Chronic Pain Support Group
Physicians and professionalsdefine pain as chronic if it lasts longer than three to six months and is persistent. It's distinct from acute pain that is a direct result of injury or trauma. This support group is dedicated to those suffering from chronic pain. Discuss treatments that have worked for you, find advice for your specific experience, and find support. You're not...
hi folks,
I just got home from the hospital after an L4-5 disckectomy. I had a laminectomy from L2-L5 as well as a disckectomy to deal with cauda equina syndrome seven years ago. That surgery went very badly, and I spent a year re-learning how to walk. I had this most recent surgery because I had a new herniation and severe leg pain, with no relief from steroid injections. I lost a lot of spinal fluid this time and had to spend three days flat on my back in the hospital, to prevent what would have been a monster spinal headache. I also lost the limited function I had in my left foot, and now have to hope that it will come back, or I'm stuck wearing a brace forever.
Apparently, most of the membrane around my spine has been completely destroyed by scar tissue. My surgeon could not sew the tissue back together and had to use an artificial membrane as a patch. She told me that I have the worst scar tissue she's ever seen, and that I should never have another spinal surgery, unless it's some sort of emergency situation. She's implied that my prior surgeon did a hack job, which confirms my suspicions. I really trust my current surgeon and have always had misgivings about what happened with my first surgery.
I certainly don't want to go through any morespinal surgery, but being told that it isn't going to be even an option for the future was shocking. I've been kind of expecting to end up with a fusion at some point, but my surgeon says the previous laminectomy took so much bone that there's hardly anything left to fuse, even if I didn't have this huge amount of scar tissue. I'm only 29 years old. My quality of life was really diminishing just from the one disk herniation, and I imagine that this just the beginning for me.
Has anyone else been told they cannot have surgery due to scar tissue? Did different doctors have differing opinions about that? I'm a bit shell-shocked right now and could use some advice on what might be in store for me in the future.
I just got home from the hospital after an L4-5 disckectomy. I had a laminectomy from L2-L5 as well as a disckectomy to deal with cauda equina syndrome seven years ago. That surgery went very badly, and I spent a year re-learning how to walk. I had this most recent surgery because I had a new herniation and severe leg pain, with no relief from steroid injections. I lost a lot of spinal fluid this time and had to spend three days flat on my back in the hospital, to prevent what would have been a monster spinal headache. I also lost the limited function I had in my left foot, and now have to hope that it will come back, or I'm stuck wearing a brace forever.
Apparently, most of the membrane around my spine has been completely destroyed by scar tissue. My surgeon could not sew the tissue back together and had to use an artificial membrane as a patch. She told me that I have the worst scar tissue she's ever seen, and that I should never have another spinal surgery, unless it's some sort of emergency situation. She's implied that my prior surgeon did a hack job, which confirms my suspicions. I really trust my current surgeon and have always had misgivings about what happened with my first surgery.
I certainly don't want to go through any morespinal surgery, but being told that it isn't going to be even an option for the future was shocking. I've been kind of expecting to end up with a fusion at some point, but my surgeon says the previous laminectomy took so much bone that there's hardly anything left to fuse, even if I didn't have this huge amount of scar tissue. I'm only 29 years old. My quality of life was really diminishing just from the one disk herniation, and I imagine that this just the beginning for me.
Has anyone else been told they cannot have surgery due to scar tissue? Did different doctors have differing opinions about that? I'm a bit shell-shocked right now and could use some advice on what might be in store for me in the future.
I am very sorry for all that you have been through, it sounds like your first surgeon was as good as my first... (this is my attempt at humor.. I had a surgeon that messed me also). It is too bad that the surgery was 7 years ago, and that now you have no way of suing the jerk that did this to you!
If you trust this new surgeon and she has told you that you should not have anymore spinal surgeries, I will take her word.. But, just in case, in about 6 to 8 months when things are a bit better on your back and things have settled, I would find a good Doctor to get a second opinion. Get an MRI in the future and see what another surgeon has to say.
I've been told not to have anymore spinal surgeries, I've had 5 so far... but the reason for me not having more surgeries is because my lumbar spine is a mess! Cadaver bone has broken off from my fusions and is all over my spinal canal, etc. so is better for me not to have anyone else touch it.
As far as your drop foot and your nerve damage, you can always go see a pain management Doctor and talk to him about getting a spinal cord stimulator implanted, to help you with those issues. I had the same issues and my SCS took care of that. So wait until you are healed and then you can think of having an SCS installed so you can walk better and have a better quality of life.
In the meantime take care of yourself, try to recover from this surgery, remember NO BLT (bending, lifting or twisting) until at least 8 weeks post-op. Make sure that your pain is taken care of and then you can look into the future and see what can be done to help you. Sending you lots of love and hugs,
Tipper
~hugs