nerve damage after surgery

[Dann2101]

I had a minimal invasive herniated disc operation this past August.  As a result of this, my left leg nerve was damaged and numb from hip, down through my thigh to my foot and heel.  There is pain down the left leg and half of the foot.  I have  
feeling in all my toes except my little toe.  There is pain in my left ankle.  Is this permanent?  My Doctor just ignores this saying it will last at least a year, but then the nerves will heal themselves.  

[kay290]

Okay, thanks.This is your lumbar spine?

[Dann2101]

Minimal invasive just means the Doctor just made 2 small insisions to get to the herniated disc where he removed some of the intrusive part and then put a pin in (not to hold it together, but to keep it a part until it grew back.  I think the back part of the operation was successful.  It is just the numbness that is bothering me.

[Dr. A. Srivastava]

Thank you for your question. This burning sensation you are having can occur due to impingement, irritation or compression or injury of nerve of thigh after surgery. Most frequently involved nerve is lateral cutaneous nerve of thigh (which is branch of femoral nerve). This condition is called meralgia paraesthetica which manifests itself as pain, tingling or burning sensation of outer thigh. Once the diagnosis is reached then treatment modalities available are strict rest, loose clothing, painkillers (NSAIDS and opioid), pain modifier medicines like carbamazepine may also be prescribed by the doctor. Therefore a neurologist’s consultation may help you in this regard.  Hope this information proves helpful to you. Take care.

[kay290]

What do you  mean by minimally invasive and what discs were removed? Lumbar?Nerve damage takes a long time to heal. If it doesn't go away after a year it is permanent.

[toolmaker]

That in a nutshell is what my surgeon told me.Most of the tingling,numbness, and pain did stop.