Back surgery...

bret · #1 02-01-2011, 09:50 AM

Tomorrow, I guess being a heavy equipment tech for 25 years has finally taken its toll on me. darn, just one wing tip to nut plate and wings are done. Anyone have a laminotomy done?

bkilby · #2 02-01-2011, 10:04 AM

Yes, I had a microdiscectomy and laminectomy in 2007. Had the disk in L5-S1 blow up and couldn't stand the pain any longer. Wish I would have done it much sooner.

Mike S · #3 02-01-2011, 10:10 AM

No personal experience, but three of my friends have had disk surgery, and all three now say they wish they would not have avoided it with alternate attempts, which did not cure the problem.

Obviously, YMMV, but I hope not.

DEWATSON · #4 02-01-2011, 10:15 AM

Yes I have.........a discectomy and lamanectomy at L4-L5. After surgery I woke up without the leg pain and considered myself lucky. I'm very careful these days with what I pick up and I watch the serious Gs when doing aerobatics. If I pull too hard, I can feel it in my leg for a day or two. Be careful from now on, but the surgery will be worth the relief. Good luck.

David Watson
49FD

Cadstat · #5 02-01-2011, 10:21 AM

I did in 1991. Set Coke machines for 4 years. Judo at age 10, Gymnastics in HS. Karate after that. Hard landing in Ultralights made it worst. Carried a microwave down the stairs finished me off.
I tried every cure before the surgery. I could stand up or lay down but not bend much in the middle. My Dr. was an ahole but did brain surgery on the patient before me so my back was a 'no brainer' lol. Anyway it was a miracle.
I still have limits and have crossed the line more than once over the years but can function at near 100% to this day. Still ski, play racketball and work out at the gym. Good luck. The pain is gone immediately but take a week or 2 off and give it a chance to repair.

nucleus · #6 02-01-2011, 11:36 AM

I see good results with laminectomies.

Hans

aturner · #7 02-01-2011, 11:55 AM

My sciatic nerve flared up when I recently moved the fuselage off the workbench and down onto a low cart so as to attach the tailcone and install systems. It was caused by long hours of bending over while fabricating fuel lines, brake lines, etc. No significant back problems before, but now constant pain in the leg, etc. Makes me cringe to think about what might be going on in my back. So, keep that fuselage at a height so you don't have to bend over too much!

airguy · #8 02-01-2011, 12:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bret

Tomorrow, I guess being a heavy equipment tech for 25 years has finally taken its toll on me. darn, just one wing tip to nut plate and wings are done. Anyone have a laminotomy done?

Yep, in my neck C5-C6. Three days on heavy hydrocodone and muscle relaxers before I could stand up and walk. I highly suggest a Lazy-Boy recliner, a TV remote, and someone to bring you food and drugs for the first 2 days.

aarvig · #9 02-01-2011, 01:18 PM

When you need surgery...you need surgery. Of all the patients that come into my office with disc herniation about 5-7% of them will eventually need surgery. One thing to consider...
I just saw my first patient who had a disc replacement surgery performed at Midwest Spine in Minneapolis. She was part of a study looking at the success rates of actually replacing the disc with a prothesis. This allowed for retained full range-of-motion at the operated level which plays a MAJOR MAJOR MAJOR role in the long term prognosis of the discs surrounding the herniated level. Often times, discs that are removed and fused cause the segments above and below the operated level to become degenerative earlier possibly requiring surgery at those levels as well. With this disc replacement it is possible we may be able to avert this entirely.
Now for the caveat...
The procedure is "experimental" thus far (fits for our crowd

). Discuss with your surgeon the possibility of having a disc replacement. Biomechanically, you may be better off. I am assuming a lot about your case without actually looking at your back but sometimes laminectomy's are performed concurrently with discectomy's. So I am assuming they are taking the disc when they are in there...maybe not. Discuss this with your surgeon. Being a chiropractor, I am all for retaining as much normal motion in your spine as you can and these disc replacement prothesis devices hold a lot of promise...although we are still early in the game.
If you have questions, PM me and I will point you in the right direction. I would be happy to contact the orthopedist and see if there is anyone in your area who is performing these procedures. Again, the procedure was performed as part of a study here in Minnesota. I do believe that wide scale usage of these discs is just around the corner.

8CW · #10 02-01-2011, 05:45 PM

Yep. When I was 22 yrs old in 1980. L4-L5. I have never regreted it, I feel great. I was in the hospital for a week.

Fast forward to 2009... My next door neighbor is a family practitioner and had the same disc removed. He went in at 6am, was back home by noon, and back to work in 2 weeks. Amazing how far medicine has come, or how far insurance has gone.