Numbness in non-operative thigh

I had a spinal for my recent knee surgery. My surgery was to my left knee. It has been 7 weeks since surgery at this point and immediately after surgery I was experiencing numbness, tingling and sharp stabbing pains in my right thigh, the outside of the thigh. It is quite bad at night as the thigh appears to go into a sleep like state and when I go to move my leg or rub it in the morning the pain is excruciating and brings me to tears.  Again this is my non-operative leg.  My operative leg is still quite painful and they are wanting to wean me off the pain medication - not sure what they will put me on. But I need to know if the numbness that has not improved since surgery is something that I should be concerned about. If it doesn't go away I will have a serious problem for my remaining years as I sit at a desk and work all day and the thigh goes numb at work as well. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.  Is there any chance this numbness could be caused by the medication?

[S. Kaul, MD]

Hi there!

Well, it would be difficult to say, though this could be a rare complication of spinal anaesthesia or an unrelated cause. It would be best to get this evaluated by your doctor before one can come to a conclusive diagnosis and appropriate management initiated.
Hope this was useful.

Take care!