I had my surgery 3/2/09 - laminectomy, decompression, and fusion of L3 to L5. Not a small job. I'm still recovering.

So when I follow up with the surgeon, he congratulates himself on the great job he did curing my stenosis.

Ah duh.... I asked you to cure my PAIN. You told me the stenosis was the cause of the pain. Now we know that my back pain is NOT caused by stenosis. What's next?

He tells me to get pain shots (spinal blocks), increase my meds and take therapy.... and sends me to a neurologist who decides I'm depressed.

I'm not depressed....

I'm pissed, I have permanent nerve damage because we delayed the surgery to try alternative treatments, and I'm in pain. There's a difference.

Anyone have any experiences with spine surgery?

Did you have to go more than once to get it right?

2nd opinion time and not from a bunch of wackjob Mercedes enthusiasts.

There have been some recent studies showing that surgical patients see comparable improvement to non-surgical patients when it comes to back pain. Wish the news was better.
Try the Braintalk spinal disorders forum for more information.

__________________
1977 300d 70k--sold 08
1985 300TD 185k+
1984 307d 126k--sold 8/03
1985 409d 65k--sold 06
1984 300SD 315k--daughter's car
1979 300SD 122k--sold 2/11
1999 Fuso FG Expedition Camper
1993 GMC Sierra 6.5 TD 4x4
1982 Bluebird Wanderlodge CAT 3208--Sold 2/13

I go for one next week.

At least wackjob Mercedes enthusiasts speak in plain English.



This is NOT MD bashing - I think my surgeon did a good job of fixing what he thought was the problem.

I'm NOT going to sue him - I just want him to admit it didn't work, and let's move on to the next plan. That seems to be difficult for him to do.

My right hip replacement went so well, I couldn't wait to get my left hip replacement, which was done 11 months later.

Based on those two experiences, I was looking forward to getting my spine fixed, after 30 years of pain.

I'm still hoping to find someone with the magic bullet .....



But I also believe in the Easter bunny.

Sorry about the surgery back surgery great when it works and f---- terrible when it doesn't.

I would go see another doctor, where are you located?

Westchester, NY.

My spine surgery and my hips were done at Hospital for Special Surgery, which is a terrific place.

I highly recommend it to anyone, even if you don't need surgery.



Get this - 7 MRI machines, no waiting

Yeah - I had heard that.

I was really psyched that I was going to be the one that it worked for!

I guess that's sort of like the theory behind trying to hit the lottery.

Part of the problem is that pain is a subjective experience and an MRI shows an objective picture of your spinal anatomy that has to be interpreted. It doesn't seem as though there is a reliable degree of correlation between what can be identified in an MRI as causing back pain and the experience of the pain itself. In 2004 when I was spending a lot of time on Braintalk, there was an optometrist on the spinal disorders forum who was having serious pain under his shoulder blade. He'd had two cervical spine surgeries (one anterior and one posterior I think). Both surgeons claimed they had identified the source of the pain and could resolve it with surgery. Neither surgery made a difference. He was not a happy man.
I wouldn't say spinal surgery is a complete gamble but it's way different than setting a broken arm when it comes to success rates.

__________________
1977 300d 70k--sold 08
1985 300TD 185k+
1984 307d 126k--sold 8/03
1985 409d 65k--sold 06
1984 300SD 315k--daughter's car
1979 300SD 122k--sold 2/11
1999 Fuso FG Expedition Camper
1993 GMC Sierra 6.5 TD 4x4
1982 Bluebird Wanderlodge CAT 3208--Sold 2/13

Very well explained.


I am a big fan of the TV show "House".

Aside from the fact that I am starting to resemble Hugh Laurie (Vicodin, cane, sunny disposition), I am learning that the MDs can come to many conclusions based on a set of symptoms.

I don't have any problems with that - I just wish they could fix me in 60 minutes, just like House.

Wow - sorry to hear you've been dealing with your pain for so long...

I've been living with my back pain for about 5 years now (it's in my spine between my shoulder blades) - I cannot determine the reason for this pain or point to any single event that started it. I do a lot of computer work so I guess that's the general culprit. So far, noone can come to a definitive conclusion about what's causing my chronic pain in my spine. The only time the pain is NOT there is when I lay on the floor flat on my back. Other than that... it's pretty much ever present.....

I feel what you're going through - sorry again to hear about it. Hang in there and best of luck -
James

__________________
1987 Mercedes 300SDL; SOLD
1985 Mercedes 300D; SOLD
2006 Honda Pilot - wife's ride; 122K;
1995 Toyota Land Cruiser - 3X locked; 182K

MED MECH had a good result. I too had a good result. No, it was better than good. Excellent result. 4 1/2 years ago.
But my 5 level was C4,5,6,7&T1. Posterior entry. Two screws in each vertebrae and a rod running up through each row. Good for me that it was way up the spine, with about 80-100 (?)pounds less to support than it would have had if it was in the lumbar area. My five level only supports the head. Mine's featherweight!
Lower back pain has to be worse than cervical pain. At least neck pain doesn't limit your walking.

I was extremely fortunate to be sent to a great doctor by a friend of mine who is a chiropractor. He's one of the top guys in Phila region and has written & edited a number of textbooks, including this.

Complications of pediatric and adult spinal surgery


http://books.google.com/books?id=-rxTKoOz7A0C&pg=PR14&lpg=PR14&dq=alexander+vaccaro+m.d.+ph.d.&source=bl&ots=1AqaEE_GTg&sig=YIDFjZyZxjR3K4xeCfj-q2o5y7Q&hl=en&ei=8qt4SrPrBY3alAefsZ2ZBQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=9#

Top shelf Doc.

You mean you have 5 vertebrae fused???

Wow, they told me my 3 lumbar vertebrae fusion was a big deal.

First, sorry about the pain and experience. Back/neck pain is some of the worst around...

My SO is a surgeon, but a Colon/Rectal surgeon. About a year ago she had a bulged disc in her neck. Obvisouly her collegues know who the best spinal/neurological surgeons in the Twin Cities are. We went and saw him.

He told us that spine surgery works best the first time. The second time does not usually go as well. For the bulged disc he said to do some rehab/physical therapy first because surgery is no guarantee. He also stated that most of the surgeries he does is because the patient wants surgery. Not because he told them they NEED surgery.

So I would agree with what Kerry said. Spine surgery isn't exactly a gamble, but it does not have as high of success rates as other types of surgeries.

At a minimum I would go to your family practice doctor and request another referal for a specialist.

__________________
2009 ML320 Bluetec
1985 300CD
1981 300TD

Past Mercedes
1979 300TD
1982 300TD
2000 E320 4Matic Wagon
1998 E430
1984 300SD
1980 300SD

L3 was smashed in a motorcycle accident in 1979 when I was 24. When I went under I was expecting a 3-level, when I woke up I had a 5 level. 2 above, 2 below with Harrington rods.

The surgery went very well with no bad effects, but due to the nerve damage I had lots of tingling and muscle spasms as the damaged spinal nerves tried to reconnect.

I never regained full strength in my right leg, had to learn to walk all over again. 6 months off work, I got so stir crazy I went back still wearing the thoracic cast for 3 weeks.

I'm sorry about your negative experience, but in my case if I didn't have the fracture stabilized I could have a motion-induced break at some point in the future and my lower body could be paralyzed. So I went for it, and have limited mobility but no real aftereffects.

Best wishes on finding a second opinion!

__________________
Nate Stanley
(Currently Benzless)
1985 F-250 6.9l 170K
2009 SCION XB 36.5K
2003 LS430 78K
2012 Kubota B 2320