Should I opt for surgery (lumbar microdiscectomy)

Hi Folks,

I have had about 10 weeks of severe sciatica which first came on at the start of March this year (2010).  I had shooting pain down my left leg, all the way to the foot, and I had numbness on my left calf and left foot.  There was a terrible weakness in my left leg too.

I spent 10 weeks doing physio and trying to go for daily walks, there was only slight reduction in my symptoms.  I had an MRI scan which showed a herniated disc.  The neurosurgeon recommended I get a lumbar microdiscectomy.  

The thing is since my appointment with the consultant I have started to improve naturally and am only in pain with certain movements or prolonged sitting.  The consultant believes I should still opt for the surgery as he thinks even if the sciatica symptoms disappear it is very lightly to recur.

I'm a very sporty person by nature, I play a lot of football, judo and weight training, snowboarding among other things, I really want to get back to these sports, I would also like to be able to do them without having to worry about the problem recurring.

So I suppose my question is, should I opt for the surgery, or just hope that the problem will heal up naturally?

Thanks for taking the time to read this post, any comments would be greatly appreciated.

[Dr. A. Srivastava]

Hi, Thank you for your question. First, It is essential to understand the extent of the disc prolapse, since in non resolving cases surgery is indicated. I can understand your apprehension about the surgery but your treating doctor is the best judge to let you know about the outcome. Hope this helps.