Failed Back Surgery

  • Thread starter Thread starter Pegasus7
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Pegasus7

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Hello, I'm hoping people who have had a laminectomy can give me some positive advice. I had a laminectomy 14 weeks ago L3/L4 due to Spondylolisthesis. I wasn't fused. My main problem was constant pain in my left leg and a pronounced stoop.
I was given alot of info before the op explaining I would have leg and possibily back pain post op that may be worse than before the op but would eventually disappear.

The op went well, the surgeon said he had alot more work to do then he had expected. Unfortunately I had problems with the wound for weeks, after 5 trips to GP/practice nurses it was discovered I had MRSA in the wound. It seems to have cleared up.

Apart from the stoop disappearing, I can't walk very far without the leg pain, in fact the pain is in both legs now. I was troubled with odd sensations of cold water running down my legs etc but that seems to be gone.

I recently attended Occupational Health as I was at the 12 week mark, (when most people are suppose to be able to return to work), after speaking to the OH doc she suggested I may have failed back syndrome and has written off to the surgeon.She also suggested I contact my GP and get a referral to the Pain Clinic. My GP won't refer me till I have seen the surgeon as she isn t to pleased the OH doc made the suggestion of FBS. Pity because the Pain Clinic has a long waiting list.

I'm hoping people who have had the same op will tell me they also had pain post op and that it eventually cleared up. I am now on half pay and worried sick I won't be able to go back to work. Thanks in advance.:)
 
Hello,

Generally speaking, at least from what I am familiar with in the U.S., a laminectomy alone is rarely attempted for spondylolisthesis because it often leaves the spine more unstable than prior to surgery. A fusion is almost always recommended and performed for spondy unless the grade of slippage is really insignificant.

In any case, I would agree that 14 weeks is awfully early to throw in the towel and tell you Failed Back Surgery. If you had a compressed nerve due to the spondy, it can take months and in some cases, up to 2 years for the nerve to rehabilitate itself. The last place to recover is in the feet. I am almost 6 months out from a one level fusion for spondylolisthesis and my doc still considers me "early" in the healing process.

Some people heal much faster than others. Some can go back to work within a couple weeks; for others, it takes much longer. I hope you can get this all sorted out. Be patient and keep doing what the doc tells you to do. Hopefully you'll be feeling better soon.
 
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