DASCOR

[sharman]

Wow, I'm sorry to hear that. Sounds like there's been and/or continues to be major trauma to your nerve roots.

Did Laser Spine remove the bone spurs? Did they look for fragments that might be floating around, irritating things?

Have you tried the meds specifically designed to address nerve pain, e.g., lyrica, neurontin?

This is just a guess--is the leg pain worse with sitting, etc. compared with reclining, or relatively constant? I'm thinking the former might suggest bulging disc more than the latter.

I assume you've tried steroid epidurals?

The last thought, with nothing to back it up: I've always thought that nerve pain should be treatable with a local injection of one of the powerful anti-flammatories they have now for rheumatoid arthritis (etanercept (Enbrel) and infliximab)

[chasswen]

yes dr b does this also as seen here.
http://www.netplosiv.de/pro-spine/cm...t.php?idcat=30
chuck

[Rob Wilson]

Sharman,

Sitting is definitely agravating. Supposedly I had a complete decompression (scar tissue, disc bulge, widen foramen, osteophytes, etc) but no epidurals since they would be counterindicated if I do have arachnoiditis. If these nerves were truly compressed for the last year and a half it could take some time to calm down. Maybe I could try some nerve pills (ie lyrica) or a radiofrequency injection to deaden the nerves.

[sharman]

Well, some more thoughts, for what it's worth:

I don't think you can do RF for nerve root/radicular pain.

How recently did you have the procedure at Laser Spine? Injured nerves are notoriously slow to heal, so I wouldn't be discouraged yet--you may indeed have successfully addressed the source of the problem, but it will take a while for the improvements to come.

In the meantime, the nerve meds are worth a try. Also, red meat (and/or vitamin B12 supplements/shots) is said to help nerve regeneration.

Finally, here's a theory for what happened to you. You had a nasty hematoma from the ADR surgery. Blood is very irritating to the tissues. This could have caused the nerve irritation and scarring. (The ADR was the onset of the leg pain?) Again, I think it's a matter of time and TLC.

That last disc bulge might be a problem, and a discectomy, accompanied by ADCT or PDN should fix that.

Good luck!

[Darren Rose]

Hi All

My name is Darren Rose from London, UK. Although I have been a member of this site for over two years this is my first posting as I feel it's my time to contribute. This site has been very helpful to me purely on the basis of research and knowing that you are not the only one suffering with back pain (and all it's associated ailments).

As I write this I am 10 days post surgery, recovering from a new procedure known as DISC NUCLEUS REPLACEMENT by Dascor (www.discdyn.com).

I am 32 years old now but my back pain started when I was 23. I was a tennis coach coaching for my local club and county when my onset of low back pain began. Six months later after all conservative treatment failed including pain medication, extensive physio and cortisone injection I had a L5-S1 micro discectomy. It took a (painful) year of recovery before I could return to coaching but I knew by back would never be as strong as it use to.

Cut to 2005 and 2 surgeries later (rotator cuff repair of the right shoulder in 2000 and a C5-C6 laminectomy in 2003) my back pain had resurfaced with a vengence! I had given up the coaching (and sadly tennis) in 2000 as my body was obviously not designed for it, I was diagnosed with 'hypo-mobile' joints when I was 14 which is great when you're a kid as you’re super flexible but it obviously causes terrible problems later in life, trust me I have the T-shirt!

Anywho...my back pain had resurfaced and I was unable to bend forwards and was getting awful pains down my right leg. I had another MRI scan which revealed my L5-S1 disc had collapsed further. So cut to 2007 after 2 years of more physio, core strengthening in the gym, further back injections, time off from work, and 2 different opinions from 2 leading orthopaedic surgeons in London I made the decision to have more surgery to try and rectify the problem once and for all.

My Surgeon was a Mr Ben Taylor based at the Wellington hospital in St. Johns Wood. I chose him because he was one of the only surgeons in London that was pro using the ‘A-MAV’ artificial disc (formally know as the Maverick, see http://www.maverickdisc.com/lumbar-a...c-surgery.html - click on ‘MAVERICK Artificial Disc Video’ on the right). I knew being in my early 30's and very much still active I didn't want a spinal fusion and after much research the only artificial disc that I was prepared to have inserted into my spine was the metal on metal A-MAV, this was the surgery I was preparing for.

I saw Mr Taylor in March 2007 after more tests (MRI, X-RAY, CAT scan and discography/discogram) which again confirmed my severely damaged and collapsed L5-S1 disc. I asked him if there where any new procedures available which is when he went on to explain this new disc nucleus replacement technique which is currently undergoing clinical trials in Europe (www.discdyn.com). He explained that it was much less invasive than a total disc replacement with early indications of a success rate of up to 80% (on par with a spinal fusion). He also told me that during surgery if disc nucleus replacement failed (if my disc annulus was too damaged to support the new injected nucleus) he would then do a complete disc replacement using the A-MAV.

I still wasn't convinced due to the fact that this procedure was so new and no long-term studies existed (or non that I could find). I was still favouring the ADR procedure when he explained things in black and white “Once I take your disc out Darren that’s it, you'll never have it back again. At least with the nucleus replacement you are retaining all (except the nucleus) of the original disc and natural surrounding tissue. You still have the option further down the line of ADR surgery should the nucleus replacement technique fail.”

With this information on board I went away to think about which surgery was best for me. I thought about it for a couple of weeks before booking my disc nucleus replacement surgery for May 1st 2007.

Since my back pain resurfaced in 2005 I was in pain for 6 months before the pain finally settled. Since that time my back problems were very intermittent, fine one week, then off work in pain the next. Mr Surgeon would not operate on me whilst I was in pain so I was in relatively good health when I had surgery last week. Surgery was at 8am and I was back in my room by 12pm although I was in recovery for an hour or so. The Surgeon explained to my parents that surgery went well. The incision was from the anterior approach (front) as this is a safer access point than working around the spinal column from the back. The incision is from left to right about 12-14cm halfway between my groin and belly button. Internal stitches were used and steri strips applied to bond the skin together on the outside to ensure minimal scaring. A catheter was inserted into my penis (whilst I was under thank God) as I was completely immobile for the first couple of days. I was on a self-administering morphine drip with a clicker for the first 48 hours before I was taken off intravenous medication. The oral medication I've been on since has been paracetamol, Voltarol (Diclfenac) anti-inflammatory and Tramadol (Analgesic) which I've been told is a cousin of morphine.

It's too early to tell whether my operation has been a success. I had a further MRI scan 5 days after surgery and when comparing the before and after scans it certainly looks like the procedure has worked. You can clearly see the distance between my L5 and S1 vertebra has been increased and it's also confirmed by looking at my X-rays taken during the procedure (before and after the nucleus was injected). However I think it will be many months before I know whether surgery has truly worked so watch this space!

In terms of postoperative pain I guess I have all the associated pain of having a caesarean section as they had to cut through the stomach muscles (abs). You'll be surprised how much you use your stomach muscles until you've had this kind of surgery! I've had very little back pain other than the occasional ache which is probably more to do with lounging around recovering and time spent in bed. I've been told to do absolutely nothing for 2 weeks including no bending or twisting. I'm lucky enough to be convalescing at my parents home so no house work to do and all my meals cooked (thanks Mum and Dad). The physio at the hospital told me to try and walk a little each day and to continue to do my core abdominal work to help strengthen my transversus abdominis (a corset type muscle underneath the abs that helps stabilize the spine), these are just a few simple exercises done whilst lying flat on your back. When I left the Wellington hospital after 6 days I was given a material corset to wear with metal splits stitched into the back which attaches to itself with velcro, I was instructed to wear this during walking and sitting to encourage me not to slouch. However my wound has been very sore and uncomfortable over the last couple of days so I've been unable to wear it.

In terms of work I expect to be off between 4 and 6 weeks. I should also mention that I've been very fortunate in that I was able to have this procedure done privately through BUPA. Mr Taylor (my surgeon) dealt exclusively with Bupa who gave my case 'special consideration'. I have no idea if this procedure can be done on the British National Health Service.

Right looks like I've covered all the angles here, I will update this posting in a few weeks time to let you know how I'm doing. If any of you have any questions please feel free to contact me. I will be more than happy to send you a jpg of my before and after if you so wish, just drop me an email at darrenr0@ntlworld.com

Thanks

Darren

[stuschulz]

Info from the Dascor site on US cities participating in the clinical trial.:
Dascor Clinical Trial

[Jason B]

Any updates from our intrepid trialists?

[dylan]

still get lumbago after jobs,but it heals faster and better
I have more stamina also
just pulled four 16 hour days back to back, at one point I lifted a hundred pound studio stand just to see If I could do it
I still hurt and have similar limitations, but recovery seems to continue

[Darren Rose]

Hi all

Just to let you know I have posted my latest 11 week post op recovery on a different thread. To read it click on the 'find' tab then copy and past 'Lumbar L5-S1 Dascor - Darren' and click 'go'.

It's the in ADR Surgical Outcome Forum.

Thanks

Darren

[Darren Rose]

Hi again

I have just posted my 9

month post surgery recovery update here

http://adrsupport.org/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/3511036081/m/8...041009892#3041009892

It's in the 'ADR Surgical Outcome Forum'

Thanks

Darren