Advice please....to do or not to do and L5-S1 Fusion

By klrc1969 Thursday, January 28, 2010

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I am a 40 year old happily married mother of 1 boy. In March of 06 I had a microdisectomy L5-S1. This was successful until about 8-10 months post op, when I began to start feeling more pain. I have been in pain since then: lower back pain, numbness in leg and foot. Up until this week I have been in the care of a Pain management specialist who has given me multiple ESI, prolotherapy, torodal injections....all to no effect. My latest MRI has shown that I have Degenerative Disc Disease and my S1 and L5 vertebrae are not aligned properly;slippage.

There is also scar tissue from the previous surgery. The doctor has now said there isn't much more he can do for me and he has referred me to a orthopaedic surgeon to discuss my options: disc replacement surgery or L5-S1 fusion. I have read LOTS of horror stories about fusions but I have been told that I am a good candidate for one. I don't smoke, my other disc's are healthy and I am not overweight. I would love to hear from any of you who have had a similiar experience or could pass on some advice on making the decision.

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Ozigal

1/29/10 1:20am

Hi, just wanted to share what I know on the subject though I am speaking of two people I know and not myself.

My hubbies best friend had a fusion after many years of debilitating back pain and reckons it is the best thing he has ever done. He can now do so much more than before.

You can tell he has lost flexion over this area of his back but he quickly adjusted to this minor inconvenience. He is now doing all the stuff he thought he'd never do again, ie. ride motorcycles, play at mechanic with bikes and cars, rejoin the workforce etc.

The other example is that of my hubbie, he has suffered from degenerative disc disease for 20yrs and has avoided surgery.

His breakthrough came when his Osteopath told him that he could no longer help him and that if he wanted to improve he would have to swim. So this he did, as often as he could. He developed a terrific muscularstructure around his spine that it gave him all the support and strength his back needed.

If you choose surgery do all the research that you can on available surgeons and pick the best in this field. Orthopeadics covers everything but your spine deserves a Speciaist. Perhaps you could try the swimming caper for a month or so before going ahead with the fusion? In any case research, talk to people and be confident that the decision you make is the best one for you. The very best of luck to you.

Littlebit84

1/29/10 8:48pm

Hi KLRC;

I just had an L5-S1 fusion done last March and it was very successful. It fixed the pain and weakness from my low back that went down into my legs. Also sciatica pain and numbness were gone after the surgery. I had been suffering for years. This surgery corrected it, giving me the ability to walk when and where I wanted.

I can't tell you what to do, obviously. The decision is based on options and how desperate one

is for a solution. I took a chance. It was the only chance I had.

But! And this you should listen to, I later had some lower back pain in the area of the surgery after all this triumphant success, starting in December, 9 months after the surgery. I saw my surgeon and he listened to what I was describing. He thinks that the pain I experience is actually from the surgical screws that were put in place in order for the bones to fuse properly.

There is a % of people that experience sensitivity to the screws about this time, after the procedure is over. He thinks I may be one of them. I have to undergo a test that will tell if it is indeed the screws causing my pain. If so, he tells me the screws or pedicles as they call them, will need to be removed. My first reaction was, "Oh no, not another surgery!"

So far by his explanation, I hear this 'screw' removal surgery will be far less complicated. It sounds like half the number of days in the hospital and not nearly as much recooperation. That helps to know.

So if all goes well, and the screws are removed, my sensitivity to them will eventually end and I can

get back to the part where I have my life back again.

Considering any complications for yourself, the only thing I know is how much the surgery helped me in the first place. My surgeon said it is not uncommon to have the screws removed. They have to

wait until you heal from the fusion, which is usually a year later. He said my bones were completely healed and the pedicles are no longer needed.

I am sort of a 'princess and the pea' type person. I feel everything easily. You may have to only get the surgery done first and be perfectly fine. I wrote this too you to consider a possible outcome when making your decision.

Good luck to you.

Advice please....to do or not to do and L5-S1 Fusion

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