Posted by CCF Neurosurgery MD on October 14, 1997 at 12:31:03:

In Reply to: scar tissue after laminectomy posted by laurie on October 09, 1997 at 22:56:29:

: I had a lamenectomy [ L5-S1 } back in dec of 96. I went through every kind of physical therapy,walked every day, did everything right but still had a lot of pain in my back and left leg also an incredible sensation in my foot. twitching ,pushing ,pulling, squeezing, crushing. my dr. sent me for another MRI which showed alot of scar tissue and a small piece of disc material which might or might not be the reason for my pain and leg symptoms. my dr. suggested steroid injections, which i did recieve, an epidural and selective nerve root . they had no effect on me. my dr. was willing to operate for a second time to remove the small piece of disc but was not very optimistic about the outcome. it could help or it could make it worse or i would be the same. i would be curious to hear what you think of my situation. thank you
_

You probably had surgery for either a herniated disc at the L5-S1 level, or
for spinal canal stenosis. In the event of a disc the leg pain, usually
in the calf area and bottom of the foot, should improve shortly after surgery.
If you had spinal canal stenosis, the symptoms of pain and leg weakness when
walking should also get better after surgery.

Your particular pain after surgery may be the same or a different kind of pain.
The MRI should guide the surgeon as to there is any disc material left pressing
on nerve roots. Studies have shown that the prospects for improvement in
pain decrease after each surgery in this type of case. Much of this depends
on how impressed the surgeon is with the latest MRI. Unfortunately, about
10% of cases show little improvement in spite of surgery and a multitude of
alternative therapies.

Good luck.