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Leg Pain after Lumbar Microdiscectomy

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MedHelp Member's Question

Leg Pain after Lumbar Microdiscectomy

by Little AKC, Jul 28, 2004 12:00AM

Tags: pain, lumbar, Neurology, leg pain, General Neurology, Hope, prednisone, recovery, symptom, years, irritable

I had a lumbar microdiscectomy for a herniated disc at L5-S1 one week ago. I am still having pain in my leg, especially in my calf, and at times still in my buttock. I also woke up with numbness in my foot which I did not have before surgery. I am guessing this is irritation of the nerve from the surgery - the surgeon said my nerve was pretty beat up - but I am wondering how long should I expect this to last? What is the normal expected time for any swelling and inflammation to resolve after this type of surgery?

Doctor's Answer

by CCF-Neuro-M.D.-CS, Aug 01, 2004 12:00AM

The recovery from surgery is quite variable and dependant on age, other medical conditions, and the severity of the damage prior to surgery. I would give it at least 3-6 months before giving up hope. However, in some cases the pain does not resolve, and may require medical pain management. Good luck.

Member Comments (4)

by nurse12hr, Jul 31, 2004 12:00AM

I had a similar rupture (L5-S1)/microdiscectomy about 2 years ago. I also had a recurrance of symptoms shortly after surgery, and had to have several courses of oral prednisone to "calm down" the irritated nerves. Eventually, within 3 months, I was symptom free.

You should contact the neurosurgeon who did your surgery (or whoever did it) to report what you are feeling, and obtain guidance from there.

by Pain Man, Aug 05, 2004 12:00AM

I had a complete disc replacement (Lumbar) a few months ago and still have pain/numbness/aches. It is one of those things that takes time and a lot of effort on your part to deal with. It seems as though there is not an answer out there for this. In the long run it is still pretty early to determine if the surgery is effective. I can relate. Just hang in there!

by mwalden, Sep 03, 2004 12:00AM

I've had two microdiscectomies since April. The first was a ruptured disc L-5 that left a fragment lodged on my sciatic nerve. The second was also because of a fragment; however the disc was healing. Both times I dealt with hardships in the recovery process. Same symptoms as described in other messages. Pain in my left lower calf, upper left buttock, as well as pain in my lower back. It has been 7 weeks since my second surgery and I'm still taking prednisone and nurotin. My surgeon said I'm a rare/unusual case and I was so relieved and grateful to find others who've experienced the same symptoms as me. They say 90% of the people who have this surgery are completely well after two weeks. I'm back at work now and take ibuprofen to manage the pains. I hope to say that within 3-6 months of my surgery that I too will be symptom free. Would love to network with anyone out there who would like to talk more about recovering from microdiscectomy surgery. I'm 42 years of age and have no previous history of back problems. Is it true that the hole in your disc closes over and that fragments will disolve within 3-5 months on their own? Again I would appreciate more information on recovery.

by lakeman1, May 21, 2008 07:05AM

A related discussion, swelling from microdiscectomy was started.

by cjajdw1974, Sep 03, 2008 12:30PM

A related discussion, nerve damage repair microdiscectomy was started.

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