L1-S1 Laminectomy This Week

[Guest guest]

My husband is having an L1-S1 laminectomy this Thursday. The neurosurgeon feels

that the sooner it is done the better the chances are that the nerve pressure

will diminish and that he won't develop a full " drop foot " . He already has a

" flop foot " on the left side, whereby he can't control how the foot hits the

pavement when he walks.

He also has leg pain when arising from bed. He can usually " walk it off " . Two

months ago he developed butt pain (which caused us to make the appointment with

the neurosurgeon, in the first place) but that has largely been ameliorated by

the " tennis ball " trick used for Piriformis syndrome. The surgeon says this is

not Piriformis but the tennis ball thing seems to be working for the butt pain.

Anyway, I was just wondering what people's experiences with laminectomies of

this length are. I am physically disabled and we will have help for me 24/7 for

a month. The surgeon says some of his patients go back to work in two weeks

those with desk jobs, I guess) and the rest (construction workers) in 4-6 weeks.

He says he does 700 (that's not a typo) of these procedures a year. We've

checked him out and he does have a very good reputation. Two physicians that we

know of had their backs done by this surgeon.

Whatever info you can provide will be greatly appreciated.

Carol

[Guest guest]

Fran,

This is not a new problem. He has had sciatica since 2007 and has seen two other

surgeons (one neurosurgeon and one orthopedist who specializes in spines). He

has also had epidurals (2 rounds) which did not work. He had an MRI in 2007 and

a second MRI in November 2010.

So this neurosurgeon is actually the third surgeon we've seen. The others both

said if the non-surgical treatments didn't work, then surgery was the only other

option. We are going with this surgeon because of his reputation and because the

" flop foot " symptom has started within the past 2-3 months.

We are meeting with the surgeon's PA tomorrow and I will ask about vertebrae

slippage and future fusion potential.

Thanks for your input.

Carol

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> From: cwarman89134 <cwarman89134@...>

> Subject: L1-S1 Laminectomy This Week

> Spinal Stenosis Treatment

> Date: Monday, January 17, 2011, 7:45 PM

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> My husband is having an L1-S1 laminectomy this Thursday. The

neurosurgeon feels that the sooner it is done the better the chances are that

the nerve pressure will diminish and that he won't develop a full " drop foot " .

He already has a " flop foot " on the left side, whereby he can't control how the

foot hits the pavement when he walks.

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>

>

> He also has leg pain when arising from bed. He can usually " walk it off " . Two

months ago he developed butt pain (which caused us to make the appointment with

the neurosurgeon, in the first place) but that has largely been ameliorated by

the " tennis ball " trick used for Piriformis syndrome. The surgeon says this is

not Piriformis but the tennis ball thing seems to be working for the butt pain.

>

>

>

> Anyway, I was just wondering what people's experiences with laminectomies of

this length are. I am physically disabled and we will have help for me 24/7 for

a month. The surgeon says some of his patients go back to work in two weeks

those with desk jobs, I guess) and the rest (construction workers) in 4-6 weeks.

He says he does 700 (that's not a typo) of these procedures a year. We've

checked him out and he does have a very good reputation. Two physicians that we

>

> know of had their backs done by this surgeon.

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>

>

> Whatever info you can provide will be greatly appreciated.

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> Carol

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[Guest guest]

Fran,

He saw the other two surgeons in 2007. Their opinions were based on the 2007

MRI. The 2010 MRI report was essentially unchanged from the 2007 MRI report,

with the exception that there was some stenosis found in T11-T12 in the 2010 MRI

that was not present in the 2007 MRI.

We will ask to speak to the doctor himself tomorrow when we meet with the PA.

Thanks.

Carol

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> > From: cwarman89134 <cwarman89134@>

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> > Subject: L1-S1 Laminectomy This Week

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> > Spinal Stenosis Treatment

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> > Date: Monday, January 17, 2011, 7:45 PM

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> > My husband is having an L1-S1 laminectomy this Thursday. The

neurosurgeon feels that the sooner it is done the better the chances are that

the nerve pressure will diminish and that he won't develop a full " drop foot " .

He already has a " flop foot " on the left side, whereby he can't control how the

foot hits the pavement when he walks.

>

> >

>

> >

>

> >

>

> > He also has leg pain when arising from bed. He can usually " walk it off " .

Two months ago he developed butt pain (which caused us to make the appointment

with the neurosurgeon, in the first place) but that has largely been ameliorated

by the " tennis ball " trick used for Piriformis syndrome. The surgeon says this

is not Piriformis but the tennis ball thing seems to be working for the butt

pain.

>

> >

>

> >

>

> >

>

> > Anyway, I was just wondering what people's experiences with laminectomies of

this length are. I am physically disabled and we will have help for me 24/7 for

a month. The surgeon says some of his patients go back to work in two weeks

those with desk jobs, I guess) and the rest (construction workers) in 4-6 weeks.

He says he does 700 (that's not a typo) of these procedures a year. We've

checked him out and he does have a very good reputation. Two physicians that we

>

> >

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> > know of had their backs done by this surgeon.

>

> >

>

> >

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> >

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> > Whatever info you can provide will be greatly appreciated.

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> > Carol

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