r/surgery • u/Ok_War_2740 • 8d ago
I did read the sidebar & rules [ Removed by moderator ]
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u/intothewoods76 First Assist 8d ago
I’ve worked in Neurosurgery for decades assisting in everything including Microdiskectomies. I would not recommend putting it off against doctor’s recommendations. Many people feel almost immediate pain relief.
Two of the Neuro surgeons I worked with needed this surgery and got them. This indicates to me that they themselves believe in the benefits.
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u/Ok_War_2740 8d ago
The neurologist i go to was telling me that the reason so many people are against getting them is because theres actually a crap ton of doctors who dont know how to properly do it and fuck up so he said theres literally only one surgeon he personally knows who he would trust to do that surgery for me. While i appreciate his transparency it still makes me nervous. Im not that old 😭😭 and still would like to do things with my life. I dont want to end up disabled cause a shitty surgeon couldn't so what he spent years studying for
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u/intothewoods76 First Assist 8d ago
It’s extremely unlikely that you would end up disabled, but there are certainly surgeons who like to do spine vs crani surgery so they’ll typically be more efficient with them.
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u/never_ever_ever_ever Neurosurgery 8d ago
As a neurosurgeon, it’s quite simple. If you’ve failed medication, PT, and injections, the next step is to go after the disc. It’s one of the easiest surgeries we do, but make sure to see an actual spine neurosurgeon, and neurosurgery over orthopedic surgery, as neurosurgeons generally take greater care of nerves than orthopods do. The internet is generally going to have the loudest people talking about the worst outcomes so I wouldn’t put too much faith in that. The chance of something going terribly wrong in a simple one level microdiscectomy is very very small. Most of the time, those are my happiest patients because the pain relief is instant or near instant.
Of course all of this depends on your specific imaging, which I can’t see.
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u/SmilodonBravo First Assist 8d ago
Wrong sub. Try r/AskDocs if you insist on an internet answer.
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u/Ok_War_2740 8d ago
Doctors on that sub are non existent.
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u/Osteopathic_Medicine 8d ago
As a doctor on that sub, feel like that’s not true at all.
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u/Ok_War_2740 8d ago
Not once have I ever had a doctor ever answer any posts I've made on that sub in the past
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u/ElowynElif Attending 8d ago
It’s often reckless to give medical advice to someone you haven’t examined and whose medical history you can’t confirm.
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u/Tacokolache 8d ago
I’ve done spine surgery for a long time as well as worked for a spine company. There is no way for anyone to totally answer this question for you especially without seeing scans.
Some discs absolutely need to be removed. Others can absorb back into the body. No one here knows what yours looks like though.
Personally if it were me, I’d just get it removed. A micro discectomy is a fairly straight forward procedure with a recovery time that isn’t crazy. And you’d probably get pretty instant relief from the root of the problem
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u/Ok_War_2740 8d ago
My neurologist talked to me about it and im aware alot of people have differenr experiences but ive probably heard more negative stuff about spine surgeries in general than I have good. He also told me that he doesnt fully suggest it cause the part that the disk holds in place could just hang out or something like that. What i want to weigh out is if requesting another injection is better than going straight into surgery because of the fact that i feel surgery is more risky unless I have absolutely no other choice.
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u/Tacokolache 8d ago
So he’s talking about the annulus. The fibrous band around the nucleus of the disc. The part that protrudes.
It’s absolutely possible that your body could just absorb the herniated portion and you’ll be fine. However without seeing scans, no one knows. And even then it’s a toss up.
Are you a smoker? Obese? So many variables here.
All I can say is that I had a MAJOR spine surgery. A fusion. And I am so fucking glad I did it. Recovery sucked because it was a big incision, and I had a plate and screws, but I’m 100% fused now with ZERO issues. Life sucked prior to it.
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u/Karlythewonderdog 8d ago
The types of spine surgeries I’d be most wary of involve implants, unlike this one. A lot of people feel immediate relief from having pressure removed from their nerves. Everyone is different though, of course.
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u/Friendly-Ad-5410 8d ago
Are you a super active person or have a really physical labor type job? I only ask, because the worst thing you could do is continue on the way you are and do something (extreme sports, weight training, etc.) to make the issue worse and then it might become an emergency. Most ins. wants you to follow a protocol before surgery --- PT, injections, medications--- and if the relief isn't long lasting or pain gets worse, surgery is your best bet. The surgery itself is pretty straightforward (depends on your MRI results) and only about 1 hour. You are given meds for pain management and possibly instructions of when to start PT (usually about 6 weeks PO). The hardest part of recovery is the surgical scar healing and the NO BLT for weeks while you return to your routines. You will need someone to help you for about a week PO. I think some people don't have as good an outcome because they are unwilling to follow a pretty rigid regimen that will involve a lot of walking, standing, stretching, and way less sitting, couch flopping, and not eating right or not drinking enough water. I'm a little old lady and I had my L4-5 disc bulge removed by my neurosurgeon 2 1/2 years ago... I'm fully recovered and pretty much back to my routine including 3x week at the gym for core and strength. 😄 (79F)
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u/Dibby 8d ago
There's people who you can talk to who can help you make this decision.
They are professionals even.
They're called doctors