Anterior Tear in Disc

[Tina1961]

I would also like to know how does an anterior tear in a disc get repaired.  The pain management doctor told me he thought that was what the problem was but provided no answer as of yet as to a solution, except taking the morephine until I see him on November 19th.  This seems like a long time away and they have me on a cancel list, but I wonder if I should be doing something differently.

My back began aching and hurting on June 4th from an old injury in 2000.  This episode feels like the original injury.  I had a medial branch block done on September 8th and my pain has increased 100%,  The doctor that was suppose to do the procedure did not do it he had his intern do the procedure instead.  I heard the doctor telling the student no no that is not the right spot(with the needle) and i felt him drag the needle and he injected me and my left leg went numb immediately.  The next injection caused the same thing to happen.  I am wondering if that is how the anterior portion of my disc got torn.  If so, can I file a law suit against the hospital, doctor, and the student who did this to me???  Do I have any recourse???

I have not worked since June 23rd and still do not have clearance to go back to work.  No one will tell me when they think this issue will be resolved???  I am very concerned that I may become crippled and end up in a wheelchair for the rest of my life.  I am only 47 years old and still have a lot of life to live and really would not want to do that from a wheelchair.  Can this situation  cause that to happen???  I am scared and confused as to what to do.  Please help me if you can.  

Thanks Again
Tina

[Mollyrae]

Tina:

Patients that have severe back pain that does not get better with conservative treatment often become surgical candidates. If the pain is coming from the disc, then one possible treatment is to remove the disc and fuse the two vertebrae together. This can potentially stop the motion between the vertebrae and put an end to the pain.

The disc itself is a ligament just like a knee or a shoulder. When tears form in this ligament, it can lead to micro-instability, allowing for hyper flexion or extension as a patient moves. This micro-stress to a patient's disc can cause a leakage of enzymes, which will then irritate the outer covering of the disc. For patients experiencing this problem, spinal fusion surgery is one option.

There are many different ways the spine can be fused. The traditional way is to lay bone across the transverse processes. These are little knobs that stick out from the side of the vertebrae. So a surgeon lays bone across this area allowing one bone to fuse to the other. However, this often does not work when the source of the pain is coming from a disc that is degenerative. For patients with degenerative discs, removing the disc and putting a bone graft in between two vertebral bodies is often the best treatment. This allows the two bones to fuse together stopping the motion much more effectively than the older fusion techniques of laying bone across the transverse processes.
Take care and good luck,
Mollyrae

[worried878]

a tear in a disc can be "patched" using a procedure..a friend had it done...often this happens due to an injury and not necesarily a needle..it would be hard to prove that it happened when the intern did that procedure unless u have films right before the procedure proving it was not there...it was called radio something..sorry but cant think of the term to fix the tear right now..often they will heal on their own with time and it depends on why it is torn...if ur discs are being squished due to loss of vertebrae space then the disc will fially rupture on its own, then the bones in time will fuse together..they also have disc replacements which are options for people with only 1 spot of spine dysfunction...not good for someone like me who has multiple problems...a nuerosurgeon may be able to help u but a pain mgt doctor helped my friend and "scarred" the tear in her disc...good luck

also...suing unless u feel certain u will win can be dangerous as u will have problems getting another doctor to touch u in the community...just a thought