POST 8 MONTHS 5 LEVEL LUMBAR FUSION

I HAD THE SURGERY 8/13/09    I AM STILL HAVING PAIN AS BAD AS BEFORE I HAD THE SURGERY   PAST THIS SURGERY I HAVE STAYED WEAK AND PAINFUL   I HAVE ALSO DEVELOPED BROKEN SIPDER LIKE BROKEN VEINS   I HAVE SJOGRENS DISEASE AND NOW I HAVE BEEN DX PAST SURGERY WITH PERNICOUS ANEMIA   I AM UNABLE TO WALK VERY FAR AND CONTINUE TO HAVE PAIN RIGHT ON   I HAVE BEEN TAKING DARVOCET SINCE DECEMBER   I WANTED TO ASK IF YOU HAVE SEEN ANYONE AFTER THIS SURGERY THAT STARTED HAVING BROKEN SPIDER LIKE VEINS   THANK YOU SHERYL

[Neuro Forum]

Thanks for using the forum. I am happy to address your questions, and my answer will be based on the information you provided here. Please make sure you recognize that this forum is for educational purposes only, and it does not substitute for a formal office visit with your doctor.

Without the ability to examine your and obtain a history, I can not tell you what the exact cause of the symptoms is. However I will try to provide you with some useful information.

Recurrence or worsening of of pain after back surgery can result from scarring in the area, new impingements on nerve roots due to arthritis (osteophytes, bony spurs), or herniated discs. After back surgery, in a minority of patients suffer from post-laminectomy syndrome or failed back surgery syndrome. This is basically a condition in which back pain persists after a surgery done to try to treat the back pain. Causes include narrowing between the spinal column bones, arthritis between the bones, recurrent disc herniation, hip ligament/tendon problems, and scarring at the site of surgery. Also, if the problem prior to surgery was not a structural problem that could have been fixed with surgery, obviously the surgery would not have been helpful (in general). Repeat surgery is unlikely to be helpful unless there is a clearly-correctable recurrent disc or structural problem. The treatment is conservative, with physical therapy, analgesics, sometimes injections and less commonly more invasive functional procedures such as spinal cord stimulation.

I am not sure what you mean by broken spider like veins, but if you mean spider vericose veins, to my knowledge there is not a clear relationship between the occurrence of vericose veins and back surgery; veins in the leg can become engorged and more prominent when there is clotting of venous structures more proximally (such as in the femoral region or pelvis) but it would be hard to tie back surgery in with spider veins. Spider veins are very common and increase with age and with prolonged standing.

For your back pain, evaluation at an academic spine center is recommended; if surgery is not going to be an option, evaluation by a spine medicine specialist (a non-surgical specialist in the spine) may be of particular benefit.

Thank you for this opportunity to answer your questions, I hope you find the information I have provided useful, good luck.