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Member
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Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: Paradise
Posts: 855
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Member
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: Paradise
Posts: 855
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Teatime
Hi all! I've long had spine and joint problems so I'm not new to surgery but I am interested in knowing folks' opinions/preferences! About 20 years ago, I had a cervical diskectomy with fusion and it was done by a neurosurgeon. About 11 years ago, I had a laminectomy at L5-S1 and it was also done by a neurosurgeon.
My biggest problems that led to those surgeries were neurological. Numbness and tingling, loss of feeling, loss of motor skill in leg and arm, etc. So it made perfect sense to have a neurosurgeon do the work!
I've been struggling with back pain for about 3 years now and it's unrelenting. The neurosurgeon who did my laminectomy told me I'd likely need to have the disk space fused and worked on within 5 years. It's been 11 years so I've done pretty well! But an MRI showed absolutely no cushion left and my vertebrae are grating bone on bone. It needs to be fixed.
I'm having no neuro symptoms. It's strictly back pain. I've consulted an orthopedic spine specialist and he's recommended fusion and back stabilization that he says will resolve the problems for good. I've responded well to the previous surgeries so I think it will go well. My internist is wondering whether I should go to a neurosurgeon instead.
What do y'all think? I have surgery scheduled for May 22 but I still have plenty of time to consider everything.
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Fusion surgery for strictly back pain does not have a great success experience. It is better when leg pain is predominate. That said, collapse of the disc space can cause significant increased pressure and stress on the posterior joints (facet joints) and over time, can become a significant pain generator in of itself.
If it were me, I would talk to my surgeon about facet or medial branch (diagnostic) blocks of the level he wants to fuse to more discreetly pin point the origin of your pain before slicing you up. A poor (non) response to facet blocks would not be a great segway towards spinal fusion surgery! A spine fellowship-trained ortho or neuro is fine.
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