Next week I will be having Facet Cyst Injection. Since August I've been having alot of discomfort. Would like to hear some experiences...
I have had back fusion in the past.
If you previously had an epidural steroid injection prior to your fusion, this should be very similar. The only main difference will be in the placement of the needle. I assume it is being done to try to shrink the cyst??
Next week I will be having Facet Cyst Injection. Since August I've been having alot of discomfort. Would like to hear some experiences...
I have had back fusion in the past.
Not to try to scare you but - I hope your surgeon is on standby to operate and remove it if this injection backfires, as it did with me. Whether it is successful may depend on what is in the cyst, and how tenancious your doctor is at aspirating or rupturing it. Just leaving steroid in it was what I did and accomplished nothing.
I had two injections into a synovial cyst. The doctor first injected it with contrast to locate it, and then tried to aspirate it unsuccessfully, and then tried to rupture it, also unsuccessfully, by filling it with steroid. We thought the steroid would shrink it.
It backfired totally. A 1 cm cyst was now 2 cm by 2 cm, putting intense pressure on my L5 nerve root. Before the injection I had back pain. Afterward I had more intense back pain, ankle pain, and hip pain from pressure on the sciatic nerve.
He tried again, ten days later, to aspirate or rupture it and could not. My cyst had been there for at least 8 months and part of it had calcified. Because I now was in intense pain, I managed to schedule surgery 3 weeks later. After removal, the surgeon said that it had a large adhesion to the dura. The pathology report described it as tough and rubbery.
I have read that injections and rupture of synovial cysts work 50% of the time. A lot depends on how large it is, what's inside it, and the skill and tenacity of the doctor. It's worth a shot if you can avoid surgery and if they promise to take it out if it becomes bigger, not just leave it in there to drive you nuts.
Not to try to scare you but - I hope your surgeon is on standby to operate and remove it if this injection backfires, as it did with me. Whether it is successful may depend on what is in the cyst, and how tenancious your doctor is at aspirating or rupturing it. Just leaving steroid in it was what I did and accomplished nothing.
I had two injections into a synovial cyst. The doctor first injected it with contrast to locate it, and then tried to aspirate it unsuccessfully, and then tried to rupture it, also unsuccessfully, by filling it with steroid. We thought the steroid would shrink it.
It backfired totally. A 1 cm cyst was now 2 cm by 2 cm, putting intense pressure on my L5 nerve root. Before the injection I had back pain. Afterward I had more intense back pain, ankle pain, and hip pain from pressure on the sciatic nerve.
He tried again, ten days later, to aspirate or rupture it and could not. My cyst had been there for at least 8 months and part of it had calcified. Because I now was in intense pain, I managed to schedule surgery 3 weeks later. After removal, the surgeon said that it had a large adhesion to the dura. The pathology report described it as tough and rubbery.
I have read that injections and rupture of synovial cysts work 50% of the time. A lot depends on how large it is, what's inside it, and the skill and tenacity of the doctor. It's worth a shot if you can avoid surgery and if they promise to take it out if it becomes bigger, not just leave it in there to drive you nuts.
Thank you for the reply. Yes I was told about the risk. The surgeon explained the 3 ways to handle the situation.
1) Injection to Rupture the Cyst.
2) Surgery to scrape Cyst out. 3) Fushion.
And I really want to avoid another Fushion.
They did a MRI and know it is size of a Thumb Nial in diameter. It's very painful. I'm really hoping it Ruptures. They will have a CAT scan at the same time and see what is going on.
So how long did it take for you to Recover from the surgery? Did you have a fushion before?
Thank you for the reply. Yes I was told about the risk. The surgeon explained the 3 ways to handle the situation.
1) Injection to Rupture the Cyst.
2) Surgery to scrape Cyst out. 3) Fushion.
And I really want to avoid another Fushion.
They did a MRI and know it is size of a Thumb Nial in diameter. It's very painful. I'm really hoping it Ruptures. They will have a CAT scan at the same time and see what is going on.
So how long did it take for you to Recover from the surgery? Did you have a fushion before?
Keep me in your prayers.
Shamrock77
Hi Shamrock, I've never had a fusion and think it would be overkill for a cyst based on what I've read. I read some studies and they very, very rarely recur after removal.
After my injection didn't work, I requested that it be removed via microscopic surgery so that I would lose as little bone and muscle as possible. They ended up doing a hemi-laminectomy at 2 levels on one side only (which helped relieve my mild stenosis anyway) and removed part of the facet joint and the cyst. Healing was easy and I was back to normal activities within days. Good luck and let us know how it goes!
Hi Shamrock, I've never had a fusion and think it would be overkill for a cyst based on what I've read. I read some studies and they very, very rarely recur after removal.
After my injection didn't work, I requested that it be removed via microscopic surgery so that I would lose as little bone and muscle as possible. They ended up doing a hemi-laminectomy at 2 levels on one side only (which helped relieve my mild stenosis anyway) and removed part of the facet joint and the cyst. Healing was easy and I was back to normal activities within days. Good luck and let us know how it goes!
Having Facet Cyst Injection L5 
Re: Having Facet Cyst Injection L5 
Re: Having Facet Cyst Injection L5 
