Anyone here ever have back surgery?

[The patriot]

I've been put out of work by my Dr. for my back.

He says it's(many) herniated discs and some are bulging:{ and the MRI's confirm this. Cervical, thoratic and lumbar areas.

One Dr. of mine reccomended surgery immediately, but I want to go a less invasive route first since I hear only bad things about this perticular surgery.

One person I know now lives in a wheelchair because of Dr. error, and I know of several friends of friends that have had the same results.

The less invasive progress hasnt been moving along as fast as I would have expected.

Anyone here ever go under the knife for anything like this?

Eric

 

[Forrest]

No Eric, I haven't, but someone close to me has & is scheduling #2 ... neck area & a "cage".



Did the Dr tell you a "% probability" of paralysis, or anything like that? Johns Dr didn't & I've heard that they do.



The late night talk show host, Art Bell, passed up back surgery because the Dr told him 50% chance of paralysis. Crappy odds man.



Forrest

 

[Steve St.Laurent]

JUST went through it in the cervical region. I had to have the disc between c6 & c7 removed and those 2 vertabrae fused with a piece of donor bone and a titanium strap and screws. If you want to read about what I went through here are some of the threads:



Ugly trip to the orthopedic surgeon today - going under the knife again

24 hours till surgery, will be out of touch for a few days

Surgery postponed

I swear these doctors are trying to kill me!

Surgery 8:00 am Friday morning - will be out of touch for a few days

UPDATE: Steve "surgery" St. Laurent... .



In the end I'm SOOOOOOOOOO glad I had it done. I still have a 50 lb lift restriction right now (should be lifted soon) but have zero issues (no pain) - it's been 5 months. When I woke up from the surgery all of the pain was gone (except for the pain from the surgery itself), all the numbness was gone, and my fingers worked normally again. It was like a switch had been thrown. There's a picture of the MRI in the first thread up above. There are also a number of stories from other members in those posts with their experiences.



I did a LOT of research and found a couple of alternative procedures that in my case didn't make sense but they may in yours. You may want to look into them and ask your doctor about them. I would also recommend getting a 2nd opinion. Make sure that your Doc has done lots of these surgeries and has a good success rate. This isn't something to enter into lightly but if it's done right and all works out it can change your life. First one to check out is Dr. Jho's procedures - http://www.drjho.com/ . Another recent thing is artificial discs, check them out here - http://www.spinalneurosurgery.com/artificial_disc_resources.htm .



Good luck with it! I know for me it helped a lot to talk to others who had been through it and to dump stuff here and on another site I am a regular on. It was a very traumatic time.

 

[mopars1]

Eric, I have not had any surgery in two of the regions of the spine you are talking about, but I did have surgery in the cervical area. I tried everything under the sun and nothing helped. I had good luck using a Chiropractor for my lower back problems, but my neck was too bad for him to help. He tried for three weeks and my symptoms did not get better. I saw three doctors (orthopedic and neurosurgeons) and they all stated I needed surgery. I had two disc's taken out of my neck at the c5-6 and c6-7 area, and there were bone dowels installed so the three vertebra are fused together now. I have had no problems since and it has been 9. 5 years since the surgery. I would do it again in a heartbeat without hesitation. I had a good doctor that had performed many of this type of surgery, so that helped.

 

[bighammer]

I blew out both sides of a disc in my lower back (bilateral herniation of L5-S1) and had to have surgery right away. My whole leg was completely numb. The surgery was not too big of a deal (I was asleep ) and I was released the next morning. My wife would not let me drive home and I swore she hit EVERY manhole cover, pothole, etc. on the way home. Later that night, (Sunday) I was in incredible pain-- Unable to sit or lay down, my feet got VERY tired as I paced the floor all night. Finally was able to get muscle relaxers about mid-day. If you have the surgery, demand a couple muscle relaxers for the (common) spasms after you get home.



Having the 20 or so staples removed after I had started to grow around them was not fun either.



I hate to sound like a complainer. I know some people have MUCH worse, more often. (If not every day)

 

[elamb]

I had two disc cracked 9 years ago. It took them for ever to find it. Shriners finally found it. My parents had my local doctor do the surgery. I am glad I had it done. Best of luck to ya.



Eric

 

[JPope]

Had the same surgery as Steve St. L (no strap though) 20 years ago. Actually had it twice as the bone grafts did not take the first time (both surgeries within 8 weeks). Orthopedic surgeon the first time and orthopedic and neurosurgeon the second (neurosurgeon was there to clean up a narrowed cavity next to my spine they discovered the first time). By the way if they use your bone for the graft it comes from the hip and talk about pain from removing the bone!!!!!!!!!!! Steve had donor grafts I believe.



Orthosurgeon gave the best advise about how to decide on surgery option:

Only you, THE PATIENT, can decide on when to do it, if at all, by the quality of life issues you face. Do NOT let anyone talk you into it, and get all of the advice, 2nd/3rd opinions (from separate practices) you need to help you with possible consequences.



In my case as with Steve, it made a tremendous difference (had lost use of right hand/fingers and arm). 20 years later everything is OK, still have some occasional pain and discomfort, but no more than overdoing it kind of strains. Hip area still has its moments though!



Good luck with your decision, and make an informed one!

 

[rrausch]

A friend of mine, young kid about 22, was swinging a sledge hammer on a construction site, and blew out a Lumbar Disc. After about two weeks he could only walk bent over at 90 degrees--he could NOT walk, stand or even lie down straight. It was quite a sight to see him walking everywhere bent completely over. His doctor did a Laser Surgery on him, the incision was no longer that 2 inches, and used a laser to burn away the offending disc. He was back on his feet standing straight almost immediately with no pain. Moral: The less invasive the surgery is, the easier it is to recover from, and the less chance of damaging nerves.



Think of it this way: Changing the fuel filter on the 2nd Gen trucks is a cumbersome thing, only because of the location of the thing. Well, the location of those damaged discs is what makes the surgery so difficult and so dangerous--they are located right next to the Spinal Cord and all the motor & sensory nerves which emanate from the spinal cord. One little slip and really serious damage could be done. If you do have to go with the invasive surgery, go with a trusted, sober pro who has done many, many of the same surgeries.

 

[The patriot]

Thanks guys. Keep the info coming, I want to know everything I can about this.



I havent been taking pain meds. I dont want to numb it and possibly cause more injury bu over using it.



My legs go numb at times, but not unless I walk or stand too long.

If I sti too long it hurts too. In fact I wake up in the morning in pain.

My wife has been er ahhhhh assisting me with my dressing in the morn.

I'm going to stick with the chiropractor for a while longer then get to some orthopedic Dr's and Neurosurgeons.

Dam disability ins. co. is screwing with me.

I wish to hell I could just mail them the MRI's to shut them up.

Eric

 

[RBrunson]

I also had the same job done on me as Steve, this was in 89 and like he said "it is wonderful to wake up with no pain", but as I am sitting here now I am in pain. Been taking pain pill for the last few weeks to get to sleep. Left arm is going to sleep on me again when I get in certain positions.

I don't think anyone of us that have gone under the knife will ever be perfect again, but you need to make that decision for yourself and your family.

I must say that I have had several years of pain free. Those of who know what you are going through feel your pain and I hope you have a good out come of your situation.

 

[John - K5AWO]

My wife was in a car accident in 1996. Badly damaged her neck and back. Other guy at fault and his insurance company made the word "stingy" sound like a godsend.



She finally found a good spinal surgeon, they guy who invented that micro-mesh platinum nect strap. He sliced her C2-C7 vertabrae on each side down to the core. Removed both halves and dremeled out a new channel for the spinal cord. Used the dust from the cuts and a special bone glue to put it all back together. It has been almost 2 years now and she has remarkable movement and no pain. Lift her neck up to see above is something she will never be able to do again, but NO PAIN anymore.



She would do it again in a heart beat.



The back is still giving a lot of pain though. She had a complete shoulder replacement 15 months ago. That worked perfectly! She can now reach behind her back and tie her apron strings again.



She quizzed the ortho guy who did the shoulder surgery about having her back fixed. His answer:

Never let those guys touch you unless it is your only option.



I thought that unusual for a doc to say about his profession.

 

[rrausch]

I have another friend, a nurse who used to lift patients from beds--boy that is HARD work. Anyway, she blew out a disc in her lower back and spent the next 2-3 weeks crawling around on the floor, unable to stand at all. Finally after about 2 months she was back to "sort of normal". That was 2 years ago and she is fine now, but she doesn't lift patients much anymore! The body's ability to heal itself is phenomenol!!

 

[dieselpilot1969]

I had a lower lumbar fusion 5 weeks ago, was on my feet after two days. I had no other option as my legs had gone numb and it was almost impossible to walk because of the pain , all this due to being rear ended on a motorcycle sitting at a red light. Anyhow I am 5 weeks out now and I felt all the pain in my legs go away right after surgery. I would only suggest you find absolutely the best neurosurgeon you can.

 

[The patriot]

OUCH!!

I saw the MRI's from Steve's operation and it's similar to what I have. Vertibre pinching the spinal cord. Ouch!!

I'll try to bring my camera to the Dr's one of these days so i can put mine up.

Eric