why?

[dgulley]

Why would a surgen who is replacing a hip remove scar tissue from nerve?

[abhijeet v ghosh]

hi dgulley,
removal of scar tissue, in any procedure, is a must as scar tissue has got no properties of the native tissue, from which it has grown. So if it's done while doing a hip replacement, the idea is to avoid the scar tissue for causing any disturbance in the nerve impulse transmission.
Can you tell me, why you asked this question?
regards
abhijeet

[dgulley]

I resently had a hip reconstructuion due to a gun shot. The surgen said he removed some scar tissue from a nerve while putting in hip. When i got out of sugery i experienced pins and needle and burning. they said it was paresthesia. sence then the pins and needles and the shooting pain have 500% worse. I have been to the neurologist they gave me gabapentin 500 mg which works a little bit. But the shooting pains  are getting way up there. pins and needles i can deal with. Can you suggest a pain killer for the shooting pains. I did not experience any of this before the surgery. Also will like to know, how long will this pain go on for?
                                                                                          Thank You
                                                                                              Dennis

[abhijeet v ghosh]

hi dgulley,
i am happy that you have asked me more. Paresthesia is common after the scar tissue removal from the nerve. But what's bad that it has increased to 500%.
Are you taking 500 mg gabapentine in total for the whole day or more than that. You can added it with Methylcobalamine tablets(1500 mcg daily). This will help gabapentine action. For shooting pains there is no particular painkiller.I want to know the list of all the medicines you are taking presently as well as in the past. And also the duration of treatment (to answer the duration of this pain).
and please don't thank me,
take care
regards
abhijeet

[dgulley]

One last Question....what are the chances of the paresthesia that have is reversable?

[abhijeet v ghosh]

hi dgulley,
if properly treated, paresthesia should stop within 1 month (maximum).
And i will be pleased, if you ask me more questions,
regards
abhijeet

[dgulley]

Well its been six weeks so far and the pain it has only gotten worse. I remember being able walk on this left foot with only minor pain 6 day after the surgery. and now i can't even touch the foot to the ground without having alot of pain. Would there be any reason that you can think of for a ortho surgon to remove scar tissue from a nerve while reconstructing a hip? FYI.. I am taking 1500 mg every 6 hours of gabapentin. Shooting  pain on a scale of 1 to 10 is a 15. Pain clinic just called have a appt. on fri.

[dgulley]

I don't think a ortho surgon should be touching scar tissue. I think a nerve surgon should make that call not a ortho surgon. agree or disagree

[dgulley]

I don't think a ortho SURGEON should NOT be touching scar tissue on a nerve

[abhijeet v ghosh]

hi dgulley,
Orthosurgeon can touch a scar tissue on the nerve.
He must have gone to your hip through a posterior approach. During this entry, othosurgeon comes across Sciatic nerve. He must be seeing some scar tissue around or over it for which he did partial neurolysis (scar removal). Just let me know what did the pain clinic doctors told you. I can understand the agony in your mind. Don't worry, we will find a good solution.
Just onform me after the pain clinic visit.
regards
abhijeet

[nurseaudrea]

I understand the pain you are going through. I also had to have scar tissue removed from a nerve root at my L5 area on the left exiting nerve root. This scar tissue had built up around the exiting nerve root causing me a severe radiculopathy. I had shooting pain, burning, pins and needles and it felt like lightning shooting through my body down my butt through my hip and down my legs to my feet. It was very painful. When I had a hemilaminectomy at L5 they found the nerve to be crushed by the scar tissue causing this pain. I had many tests for about a year to find out what was wrong to no avail. I had and EMG, or nerve conduction study done on my left leg and it came back normal. I could not understand why they did not find anything. I did not have this pain before my spinal fusion. They repeated this nerve conduction study 6 months later and did both legs this time. When they compared the responses from both legs they found the problem. I had a severe radiculopathy, greater on the left leg than the right. I had to have surgery to see what the problem was. When my Orthopaedic surgeon got in there he found all the scar tissue wrapped around the nerve crushing it. He removed it and the pain got better. I will say that after surgery it was much worse than I could have ever imagined possible. The pain was so bad no amount of meds. would take it away. I was in agony for a good three weeks before it started to lessen. It was so bad two weeks after the surgery that I went to the ER.  They gave me some strong narcotics and I went to my doctor the next day. They increased the Neurontin greatly and I started to see an improvement over time. It took a good couple of months for the pain to really reside.

Good luck and I hope you find the answers you are looking for.
Best wishes----Audrea