L1-2, L2-3, L3-4: Normal
I have had lower back pain and pain that goes down the (front) groin area down to my knee. This has been going on for over a year. I just had a discectomy surgery a month ago, but the pain is worse now then before. The MRI results from before the surgery are too confusing for me. Can someone help me interpret them please!!!
L4-5: There is mild facet and ligamentum flavum hypertrophy. There is a mild broad based disc bulge with posterior annular fissuring. There is mild right neural foraminal stenosis.
L5-S1¨ There is disc desiccation and mild broad based posterior protrusion. There is a prosterior annular tear at the left paracentral region. No significant impression on the thecal sac or lateral recess is seen. The neural foramina are patent. There is a mild left facet hypertrophy.
IMPRESSION:
1. Disc Disease with mild disc bulge L4-5 and mild protrusion L5-S1. No significant central canal stenosis is seen. Mild Neural foraminal stenosis is seen at L4-5 right of midline. Correlate with right L4 radicular syptoms.
At what level was your discectomy? Are your symptoms the same as what you had prior to surgery? Did you have any relief immediately after surgery or perhaps during the first week or so? Have you talked with your surgeon? If so, what did he think about the pain?
Thank you for your questions teteri as I was thinking no one would help me!! My microdiscetomy was at L4-L5. And yes my sypmtoms are similar but worse. More often and more painful (back and front of right leg). I had a little relief after surgery because I was in bed for 2 days and not really mobile. Once I became a little bit mobile, the pain just got worse. I am unable to sit for more than an hour and a half at a time, I cant bend, or stand for more than like 15 mins without pain. My doctor says I need another MRI because he doesnt think I should still be in this much pain a month post op. Any help or explanations you or anyone can give me on my MRI would be so helpful!!!
My guess is that you may have some pain coming from the L5-S1 level, too. Your problems at this level are almost as severe as those at the L4-L5 but there is less stenosis. I guess the doctor felt it was less severe or perhaps that this level was not causing nerve compression, so for that reason, he did not elect to operate on it too.
But in hindsight, I suspect he will wish he had done both levels during your first surgery.
At L4-L5 there are changes in the facet joint which are of the arthritic type. The joint is enlarging and the ligament flavum is thickening up. At this level there is a mild disc bulge and an annular tear in the outer rim of the disc which is pushing out of the disc space and encroaching into the foraminal opening on the right side. The foramina is an opening through which the spinal nerve passes out from the spine to other parts of the body.
At L5-S1 the disc is drying out and there is a disc bulge that is pushing out to the posterior side. This disc also has a small annular tear. However, unlike at L4-L5, the disc problem is not causing any stenosis and therefore, there is no nerve compression going on at this level.
The left facet joint at this level is showing some small signs of arthritis.
Wow, that is awsome information!!! Thank you for taking the time to help me out!! Its too bad that Doctors dont talk and explain things that us laymen people can understand. At first glance, when reading my report, nothing pops out to me that gives me the impression that anything is even wrong because it all says "mild". Well it certainly doesnt feel mild since it is causing me such severe pain.
If anything else comes to mind, please, please write me back again!! I just feel like I cant get enough information and want to know what things I need to tell my Dr. when I go back to my next appointment. I guess I am an information hog........lol
You probably right that most doctors will see the word "mild" and will tell you that there isn't really anything going on that could be causing your pain...but some things such as an annular tear and facet joint disease can cause pain even when problems are described as mild.
