Husband Diagnosed with Spinal Stenosis and 6 problematic vertebrae - what ?!

i was diagnosed with spinal stenosis in January and in july i had a spinal injection which took 10 days to work but hasbeen amazing .

there is the option of surgery but the injection is first option and if it works is great

If it's that bad (and six levels is really bad) then I can't conceive of a situation where surgery will not be required. Pain shots, stimulators, horrible nerve drugs, etc. will only mask the pain and not fix the root cause.

I have had four spine ops over the years including two fusions...with a third fusion due next month. But then I played hockey for 45 years and abused my body terribly.

Need to see a neurosurgeon...no one else!!! A CT/Myelogram with contrast is the "gold standard" spine test and gives the docs a detailed map of the spine. From there, they can decide what to do. Insurance may require a round of pain shots so that's a hoop you may have to jump through. If they only work for a very short time, then it tells the docs that they've located the right place to operate.

A six-level TLIF fusion will require rails, screws and spacers...the latter of which will separate the vertebrae and take all the pressure off the foraminal canals pinching the nerve roots and causing the stenosis. However, the docs may not want to do all six levels but instead attack the one level causing the stenosis itself. If this is the case, see a neurosurgeon experienced in the Lateral Lumbar Interbody Fusion (LLIF) technique. The TLIF will require over a week in the hospital, 4 months of rehab and 6 months or more in a brace. The LLIF requires one night in the hospital, no rehab, no brace. Yes...it's a miracle op for one-level stenosis.

Search YouTube for "Globus LLIF Technique" for a cool animation. Then "Globus Calibur" for another animation on how the LLIF device expands like a car jack. I have attached pix of my TLIF rails and my LLIF device. Good luck...

Jaclyn,

It's hard to tell from what you've written just how bad it is. On the one hand, "mild spinal stenosis" isn't uncommon, especially as folks get older (over 200,000 people are newly diagnosed with spinal stenosis each year). On the other hand, having problems in SIX different vertebrae isn't a good thing, unless somehow they are each very mild problems.

The only way you will know for sure is to get either a CT scan or an MRI, with contrast, and have it read by a specialist. X-rays don't really tell you much. I think it is better to see a neurosurgeon rather than an orthopedic surgeon but both types are very skilled in this kind of thing. Do NOT just let your regular doctor be the lead on this, your husband needs a specialist. You can loop in your regular doctor as to what is going on, of course, but you need a specialist to be in charge of his back care.

One question that is important - prior to your husband's recent accident at work, was he in any type of chronic pain? Pain in his lumbar region, or pain/numbness/ache/tingling in his butt and/or down his thigh/calf? These are the traditional signals of serious back problems. Be sure to have him tell all these symptoms to his specialist. It seems surprising that he has all these vertebrae issues and yet never had any type of pain? The lack of historical pain could be a sign that maybe things aren't that bad yet but still, that's up to the doctor.

In normal cases of back problems (arthritis, disc bulges, herniations, etc), there are lots of treatments that can postpone surgery, although it does seem like people eventually end up getting surgery. Personally I think it is worth doing everything you can to postpone surgery but if the pain really starts to interfere with daily living, then you need the surgery.

Good luck...