Bad Back - Degenerative Disk Disease.

I’ve had two back surgeries for the same problem. The first surgery where I did not allow them to put hardware on my back might be much worse and the sciatica I had experience increased to the point where I was dragging my leg and using a cane. The second surgery I went to New York City after interviewing back surgeons. The first surgery where I did not allow them to put hardware on my back made me much worse and the sciatica I had experience increased to the point where I was dragging my leg and using a cane. The second surgery I went to NYU after interviewing 13 surgeons. I had much better success with this surgery & had two cages put in my back and screws and rods etc. The sciatica pretty much disappeared not 100% but over the years probably by about 95%, a small amount of discomfort from time to time in my buttocks. problem with any surgery that involves fusing means that upper or lower levels will be affected and probably need attention in the future. I’m at the point where they wanted to do another surgery at a higher level but I was not ready for that. I tried an approach called radio frequency ablation RFA. i’ve had a lot of luck with that with close to two years relief and I’m going for another bout of that in about two weeks. I would highly recommend going to a pain clinic and seeing what they can do for you before having a surgery on your back. Don’t rule out radio frequency if there’s any type of nerve impingement.My diagnosis was also DDD. Good luck, don’t get frustrated but do look at all options.

I'd say if the scans and other tests (nerve root block injections) confirm what the problem is and the exact location in your spine go ahead with surgery. I've had several surgeries on my spine/neck as I have wear & tear on my entire spine. Each surgery was done by a nuero surgeon and I'd recommend a Neuro surgeon for your surgery. Of course surgery is a last resort after all other treatments failed. ie Physio/epidural/+ anything else.

Hope this helps.

Hi Jerry,

Sorry to hear you are having back pain. Here are some comments from my direct experience.

First, be sure you have exhausted all treatment possibilities before you opt for surgery. There are a wide number of things that can be done to forestall surgery, including weight loss, injections, pain meds, physical therapy, ultrasound, traction, electrical stimulation and other approaches. The general rule of thumb I've heard from doctors is that you should not opt for surgery until you have tried all other more conservative options and not until the quality of your life has gone down enough that surgery is your only remaining choice.

Second, I would agree that the success rate of most initial back surgeries is not great - the majority of people who have the typical first-time back surgery (usually a decompression surgery where they repair a bulging or herniated disc that is compressing a nerve) are back to the point that drove them to surgery within about 5 years.

It's important to note, though, that the failure is not always due simply to a return of your original symptoms. The surgery itself can bring on other maladies and cause new types of pain and problems. As my general doctor warned me years and years ago, before my first back surgery - "put off having surgery as long as you can, because more often than not, back surgery begets later back surgery." The first-time surgical patient will often later have a second decompression surgery, or a more complex spinal fusion surgery.

Me personally - I had the basic decompression surgery in 2010. It was very smooth and minimally invasive - I was back to work in about 4 days. Within about 9 months of follow-on physical surgery I was mostly pain-free and no longer taking pain medications. I stayed that way for a little over 4 years, when new back problems arose - and a few years after that, a return of the same kinds of back problems that caused my original surgery.

So would I have the original surgery again? Yes. It was worth it to have four years free of pain. Those four years would have been miserable, and likely would have led to the need for stronger and stronger pain meds, which is no fun.

But that said, I DID postpone the original surgery as long as I could, and opted for physical therapy, injections and pain meds for a long time. It just got to be unbearable eventually.

So that's my experience - good luck with your decision.

Hello Jerry,

Most of us....not all are on this site because of a surgery gone bad. That being said, if your in pain...good luck and keep us posted.

I've had two decompressive laminectomies and two spine fusions. Third one coming up in three weeks. Playing hockey for 45 years takes its toll.

Every op cured a particular problem 100%. Sciatica and stenosis were really bad and caused by something spinal (bone spur, calcified disc bulge, narrowing foramina) . A DL is a same-day, minimal op. For me, all the remaining inflammation and pain was gone within a week. The fusions resulted in immediate relief.

If your problem is spinal, I don't see any way of avoiding living in pain except for the op. You need a really good neurosurgeon who will order a CT/Myelogram with contrast to pinpoint the problem. This is the most definitive spine test. If your doc doesn't order it, see another doc.

you didnt say what kind of surgery you were having and at what spine level. You dont have surgery for DDD....that is the diagnosis of degenerative spine changes that causes a specific mechanical problem. are you talking fusion? laminectomy? decompression? nerve ablation? other? All are different surgery types and have their own recovery/need/success rates.

You also dont "think" about having spine surgery. Its not elective. Either you have a neuro crisis/etc or not. If you have a mechanical problem that if not fixed can cause further permanent spinal cord damage by waiting - then you do it without question if healthy enough for the procedure. If its not urgent, wait as long as you can IMO. What are you hoping to fix?

(I've had 7 spine surgeries at various levels and been through the gambit of specialists and research - not a Dr, but pretty experienced on the topic)

Hi I had an operation on my spine in July 2019 , after 4 years of excruciating pains down both my legs.i had degenerating disc disease,and central spinal stenosis in three of my Vertebrae. After 4 years of spinal injections and being messed around at Addenbrookes hospital in Cambridge . I had a second opinion at the Royal National orthopedic Hospital in London.

In the January of 2019 I saw my consultant Mr Robert Lee. He had my MRI results from my previous hospital, so he had seen them before i met him. He told me , that to get rid of the pains in my legs he could operate and remove my discs at three levels and place them with cages nuts and bolts. its called a three level spinal fusion . He explained the procedure which sound horrendous at the time . its two operations. The first operations where performed at the side of my stomach its called a Olif where he removes two of the damage discs at L3 /4 and L4/5 and replace them with cages and the second operation is called Alif which is done below the belly button where he removes disc L5/S1 and replace them with a cage . The third operation which is a week later he operates on my spine where he retracts my spinal muscles (without cutting them) and puts in the nuts and bolts. as I said it sounds horrendous at the time and I read up about it on line. after having X-rays, another up to date MRI and a CT scan and with all the results of them ( which my spine showed more deterioration from my last MRI of two years ago) I finally made my mind up to have the operation in July as it was my only chance that I could see to be pain free in my legs. I am now nearly into my 6 month post op and I can honestly say I have no awful excruciating pains down my legs I am now pain free. I recommend if your going to have DDD operation then this is the best way to have this operation. There are only two consultants in this country who can perform this operation and thats at the RNOH in London. I know that this operation is the best because when I saw my physiotherapist near where I live. He was amazed how well I was doing when I first saw him after two months post op. he could not believe I had a three level spinal major operation and was walking up right with my walking poles. He said when he see patience after a major operation they are either in wheel chair or bent over with crutches . if you need any more help just let me know my name is Karin. Good Luck