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Atlast, a microdisectomy!

Posted , 7 users are following.

james82082
james82082

Had the letter arrive this morning I've been waiting 2 1/2 years for.

Mr Lawson at the Walton centre has agreed I am a candidate for a microdisectomy as a result of the failed nerve route block.

I will be writing down some questions so when I ring on Monday I can discuss it with him.

Out of curiosity, does anyone on here know the length of stay in hospital after one? What about recovery time?

So happy I could cry!!

0 likes, 24 replies

24 Replies

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  • pamela08670
    pamela08670 james82082

    Posted

    If you have morning slot you should be home day after but if you are too sore you will stay for that following day. You should get 6 hours of observation after surgery. Than assessment off doctor on his round. Hope this helps.
  • peter04669
    peter04669 james82082

    Posted

    Hello James I have had two micros and they have made me worse than ever
    • Enna1
      Enna1 peter04669

      Posted

      And me, damn the surgeon - I can walk only 30 minutes and the pain is terrible.

      i take meds but they don't help.   Next time you have real bad pain, sit on a chair and bend down with your head on your knees.  Tell me if it helps.......

  • drinxs
    drinxs james82082

    Posted

    Hi James I had a laminectomy at Walton Centre in June and I had the op. on Tuesday afternoon and out the Thursday afternnoon. A 70 year old lady at op. same day as me and left the next day.

    It depends on how you feel but if you are fit to move they will encorage you to leave hospital as soon as due to risk of infection.

    As we discussed before you are in great hands at The Walton Centre- do you have a date?.

    Good luck and keep me posted on how you get on.

    • james82082
      james82082 drinxs

      Posted

      Hi Drinks! That's good to know. Got to work out how I'm getting there yet. Might have to be train.

      I should find out a date Monday, I've got from happy to nervous now! smile

    • drinxs
      drinxs james82082

      Posted

      Hi James- It is only natural to be nervous I was really nervous before mine.

      I spoke to my surgeon just before my op. and said I was nervous that when he operated they might find more serious damage he said that if anyone was to be nervous it was him as he was doing the op. and I would infact be enjoying a sleep and in a perverse sort of way it was true. The only discomfort was night following op. and next day when I could hardly move and that was tenderness and pain from just been operated on, but its amazing how quickly after that you start to heal (I appreciate everyone is different- but you are young so I Imagine you will recover well- I was up walking in 24hours and walking outside in 2-3days albeit short distances. Now on bike rides, just come from cycle class in the gym- although I still have nerve issues in my legs my mobility is great)

      All you can do at this stage is put total trust in your surgeon and you could not be in a better place, the rest will take care of itself.

  • natalie3112
    natalie3112 james82082

    Posted

    It made me worse. Has mine done April 2014 followed by lumber fusion Feb 2015. If I was you and over 30 I'd ask for fusion. They offer the discsectomy first as its not as big an op as fusion. I feel like my time was wasted having the discetomy. Good live 
    • james82082
      james82082 natalie3112

      Posted

      Hi Natalie, I'm 30 in May and sadly as a mechanic, I do expect it to go again. I will speak to my consultant to see what he thinks.
  • Kenza
    Kenza james82082

    Posted

    Hello Natalie, why do you think it's better to have a fusion than a microdisectomy ? I'm 38 waiting for my first epidural steroid but I'm not improving much for 6 months so I expect it to be a short term relief. I would appreciate if you could explain it to all of us here. Thank you.
  • Enna1
    Enna1 james82082

    Posted

    Hi James, this is all about microdisectomy http://www.spine-health.com/treatment/back-surgery/microdiscectomy-microdecompression-spine-surgery

    Spine Health and ADRSupportUK are two of the most respected web sites and they have excellent videos to show you. Yes, I was worse too when I had mine, or I should say, they didn't work and I was sore for a long time.   But thats a long long time ago......

    If you are young, a fusion is excellent, but..... you could have the disc above or below go too.  Also it depends on how they do a fusion. I was promised a fusion with rods and screws but when I went to see the neurosurgeon after the MRI (I've had tons of MRIs) he said I had too much scar tissue. So I have to live with the pain.

    • james82082
      james82082 Enna1

      Posted

      Thanks. I will ask him when I see him next, I should be in for the operation end of January or early Feb according to his secretary today. 
  • natalie3112
    natalie3112 james82082

    Posted

    When I had my micro my spinal team thought it would be enough as I was 28. They would fuse you straight away if you were 35. I just don't see the point in going through two ops like I have done. They say if the micro doesn't help you six months post op they will fuse you. I've had a very frustrating few years 
    • james82082
      james82082 natalie3112

      Posted

      Thanks for that, I will certainly be asking the consultant his opinion when I go see him. 
  • natalie3112
    natalie3112 james82082

    Posted

    Good luck I hope it goes well for you. I have recently found out I have issues with the discs in my neck now. Apparently it's very common for the upper spine to give you problems after you have suffered with lower back problems. 
    • james82082
      james82082 natalie3112

      Posted

      The disc above l5/s1 is bulging out in the centre towards the spinal cord. That's my main concern at the moment. 
    • Enna1
      Enna1 natalie3112

      Posted

      Depends. I think that if you have a fusion discs above and below can slip as well.   Take care of yourself I wish I had known to be careful - I was so bloody minded that even my first op when I had "Inspace" i was stopping off at a garden centre on the way home from hospital.   Just go home and rest and take it easy.  Natialie I think you are right, with Inspace the surgeon was the first to cause scar tissue, Shackleford at Warrington decompressed (I have a long scar down my back) and made another scar and so they say I can't have a fusion because of scar tissue.

      I am hoping in a couple of years or earlier to go back to England but by then I will be 75 and I don't think an English surgeon will touch me either.  However...... privately a surgeon has already quoted me 20,000€ for a fusion but when I came back with 3 discs instead of 2 the price went up - so I will stick with the meds for the time being.

      I cannot find out about any surgeon in Spain on the internet who is good or bad comments.  However.... my partner is 62 and was a policeman during the miners strike. He got a oil barrel thrown at him and had a fusion and honestly he is fit as a flea, but he gets bad back ache and think that maybe the fusion has caused a problem.  He doesn't even know anything about it but thats what I think from the scar and what he told me.    I haven't heard of discs going in the neck area when you have had problems lower down, its usually the disc either side of the fusion.   Oh how I wish I could have fusion.

      AND, surgeons can misread MRIs and X Rays, which has happened to me.  I curse the day I fell downstairs - I was in my early 30s and it took them over 25 years to give me anything like treatment.  Cumbria must be one of the bad PCTs.

      What meds are you taking.  Its not the right thing to say whats the pain like as everyone is different, I really feel for you.

      If its any help, my daughter is 43 and although doesn;t do any exercise, she walks to work and back and has at least 1 prolapsed disc - I suspect as life goes on, she will get more pain but so far.... so good.

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