T
thegrando
Guest
what doe's this all mean.13mm grade 2 spondylolisthesis@L4-L5with suspected bilateral L4 defect's chrouic wedge compression fracture deformity of L5 vertabra body. am i going to need surgey.please help
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M
mznell
Guest
Hello and welcome to the board,
Yes, it does sound like you may need surgery. A fusion is usually recommended for a spondylolisthesis, but it is not always necessary -- it really depenRAB on your level of pain and whether you can live with it or not.
In your case it sounRAB like there is a fracture in the L5 vertebra that is allowing the L4 vertebra to slip over it. The distance it is slipping over can be measured to be 13mm. In a "normal" back, these edges would line up and there would be 0 mm overlap.
This is the most common location for a spondylolisthesis to occur. The amount of slippage is graded from 1 to 4, with 1 being the least. I had a fusion for this very thing back in January and I am in the process of recovering.
I assume you have had a MRI or you wouldn't know of your problem. I assume you must have some pain. Is it in your back or is it sciatic pain that runs down one or both of your legs? Are you seeing a spinal specialist -- either an orthopedic or neurosurgeon?
You can search for the term "spondylolisthesis" and you will be able to read all about it. There is tons of information about it available.
Yes, it does sound like you may need surgery. A fusion is usually recommended for a spondylolisthesis, but it is not always necessary -- it really depenRAB on your level of pain and whether you can live with it or not.
In your case it sounRAB like there is a fracture in the L5 vertebra that is allowing the L4 vertebra to slip over it. The distance it is slipping over can be measured to be 13mm. In a "normal" back, these edges would line up and there would be 0 mm overlap.
This is the most common location for a spondylolisthesis to occur. The amount of slippage is graded from 1 to 4, with 1 being the least. I had a fusion for this very thing back in January and I am in the process of recovering.
I assume you have had a MRI or you wouldn't know of your problem. I assume you must have some pain. Is it in your back or is it sciatic pain that runs down one or both of your legs? Are you seeing a spinal specialist -- either an orthopedic or neurosurgeon?
You can search for the term "spondylolisthesis" and you will be able to read all about it. There is tons of information about it available.
T
thegrando
Guest
yes i did have a mri. im going monday for epidural injection.i do have back pain hip leg all the way down to my toe's. can't really do much.this is been going on for six week.plus i have severe bilateral neural foraminal stenosis L4-L5. are you doing will after surgey hope so. thank you so much.
M
mznell
Guest
I lived with my sciatic pain for 3 years before finally deciding I had to have surgery. I no longer could stand for more than about a minute and was driving to the mailbox as walking was so painful. I kept hoping if I waited long enough, some wonderful new procedure woud be invented...but I couldn't wait any longer.
Some people are helped by the injections and don't need anything further. Hopefully that will be the case with you.
We'll keep our fingers crossed!!
Some people are helped by the injections and don't need anything further. Hopefully that will be the case with you.
We'll keep our fingers crossed!!
G
grandma2k3
Guest
Had surgery for grade 1 spondylolisthesis in October 2006. Going in next week to have the hardware removed. I am an active individual and refuse to let my back slow me down (maybe that is why I keep having problems). I too could not walk long before I had to sit down and rest. I was one of those people that said "I would never have back surgery" and what did I do? It was the only answer to getting back to normal. I wish I had found this site prior to my first surgery. Best wishes to all.
V
vinchenz
Guest
Like Linda, I also have a grade 2 spondy at L5-S1.
I also have a bilateral pars fracture at L5 (the back of the vertebra is disconnected from the front) which I think has helped me. Without the fracture the spinal cord compression would be severe.
Through stretching, exercises (an insane nuraber of crunches every day), regular chiropratic therapy and being careful about what I do, I have been able to avoid surgery for the last 15 years.
I have a low grade back ache continuously but fortunately, very little in the way of leg symptoms. I do get tired and achy easier than I used to but a couple of advil and an hour or two of rest usually fixes that.
My biggest problem is standing for long perioRAB. I need to either sit or walk. But standing for more than 30 minutes or so becomes a problem for me.
I haven't needed the injections yet, but I know people who have gotten relief from neck problems with them. I would definitely try them first before resorting to surgery. Plus there are various physical therapy options that may help.
I just went through a series of surgical consultations and what I mostly walked away with is that, as long as there is no significant risk of permanent nerve damage, this is elective surgery.
Once the pain or lack of functionality prevents you from living your life and no other treatment is helping, that's the time to consider surgery.
Good luck.
Vinny
I also have a bilateral pars fracture at L5 (the back of the vertebra is disconnected from the front) which I think has helped me. Without the fracture the spinal cord compression would be severe.
Through stretching, exercises (an insane nuraber of crunches every day), regular chiropratic therapy and being careful about what I do, I have been able to avoid surgery for the last 15 years.
I have a low grade back ache continuously but fortunately, very little in the way of leg symptoms. I do get tired and achy easier than I used to but a couple of advil and an hour or two of rest usually fixes that.
My biggest problem is standing for long perioRAB. I need to either sit or walk. But standing for more than 30 minutes or so becomes a problem for me.
I haven't needed the injections yet, but I know people who have gotten relief from neck problems with them. I would definitely try them first before resorting to surgery. Plus there are various physical therapy options that may help.
I just went through a series of surgical consultations and what I mostly walked away with is that, as long as there is no significant risk of permanent nerve damage, this is elective surgery.
Once the pain or lack of functionality prevents you from living your life and no other treatment is helping, that's the time to consider surgery.
Good luck.
Vinny
N
nscrbug
Guest
I have grade 2 spondy at L5/S1, but fortunately in my case...I haven't needed surgery for it...yet. My back pain is fairly constant, but tolerable (perhaps I have a high pain threshold)...however, my leg pain has lessened considerably since I started using an inversion table for the last 3 months. I guess the table has been helping to un-pinch the nerve that is causing the pain down my right leg. My neurosurgeon initially sent me to physical therapy, which didn't do much for me since I am already quite active and exercise daily. I didn't try the epidural injections...but I hear that they do work for some folks. If you haven't done so, I would suggest getting a 2nd opinion from either an ortho spine doc or neurosurgeon.
Linda
Linda
G
grandma2k3
Guest
Thank you for your feed back. It is very interesting and helpful. My surgery is scheduled for Wednesday to have the hardware removed. I am actually looking forward to it.
If your back issues are causing you too much pain, you need to tell your doctor. Maybe something more can be done to help you. Best wishes to everyone and have a great day.
If your back issues are causing you too much pain, you need to tell your doctor. Maybe something more can be done to help you. Best wishes to everyone and have a great day.