Prolapsed disc surgery

[BAND1T]

Hello all.

I am suffering from a prolapsed disc (lower back), currently being treated by an ostiopath, physio and doing my own general exercise and this does seem to be helping very slowly.
I have been for an MRI scan and they wish to operate on my back in March,
Could anyone tell me if you have had an operation on a prolapsed disc in Raigmore Inverness, was it a success and if so which specialist carried out the operation?
My consultant specialist is Dr Kent.

I have heard so many mixed reports about surgery causing more damage & pain than initially suffered, so any advice would be gratefully received.

Kind regards

[DeHaviLand]

I had this operation in 1997, though not at Raigmore but at Glasgow Southern General. Prior to the op, I had been in traction for 10 months, and I was getting Pethadine injections to control the pain.

When I went in for the op, I was told there was a 30% chance that I may not be any better afterwards. I walked out of the hospital 2 days later, and have never looked back. To this day, I have never had any further back problems.

This op has come a long way in the 11 years since I had it, and I would strongly urge you to go for it. I wish you the same success that I had, and I look forward to hearing how it goes. All the very best of luck.

[ShelleyCowie]

I have never heard of anybody having that kind of surgery but would like to share my regards. I hope you get well soon! It doesnt sound nice anyway!!

[BAND1T]

Thanks Shelley for your message.

[captain chaos]

I am at present going through the same thing with a prolapsed disc in my lower back, with the pins and needles in the legs.

I have nowhere as serious a prolapse as DeHaviLand , I can still work (with no lifting whats so ever) and pain killers for the bad days

Also going to osteopath, but not the physio's as have had too many bad experiences with physiotherapists.


My doctor gave two options stay with the osteopath and let nature take its time or go under the knife for immediate relief from the pain, but the complications, recovery, etc, time will be about the same 1 year before getting back to normal lifting etc.

My doctor was very much for the osteopath rather than the surgery, but this has a lot to do with age as well.

When young up to 30s the prolepses is liquid like in behaviour, at 40-50 it starts to be a gel like behaviour and later more sponge like. please don’t take this as medical fact as like most men by the time I’ve gotten home from the doc and the other half asks what did he say ...I have not really remembered all that much!!

If your young it should repair itself quite fast, if like me gel stage it will take a year or so.

Do you have pins and needles in the legs, after 6 or 7 visits to the osteopath my leg pain is now not that bad.

If you are in agony with it then I would probably go down the op route.

[BAND1T]

Hi is the surgery like keyhole? I was reading up about it on the net and it said that
Using microsurgical techniques and a small incision, a microdiscectomy can usually be done on an outpatient basis or with one overnight stay in the hospital, and most patients can return to work full duty in one to three weeks.

I will need to speak to the doctor more about this, if it is going to be a whole year to total recovery.

I am 33yrs old, the pain I am experiencing now is a lot less than what I had at the start of December but it is not totally gone, also when I do any exercise, ie aqua jogging I am in a lot of pain for the rest of the evening and have to pack myself with painkiillers. I dont have pins & needles in my leg but I do have pain a lot of the time from the left buttock & lower back right down to my foot.

Thanks for your words of advice though, much appreciated. Did you get an MRI scan carried out?

[S&LHEN]

My mum had it done in Raigmore and I would say she was out of action afterwards for about a month, But there after shes perfect only complains of her back when the weathers perticularly cold.
So good luck and im sure all will go well try not to worry to much I think the worry will be worse for you than the surgery.

[BAND1T]

Thank you all for your replies so far, all information gratefully received.

[Kevin Milkins]

Hi Bandit, I have the deepest sympathy with you as I had a long term struggle with back pain caused by a prolapsed disk in my lower back and it’s no fun.

I had an MRI scan ten tears ago and had the same option as you and the surgeon pointed out what the benefits might be and what the downside could be and I opted for an epidural to relieve the pain when it was at it’s worst, and I used anti inflammatory and pain killer tablet’s the rest of the time.

No two injuries will be just the same so it is between you and your surgeon to make the choice that is best for you.

Captain Chaos mentioned about the fluid around the damaged area and the surgeon that I was using explained this to me and said that as I get older the pain will likely to decrease because of this and he was right.

I also found that physiotherapy was causing me to have more pain than it helped and I developed my own exercise routine that helped to relieve pain and aid recovery and also used an osteopath from time to time.

Good luck with whatever decision you make and hope life will be pain free in the near future.

[BAND1T]

Thanks Kevin,

For your message.

[Goldie]

Hi there Bandit - so sorry to hear of your trouble, poor you, it sounds awful. Sorry I don't have any advice for you, as I don't know anyone who has suffered with this. You have had some helpful comments here but you still have a big decision to make.

Dr's usually use surgery as a last resort, so for them to offer surgery, they must be sure it's the best way forward. It may be worth a phone call to the hospital and ask to speak to Dr Kent's secretary to ask if you can speak to him. I have spoken to a consultant specialist before on the phone with worries over something and he was brilliant and put me at ease. They usually don't mind a call.

If you can get pain relief that will give you an easier time, it may be that they can arrange to delay the operation in order to give chance to healing naturally.

On reading the post from captain chaos regarding peoples age relating to prolepses liquid/gel, saying that at the gel stage it takes longer to get over the operation, it would make sense to have the op done while you are younger - being young in itself gives you a better healing process after operations. However, the decision to have an operation, that might make things worse is not to be taken lightly.

If I had to make a decision like this I think I would try to weigh up things like will it get worse if I don't have the op , is it making a big impact on my quality of life, if I get over it now will it re-occur at a later date and if I have the operation can it come back at a later date too? - sorry - I am sure you have been thinking over all these things - so sorry to rant on. I am sure if you speak to Dr Kent he/she will be able to put your mind at ease.

Bandit, I hope you can come to a decision soon and I hope you are soon pain free and back-trouble free.

Wishing you well, let us know how you are getting on with things and good luck.

Take care Goldie

[Liz]

I empathise with you Bandit as I have a prolapsed disc (result of a car accident) in my upper back. It wasn't diagnosed for a few years and by the time I was sent to a 'specialist' and then to physio they said nothing could be done so surgery was never offered to me.I did have some physio but, like Kevin, it made things worse.

If it had been I am sure I would be in the same quandry as you.

I am very limited in what I can do due to chronic back pain but also now have arthritis which doesn't help.

Has your osteopath offered any advice as to whether they think surgery will help?

As Goldie rightly said it would be wise to voice your concerns with Dr Kent and he may put your mind at rest.

I know that any surgery is a worry but if at the end of it you end up pain free wouldn't it be wonderful?

I know someone who had surgery on his back recently and has made a wonderful recovery.

At the end of the day the decision must be yours but we are always here for you to have a chat to.

The very best of luck to you!

[crustyroll]

Bandit, I've had back surgery for a prolapsed disc at L5/S1 (lower back lumbar area) and don't regret it at all.

To cut a long story short I saw Mr Kent (he wasn't Dr Kent) from Orthopedics in Raigmore, is this the same person? Anyway, he didn't recommend surgery but then he was more interested in my back pain than in the sciatic leg pain I had. He did say if the pain got worse he would look at me again but I was having problems with the sciatica with lots of pins and needles and varying numbness in my leg and foot. I've had kids and I would easily say the sciatic pain is FAR worse than having kids. When my disc first came out I couldn't even put my foot on the ground and the pain was unbearable.

Ended up that I was seen by a Neurosurgeon from Aberdeen, in Raigmore, as the numbness was getting worse in my leg and also in my lower back. After an exam he sorted out an MRI scan which showed the prolapse and 6 weeks later I had the operation. I MUST point out, that the Neurosurgeon operated on me to relieve the sciatic pain, not the actual back pain.

I went in on Thursday, op on Friday and home on Monday. I was up on the Friday night, although it was painful but even by Saturday it wasn't so bad. I didn't have the whole disc taken away but they took away the bulging part that had actually calcified and was trapping the sciatic nerve. The consultant said the nerve was extremely swollen and inflammed and could take a little while to settle down.

That was 4 years ago and I have to be honest and say I still get some back pain, some days are worse than others and my back is a lot weaker since the op but I don't have any sciatic pain and that definately made the operation worth it for me. Everyone's case is different but I wasn't managing with the sciatica and knew I had to do something about it. I would do it all over again apart from the stupid lifting I did which damaged my back in the first place!!!

[Fran]

I know what you are going through Bandit, but want to tell you I had a lumberectomy of 2 discs in the lower left vertibrae about 25 years ago and i aM FINE. mINE WAS DONE IN wARD 40, ABERDEEN ROYAL iNFIRMARY. oF COURSE PROCEDURES HAVE CHANGED AND IMPROVED SINCE THEN. i WOULD RECOMMEND THIS OP. sORRY, MY CAPS ARE STICKING AGAIN. Good luck .I wasn't aware that they are doing this procedure in Inverness as it is usually done by a neuro surgeon and he is based in ward 40, aberdeen.
I am lucky to be as fit as i am with regards to my back, as my discs were so bad and i lost the feeling in my legs and was in hospital in wick and Inverness before going to aberdeen, for about 3 months. i then had to learn how to walk again. My surgeon was retiring and I was his last patients so he made quite a fuss of me!!
By the way, a doctor is doctor but a surgeon is mr. (silly really. )

[BAND1T]

Thanks for all your replies and information, it is very helpful, and as all you say in the end the decision is down to me.

Thanks and will let you know how I get on in due course.

Gav
x

[squashed frog]

I work offshore and after years of having lower back pain I woke one evening for nightshift in agony, got medivaced onshore to a local hospital where I got an MRI scan carried out. Turns out I had ruptured the bottom three disks in my spine. L3/L4 L4/L5 and L5/S1. Got sent home to see my GP. GP informed me that an appointment to see a Neurosurgeon on the NHS could take up to 6 months. Looked around all the private companies, BUPA, AXA etc, quickest any could see me was >12weeks and even if I did go private the Operation would likely cost a minimum of 12k. Pain got so bad that within 4 weeks I was on crutches and Diazapam/temazepam.

I eventually went on to Google and searched for Neurosurgery abroad. This company www.direct-healthcare.com/ was one of the first companies that came up. They managed to get me fitted into a Hospital called St Rembert's in Tourhout in Belguim within a week.

The surgeon carried out his own tests on my nerves to diagnose the problem and ended up trimming the three disks(after I recovered from the anesthetic the surgeon informed me that the disks were worse than he had expected and were putting so much pressure on my nerves that had I waited to have the Surgery done on the NHS I could well have ended up in a wheel chair as the nerves would have died). The operation, flights for myself and the missus, accomodation for the missus in total came to less than 5k.

4months later I am back to full health, back offshore and have no side affects. I can't recommend the hospital enough. The standard of care I received was first class. I know it is a lot of money but It has meant that I can get back to work doing a pysical job and if i'd been the usual scrooge I could well have been stuck in a wheel chair for the rest of my life.

[Dreamweaver]

I had surgery to repair prolapsed disc in Raigmore in 2007 after suffering horrendous sciatica for months. Relief from pain wasn't immediate but within a week I was pain free. Go for it is my advice - I was well looked after and was home within 4 days.

[captain chaos]

Band1t

I found this on the British Medical Journal website at

http://clinicalevidence.bmj.com/ceweb/conditions/msd/1118/patient-summary-1182356854951-ce_patient_leaflet.pdf

Surgery
Some people benefit from an operation to repair the damaged disc. If the surgery stops
the disc from pressing on a nerve, you may get quick relief from your pain. But the
operation doesn't work for everyone. Before you have an operation, you need to be sure
that your back pain is caused by a damaged disc.You need an MRI scan to confirm that
you have a slipped disc. Also, your doctor needs to be sure that this disc is causing your
pain. Otherwise the operation won't help.
There are three main ways in which the operation can be carried out:
• Standard surgery (open discectomy)
• Surgery using a microscope (microdiscectomy)
• Keyhole surgery (automated percutaneous discectomy).
© BMJ Publishing Group Limited 2007. All rights reserved.
page 2 of 4
Slipped disc
Research shows that the first two types work as well as each other. One study found
that after one year, two-thirds of people who had surgery were completely satisfied with
the results, compared to one-third of people who had other treatments such as
physiotherapy. But the effects of surgery may not last. After four years, people who'd
had surgery didn't feel any better than those who'd had other treatments.
Many people who have these operations find the pain comes back eventually and they
need another operation. This happens to:
• About 10 in 100 people who have standard surgery
• About 5 in 100 people who have surgery using a microscope
• About 25 in 100 people who have keyhole surgery.


By the way I note you mention pain killers... what do you use? .. I ask this as in the leaflet above it mentions that co-codamol is the most useful, as Ibuprofen seems to have no effect.

Hopefully you have some from your doctor as the over the counter co-codamol is a bit weak.

Hey you never know, might meet you in the pool for a bit of aqua therapy someday "I'll be the idiot at the deep end with the big float round his stomach going round in circles"

[daviddd]

I was diagnosed with a prolapsed disc at L4/L5 22 years ago and after a myelogram it was found to be a tumour inside the spinal cord. There was some worry until I had it removed (in a London hospital) a few weeks later but autopsy proved it was benign. I had it removed by laminectomy, which I think is an old-fashioned technique now - no keyhole surgery then afaik. It took me a few months to recover but everything is fine now. Unfortunately the tumour left some spinal nerve damage that affects various bits and bobs, but essentially I'm fine and glad that it was diagnosed in time before further damage was incurred. Constant abrasion of the cord by the disc could possibly cause permanent damage as far as I know - it would be worth asking the neurologist about that.

I recently had a '20 year' check-up at Raigmore after some sciatica and the neurologist said that they would operate "If I continued to suffer" - i.e. it was up to me whether I thought it was bad enough. It wasn't, and I rarely get sciatica now. I would say it's best to avoid surgery if poss but depends how much you're suffering.

One undesirable side-effect from my stay in hospital for the op in 1987 was a nice urinary infection that still recurs - a super-bug?! So this is another resaon for avoiding hospital if at all possible, although I think they're cleaner than they used to be.

Best of luck, whatever you decide on!

[crustyroll]

Constant abrasion of the cord by the disc could possibly cause permanent damage as far as I know - it would be worth asking the neurologist about that.

The Neurosurgeon I saw did say that permanent damage can occur to the nerves, which could include loosing permanent control of your bladder and bowel as well as a whole host of other problems. I still have an altered feeling of sensation in the back of my thigh and from my calf down to my foot and sometimes when my back is sore the 'numbness' increases for a short period of time.

I've actually found that one of the worst things for my back is when I'm sneezing, coughing or unfortunately being sick, the action of bending forward with a jerk is what seems to aggravate whats left of my disc. My operation was not done by keyhole and was classed as a discectomy.

It does really depend on how well you cope with the pain and day to day living. I was on dihydrocodeine, diclofenac, diazepam as well as trying traction, accupuncture, tens machine, osteopath and whatever else I could think of. The pain did lessen enough that I got back to work and got through each day but I had a sitting job and this was the worst thing for me though may not be for you?

[BAND1T]

Thank you all so much for your info and sharing your experiences with me. It is all very useful.