Nerve regeneration following removal of metalwork from spine

[KdJo]

Hi,

I was wondering if anyone has had a similar procedure to myself and tell me about their recovery experience following the procedure.  I had metalwork removed from my spine just over a month ago - it was a poorly done spinal fusion whereby the screw heads had been rubbing on the vertebra above thus causing chronic inflammation and pain - this went on for 9 years before I found a surgeon who recognised the problem and offerrd to remove the metalwork.  I am now keen to know more about how the long the bone and aggravated nerves will take to reheal and regenerate and how long it will take for the whole area to generally calm down and become less painful.  Any information along these lines would be much appreciated. Thank you!

[nurseaudrea]

I had L4-L5-S1 fused. First it was fused from the front with interbody cages that fell apart and was re-fused from the back from L4-S1. It's not unusual to still have nerve pain only 6 months post-op. I really started noticing relief after 1 full year of recovery. From there it starts to get better pretty fast. Your nerves take a long time to heal and regenerate. If you are good at doing research on the internet you can look up dermatome patterns and it will show you which nerves supply sensation to certain areas of the body. It sounds like your L5 is causing you some pain and could be going into the S1 nerve as well. The L5 goes down the back of your leg and behind the knee and on the side of your calf and then to the top of your big toe. The sacral nerves innervate and give sensation to the groin. They can overlap some and therefor you may think it's the S1 but could still be the L5. The dermatome patterns are a general idea of where the sensations go. Hopefully this helps some. IF you have any questions I will be happy to answer them.

[KdJo]

Hi, thanks ever so much for your reply!  It's great to have a real life story to compare my situation to. My back, legs and feet have many of the symptoms you mention, but it's great to  have some real life personal information on someone's personal post op nerve regeneration experience and 6 months for the initial phase of recovery sounds hopeful!  I was told 3 months by the nurse at the hospital and was beginning to worry as it's now 6 weeks post op and things still are pretty painful.  Out of interest what level was your fusion at?  Mine was L4/L5.  I'm trying to investigate what the main nerves running through from my back into my right groin and down the inside and back of my leg into my foot are.. I'm wondering if it's my sciatic nerve?  Information is power, although I'm trying not to be too obsessive about it!  Any additional info you have would be much appreciated, if not though, thanks very much for your reply, it has indeed helped!

[nurseaudrea]

I had my instrumentation taken out two years ago. It was put in in 2001 and removed 2009. My screws were also loose and causing a lot of problems and pain. After the removal it felt like my spine was going to fall apart. I babied for some time. I was told a had a non-union. The surgeon was supposed to put pedacle screws back in but thought better of it thinking that everything looked okay. Now, two years later the pain from the nerves calming down is much better. Before I had all kinds of nerve pain from them regenerating. They were going haywire and felt like my legs were on fire all the time, it was awful. I really notice it when I drive. Places in my feet would start to burn like someone was holding a flame over them. After two years it has mostly calmed down, but not completely gone. I can tell you the most painful part is the first six months and it gets better from there. There is a light at the end of the tunnel. Don't get discouraged.