Hello People,

This is my update on the appointment with a second Surgeon today 4/14/2006. This is what I learned at this office. That
1. Lumbar microdisectomy will not relieve the sciatic pain has been killing me the last year. microdisectomy is not a guaranteed.
2. There is about 3-5 percent of reherniating the discs at any time. Another surgery is possible.
3. Surgeon can't remove the whole disc...this is more complicated than I can understand.
3. There is a smalll chance of nerve damge later on without going for the surgery.
4. Once disc is herniated, it unreversible.
5. Over time, bulging disc can shrink..very good news.
6. After the surgery, there is a 4-6 week off from work.

Thanks for your reply in my posts. It was vey helpful, but I decide to opt out for surgery.

Hi... 2 things.. Once a disc is herniated, it may be irreversible, but the body can heal itself without surgery... In fact, that is what my Dr recommended for my T11-12 herniated disc... Depending on how much pain and how serious it is, they will operate and not give you an option... I am told that the disc repairs itself with scar tissue, and the herniation part (the stuff that is oozing out) will eventually, over time, dissolve and be slowly removed by the body...

Also, my neighbor got 2 of his lumbar vertebrae fused together.. So perhaps, if they had to remove your entire disk, they may be able to fuse the two bones together... You may want to ask your Dr about that...

Thanks for the info. oh by the way, this is a consultation for L4,L5, and S1 disc herniation.

Hello People,

This is my update on the appointment with a second Surgeon today 4/14/2006. This is what I learned at this office. That
1. Lumbar microdisectomy will not relieve the sciatic pain has been killing me the last year. microdisectomy is not a guaranteed.
2. There is about 3-5 percent of reherniating the discs at any time. Another surgery is possible.
3. Surgeon can't remove the whole disc...this is more complicated than I can understand.
3. There is a smalll chance of nerve damge later on without going for the surgery.
4. Once disc is herniated, it unreversible.
5. Over time, bulging disc can shrink..very good news.
6. After the surgery, there is a 4-6 week off from work.

Thanks for your reply in my posts. It was vey helpful, but I decide to opt out for surgery.

Hi, I have had the L4 L5 Micro D and it reherniated in the 6 weeks. As far as going back to work in 4 to 6 weeks would depend on what you do for work. I put the 1st surgery off for years being treated with heavy meds and steroid injections until they no longer helped. I now have some nerve damage and after the 2nd micro d. I was out of work for 18 months.

Good Luck

Very interesting information. I'm scheduled to go in for a surgery consultation and have been reviewing different options. So far everything that I've come across points back to the spinal fusion being the best move for me because of the issues that I've been dealing with.

I'm dealing with the sciatic nerve damage (L5) I've got a fissured disc along with it so that isn't helping either. Two doctors have already said to me there is a good chance a spinal fusion at the L5 and removal of the torn disc will relieve some compression as well as most of the pain I'm experiencing. It will also prevent the unneccesary need to go in at a later date for the removal of the fissured disc. Made sense to me at the time.

What I'm concerned about now is the length of time that it has taken us to get this far and how much damage has already been done with this long length of time dilly dalling around with the "conventional healing" process. :rolleyes:

I guess only time will tell when I go in for a consultation. I'm scheduled for one the first week in July. I also sent my records and MRI images to a different surgeon this week to a 2nd surgeon to be reviewed so I'm waiting on that confirmation as well. I'd assume it would be sometime the end of next week (or earlier) I'll be hearing something. I just hope my back doesn't give between then, it's already on a slow and steady decrease which I'm not happy about. :eek: