Discectomy results and reflections

[Tierney]

I had a L5/S1 discectomy on 6/18/10 and I told Harrison i would try to write back with the results . My story is under new members intro. I went to Triangle Ortho on 6/17 for my presurgery appointment with Dr. Masante. It went really well, he answered all my questions, and put me totally at ease. I then went over to North Carolina Specialty hospital for my blood work, EKG, paperwork, etc... What a fantastic place!

By this time I could not walk any more because of the sciatic pain in my left leg. Surgery was the next morning , 6/18, 8:15 am. We got there at 7:00am for presurgery prep, meeting with the doc again, as well as the nurse that would be managing my pain after and the anesthesiologist. I went under at 8:20 and woke up at 10:45. It took about an hour for my head to clear well, but immediately after I woke I realized I was in no pain for the first time in six months. I figured they must have pumped me up with some good pain killer. Once they let me get out of bed at noon to use the bathroom, the nurse asked me how much pain I was in. I told maybe a 1 out of 10. She then told me there were no pain meds in me at all!

I then asked when I could leave! She was surprised, Dr. Masante came in a few minutes later to check on me and I asked again if I could leave. He asked why I was in such a hurry, to which I told him I could not wait to start walking again. They releashed me two hours later, and since, all has gone extremely well except for ripping a few stitches doing something I should not have done. I still have another 4 weeks off down time ahead, but am up to 3 miles a day walking and feel great.

Looking back I wish I would have skipped the epidurals, which were a total waste of time and money, and realized that after 6 weeks of chiro care that if it was not better by then, I should have gotten a MRI and gone to see a neuro/ ortho doc. I hope by writing all of this maybe I can help out some one else. Thanks, Tierney

[Harrison]

I am glad that your experiences worked out well! It's always great to hear from patients who share their learnings and insights from their "journeys." These posts help patients tremendously!

[dlib44]

Tierney,

Did you have any back pain or just leg pain?

[Robinson14]

I am 22 years old and have a large l5-s1 disc herniation resulting from a work injury. My surgeon says "bandaid surgery" wont work for me and that he wanted to do an ADR surgery but if my insurance wouldn't pay for it, then he would have to do a fusion. I have debilitating pain in my back and right leg, along with extreme numbness. Sometimes when I wake up I have to wait for ten minutes or longer before I can walk. My insurance company denies coverage of ADR surgery so I've requested fusion surgery. Does anybody have any information about fusion surgery? Also, I worked a labor intensive job, handling equipment in excess of 100 lbs. I am wondering what kind of weight restrictions, or restrictions in general I will have after the surgery?

[nornie73]

1995:

Hurt back at work -- severe symptoms weren't immediate, but a few days later (memory hazy now) I knew I was in big trouble. Workers comp. case plus I had already (previous to injury!) interviewed for and was hired for a new job in Silicon Valley (doing clinical research for a medical device start-up in an unrelated field)

Hand picked my Neurosurgeon from the hospital where I had I worked. Had hideous rt. sided sciatica and hard core local lower back pain. Spent lots of time writhing on floor -- was not on any narcs.

Didn't want to miss work at my brand new job, so flew back to Santa B. on the Fri of my 1st week on the new job. My surgeon agreed to do the surgery on a Sat, morning (always be 1st or 2nd case if you can control this).

Woke from anesthesia knowing I was cured. Walked, peed, passed gas and ate, D/Ced own IV in the afternoon dressed and politely informed the nurses I was ready to go. They discharged me after a bit of a scramble on their part. Flew back to Silicon Valley Sunday, and Monday morning I was back in my cube doing my bit for some pre-clinical data analysis.

So, all together. I guess I missed one day of work -- that day I took to fly to SB. LOL BTW: This all transpired in about a six week time period. Few people believe this story, but that doesn't bother me .
Brilliant surgeon and brilliant result. Dr. Tom Jones in Santa Barbara.