Back Surgery for L5 S1

I have a ruptured disc in my back L5 S1. I have had two epidural and NO relief. The Otho is talking surgery. My right leg is hurting my thigh feels like it is on fire. My foot feels like it is asleep with feeling in only my big toe.

What operation can be done and what is the extent, recovery etc...???

I have no pituitary gland and take meds for the functions the pituitary glad does and I am concerned about getting my meds post op.

I also had a stroke on my left side so I'm worried about rehab and not having the strength of the left side to aide in recovery.

Please help set my mind at ease!!

Thanks in advance!!

[Kalvin]

Did your Surgeon mention which type of procedure he/she was recommending? There's a couple different options. If  the majority of your pain is down the leg, you might be to get away with just having a  Microdiscectomy. What they do is basically just remove the portion of the disc that has herniated and is compressing the nerve. They can also do this procedure endoscopically, which eliminates the need for all the muscle resection that is generally done with traditional open back surgeries. Also the recoveries from these procedures are much easier than traditional surgery. The recovery can be measured in weeks. You might want to spend sometime researching it.

The other option is an anterior or posterior fusion where they remove the entire disc and fill the space with a bone graft or a cage, and then the upper and lower levels eventually fuse together, fusions are done for a variety of reasons, instability, disc pain, severe disc degeneration and many other reasons. I had one several years ago and the recovery is lengthy and can be measured in months, many months, but I'm very happy with the results.

As far as the pituitary issues, I have Thyroid issues and I got my Endocrinologist involved with both of my surgeries, let yours know. You have to have a complete physical before surgery, at least you use to have to, also you want to have some lab work scheduled right before you have surgery, so your Endocrinologist can check your levels and make sure every things okay, because if its not, they won't operate. I'm not sure what you mean about getting your meds post-op. Before surgery, you'll be interviewed by a Nurse to find out what meds your taking, different conditions you have and so forth. If you have to stay in the hospital a couple days, they'll take care of it.

The rehab issue is something a Therapist would know about, maybe you might have to take it a little slower. If you rehab-ed after your stroke, maybe you can see the same Therapist, that would be good. Any other questions you have, just let me know.


Take Care  

[Kalvin]

Did your Surgeon mention which type of procedure he/she was recommending? There's a couple different options. If  the majority of your pain is down the leg, you might be to get away with just having a  Microdiscectomy. What they do is basically just remove the portion of the disc that has herniated and is compressing the nerve. They can also do this procedure endoscopically, which eliminates the need for all the muscle resection that is generally done with traditional open back surgeries. Also the recoveries from these procedures are much easier than traditional surgery. The recovery can be measured in weeks. You might want to spend sometime researching it.

The other option is an anterior or posterior fusion where they remove the entire disc and fill the space with a bone graft or a cage, and then the upper and lower levels eventually fuse together, fusions are done for a variety of reasons, instability, disc pain, severe disc degeneration and many other reasons. I had one several years ago and the recovery is lengthy and can be measured in months, many months, but I'm very happy with the results.

As far as the pituitary issues, I have Thyroid issues and I got my Endocrinologist involved with both of my surgeries, let yours know. You have to have a complete physical before surgery, at least you use to have to, also you want to have some lab work scheduled right before you have surgery, so your Endocrinologist can check your levels and make sure every things okay, because if its not, they won't operate. I'm not sure what you mean about getting your meds post-op. Before surgery, you'll be interviewed by a Nurse to find out what meds your taking, different conditions you have and so forth. If you have to stay in the hospital a couple days, they'll take care of it.

The rehab issue is something a Therapist would know about, maybe you might have to take it a little slower. If you rehab-ed after your stroke, maybe you can see the same Therapist, that would be good. Any other questions you have, just let me know.


Take Care  

[skmedlin27703]

Has your doctor discussed maybe a medial branch nerve block?  I had one that did wonders for me.  I would check it out if I were you. Good luck and hope you feel better soon.