since the op in February of this year, apart from numbness in my right leg and foot. Unfortunately, I have had to have a hysterectomy in October of this year and after about 2 weeks post op, my back pain has returned. The pain seems to be in my left side rather than my right as it was before my surgery.

My question is, do discectomy's ever have to be repeated? Can a hysterectomy cause the back to suffer once again?

The pain is horrible and it has brought back so many memories. Not been back to gp as I feel like i'm never away from the surgery.

Just wanted to know if discectomy surgery ever has to get repeated.

 

[laey]

Behind every acute problem is a chronic context waiting to be resolved. In other words, the surgery doesn't necessarily remove the cause of the problem but its effects.

With a history of chronic pain, the pathways to the brain have become sensitised, hence following the changes of the hysterectomy, you may be more prone to the pain returning, even if the actual situation is not so serious as it was before.

The persistent symptoms of numbness could be incidental to the disc problem, or related to it only distantly, for example there may be an element of problems elsewhere along the course of the nerve (google piriformis syndrome).

But what to do? This doesn't really answer your question directly, but if you just see your options as 'surgery vs. no surgery', then that doesn't encompas many other possible routes forward that may exist.

 

[Vicky S]

Dear China, so sorry to hear about your new situation. To answer your question, yes discectomy's do sometimes need to be repeated but more often it is a new one that needs to be done, as in your case, left now not right . Go and see your gp or perhaps ring and see what they suggest?

 

[ZZIVTZ]

The pain this morning has been awful and I decided that I couldn't put of calling the doctor any longer.

She looked at my previous notes surrounding my op in Feb of this year and then did an examination.

Basically she said that I need an MRI to determine what is going on but she did warn me that my back was in a pretty poor way for someone of my age. Lots of degeneration and it looked like I would need further surgery going forward.

Hey ho, here we go again.

Quick question, would they repeat a disectomy or do something else?

 

[oadvwhwa]

Hi all i havent posted for a few weeks but id like to say thank you to Cassie,Melza and Keano for the advice they gave me on my last post. Just to explain to others i had a microdiscectomy L5/S1 in april this year and at first the pain went away and i felt great,but afew weeks later it came back as pins and needles down my left leg,awful pain under my foot and my toes felt numb.The pain in my lower back now spreads to both hips and i have little strength in my left leg,i started physio in august and was told i had no muscle tone or strength left sided and that it had started to effect my right side.In october the physio told me to stop doing the exercises as the pain is constant and has no pattern to it,im booked in for mri in december to see what is going on. My problem at the moment is my back just "GOES" it feels like it is snapping at the base and there is no warning that its going to happen it just does then the pain runs up my spine and gives me an awful headache which dissappears but i have to shuffle off until i get some feeling back in my legs and back.I saw my doctor last week and she said its possible something is pressing on my spineal coloumn but until the mri theres nothing we can do,im also wondering if this could be why my little finger has started to go numb and have pins and needles in it. I bought the Back sufferers bible reccommended by Melza and i read up about Facet joints mentioned by Cassie and it sounds like the problems im having could be facet joints.I went for a long walk yesturday and felt great until late in the afternoon and my back "went" now im in agony and i feel sore on the right side of my spine where i had the op.Is it possible to have done another disc? and if its facet joints do these show up on mri scans?. Im really worried that now ive had the op the next scan will show nothing up but i know things in my back are not right,does anyone else have this problem?. Im sorry if ive dragged on but i will be greatful for any advice and thank you

 

[**DANY**]

dolliepie, were you by any chance diagnosed with a spondylolysthesis? That could cause both the earlier damage at L5/S1 disc and the symptom you now describe.

Other possibilities exist also, including hypermobility to the sacro-iliac joints. In any case, this spontaneous change you describe during normal movement could lead to the symptoms higher up by upsetting the stable base for the rest of the spine.

This is why it's so important to consider the mechanical relationships of the whole system, and not just focussing in minutely on the area where the most actual damage happens to show up. Generally this level of discussion falls on deaf ears in the back problems section, if somebody could explain that to me I'd be very grateful.

 

[skippy]

Hi KVDP sorry its been awhile for me to reply, the only thing my consultant told me at the time was a large prolapsed disk at L5/S1 which he did microdiscectomy on 22nd april2010. At first most symptoms went away but some returned afew weeks later, now 8mths on i have constant pain day and night in my hips and middle back at op site the leg pain on the outside of the lower left leg is coming and going and pins and needles in both legs which can last days then go away, All these i could live with if i have to but the most disabilitating pain is when my back " JUST GOES" its like its snapping in half,it happens when im walking,crossing my legs just standing still then moving off but sneezing is a nightmare. I had a contrast mri on 13th december but dont see consultant till 18th feb so still living on co codamol,do you know if a contrast scan will show up any other problem? be it disk or faucet joints etc,im so afraid it wont and he will say its all clear when i know im not imagining this problem i also now have a large mottled looking patch across the bottom of my back where the op site is but my doc doesnt know what it is.

 

[Orphen]

Hi dollypie, this probably won't help much but I had a discectomy c5/c6 in 2006 and it's just within the last year I have stopped feeling pain (still get niggles and still get pins and needles now and then), I was diagnosed with spondylosis way back then, I am now a massage therapist don't give up hope x

 

[gemgem279]

Hi Dollypie
not sure exactly what that MRI will be intended to look for, but if there is a gross bony abnormality that would appear. A few points to note:

1) spines are incredibly tough. The changes that can create severe symptoms are often very small, but seem huge, and can come loaded with fear. The fear can make things worse, and although I wouldn't want to dismiss your problem, you are almost certainly NOT falling to pieces - okay!

2) if an MRI doesn't show anything, that is good news, not bad. What it may mean though, is that the surgeon will have reached the end of his usefulness. And if the mystery remains, that just opens the door to other approaches. Often things do not show up on tests, but there is a world of other ways to look at the problem.

3) you have not always had this problem, so things have changed in order for it to get so severe. Those change are what should interest us, probably over and above the exact bit that hurts. In my view, ageing is not sufficient explanation, otherwise every old person would have your problem.

4) it sounds as if there is an element of hypermobility or instability, for whatever reason. This is not a problem of local changes, it is a problem of the whole system of the body losing coordination, the result being to either focus forces strongly at certain places, or to deprive certain tissues of their basic needs, ie. nutrition.

5) as soon as this is approached as a 'back' problem or a 'disc' problem, something important is lost, and that is the context of the rest of the body and its environment. To some this is irrelevant, to other, this is everything. Doing 'back' treatments and 'back exercises' will therefore at best be of limited value.

Sorting this out is a whole-body consideration, I'm afraid getting to grips with it, and giving a more accurate assessment means personal consultations, and there is a world of systems available for that. In the meantime, you can help this by always remembering this is living tissue, and not a dead mechanical structure, and considering your general health as the basis of recovery. And recover you will, providing any obstacles to recovery are dealt with - if you are not getting better, it simply means everyone's looking in the wrong place for the obstacles.

I hope that helps.

 

[Rt Cald]

Hi JoJo thank you for your reply spondylosis hasnt been mentioned but will see what the results in feb bring, i just seem worse now than before and like you i do massage and a full range of beauty treatments but driving to my clients causes pain in my back,leg and foot. I used to run five miles three times a week and now im lucky if i can walk a mile, im just frustrated with myself,but thank you for listening

 

[Charlotte?]

Hi Kdvp thank you for your reply it made me feel better i will have to wait to see what results say in feb,im used to running and keeping fit and working full time but at moment am limited to work and running is out so im frustrated that im not back to normal maybe i expected to much straight awayanyway im determined to get sorted and back exercising in the next few months. I will let you know what mri finds and thank you once agai

 

[chelsea.divine]

I had my MRI on 18th December and was called back to see GP two days later. The report confirms my initial fears about re-herniation. I have prolapsed at the same level and also the one below. The report also went on to detail significant disc degeneration.

Ironically since being given the news, my symptoms have intensified dramatically. The numbness in my right leg that I was experiencing has now spread to all over my thigh, calf and the whole of my foot. The other weired thing is that I am having trouble lifting up my right foot at the ankle. Driving is nearly impossible now as I have trouble feeling the pedals and moving my foot. When walking for a while, I have trouble to lift my foot which is horrible.

I didn't have any pain in my left side at all before my surgery but now I get pain in my left buttock and thigh.

I had a call from the hospital yesterday and they are seeing me in the spinal triage unit tomorrow morning which is good news.

I just don't know what to expect. I really hope I don't have to have any more surgery.

 

[SavvyG1208]

Foot drop is not a pleasant matter, but you are being seen tomorrow and you can't ask for better than that. And it looks as if they are taking this seriously. Good luck

 

[Qu??? of ??e GyPsi?s]

Hope you both get the answers you need x

 

[GameFreak]

Just heard from the hospital and my op is scheduled for 14th Feb.

Does anybody know if 2nd discectomie's have a longer or shorter recovery time?

 

[2cute]

It should be the same if technique is the same...

 

[Ka-rap]

Hi China
I had a 2nd Lumber decompression operation which is know as a revision lumber decompression. The recovery time was as stated the same as the first one.

However I had complications after that which as caused further problems as they bruised a nerve and the operation was not healing so I had to have what is know as a debridlement.

However if all goes well then yes the recovery time is the same

 

[AnswerDude]

Tomorrow is my pre-op for my scheduled discectomy on 14th Feb. I will be meeting my surgeon for the first time as the surgeon who carried out my first op has now moved to a different hospital.

My right leg and foot numbness has got progressively worse and I am now tripping up which is horrible. Another weird and scarey symptom, which has appeared over the passed couple of days has been my lack of bladder control. Sorry if TMI. Horrible sensation and not sure whether to mention anything tomorrow. Burning feeling down below too which is a bit weired.

Anyway, lets see what they say tomorrow.

 

[Why So serious ?]

Hiya China, I How did things go yesterday? I hope all went well.

Best wishes

SPINELF

 

[E&L]

Thank you so much for asking. Unfortunately, my situation has now changed slightly as my symptoms have worsened. I explained to the consultant about the odd accident with my waterworks and the strange sensation down there that I am experiencing. Anyway to cut to the chase and following more examinations, it looks like I have the start of cauda equina. As a result my surgery is now happening next wednesday (2nd). I have also been falling over to the side where the weakness and numbness is.

I am so scared about all of this and shocked about how quickly things are deteriorating.

One minute I am fine and the next I am a jibbering wreck.