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Suggest Treatment For Ruptured Disc In Lower Back
Question: Hi. An mri has revealed a ruptured disc in my lower back. My neurologist feels I should not wait too long to have the protruding section of disc removed due to the risk of injuring the nerve. My pain level is moderate to severe. I'm also hearing that people who waited too long to have surgery ran into the problem of the herniation becoming calcified, making surgery more difficult or too dangerous. Is this risk of calcification and nerve damage real? I tend to want to have the surgery.
Brief Answer:
Calcification of disc is not common.
Detailed Answer:
Hi,
Thank you for posting your query.
I have noted your symptoms and MRI findings.
The decision to undergo surgery depends on symptoms, signs, as well as MRI findings. Following situations may be apt for surgery:
1. Inadequate pain relief with medications and physical therapy,
2. Weakness or numbness of leg or foot,
3. Urinary symptoms such as retention, incomplete evacuation of bladder,
4. Large extruded disc with severe compression of the nerve.
Nerve damage is a real possibility with bulged disc, however calcification is less common and mainly occurs in older people.
I hope my answer helps. Please get back if you have any follow up queries or if you require any additional information.
Wishing you good health,
Dr Sudhir Kumar MD (Internal Medicine), DM (Neurology) XXXXXXX Consultant Neurologist
Apollo Hospitals, XXXXXXX XXXXXXX
Click on this link to ask me a DIRECT QUERY: http://bit.ly/Dr-Sudhir-kumar
My BLOG: http://bestneurodoctor.blogspot.in
Calcification of disc is not common.
Detailed Answer:
Hi,
Thank you for posting your query.
I have noted your symptoms and MRI findings.
The decision to undergo surgery depends on symptoms, signs, as well as MRI findings. Following situations may be apt for surgery:
1. Inadequate pain relief with medications and physical therapy,
2. Weakness or numbness of leg or foot,
3. Urinary symptoms such as retention, incomplete evacuation of bladder,
4. Large extruded disc with severe compression of the nerve.
Nerve damage is a real possibility with bulged disc, however calcification is less common and mainly occurs in older people.
I hope my answer helps. Please get back if you have any follow up queries or if you require any additional information.
Wishing you good health,
Dr Sudhir Kumar MD (Internal Medicine), DM (Neurology) XXXXXXX Consultant Neurologist
Apollo Hospitals, XXXXXXX XXXXXXX
Click on this link to ask me a DIRECT QUERY: http://bit.ly/Dr-Sudhir-kumar
My BLOG: http://bestneurodoctor.blogspot.in
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
I can manage the level of pain I"m in, for the most part. It was very bad, at first, but has improved over the last several months. The pain is in my left buttock but runs intermittently down my left leg to about the knee. I don't have numbness or tingling, bladder, bowel, or urinary issues. I do have a moderately large bulge, however, impinging on the nerve, and it does still hurt quite a bit, depending on my position. Ibuprofen takes the pain away temporarily but I know that's only masking the symptoms. I'm told that surgery would be more effective if I have it within six months of the start of symptoms and that if I wait a long time, there could be greater risk of damage to the nerve. I think I have more fear of not fixing it with surgery.
I know I have to make the decision myself, but I'm someone who listens to my intuition, and it is telling me to get this taken care of. I understand that it is a fairly simple, minimally invasive procedure, that has a high success rate.
What has your experience been with patients who have elected to do the procedure? So far, almost everything I've read or watched indicates the person was happy that they had it done. Have you also found this to be true with your patients?
I know I have to make the decision myself, but I'm someone who listens to my intuition, and it is telling me to get this taken care of. I understand that it is a fairly simple, minimally invasive procedure, that has a high success rate.
What has your experience been with patients who have elected to do the procedure? So far, almost everything I've read or watched indicates the person was happy that they had it done. Have you also found this to be true with your patients?
Brief Answer:
Surgery is reasonable safe.
Detailed Answer:
Thank you for getting back and expressing your opinion in detail.
I would agree that surgery would be preferable in your case, as you have had inadequate relief with medications.
In my department, about 4-5 surgeries are done every week for lumbar and cervical disc disease, and about 95-99% of patients do well after surgery.
They are relieved of pain and go back to normal routine life in about two weeks after the surgery.
Best wishes,
Dr Sudhir Kumar MD DM (Neurology)
Surgery is reasonable safe.
Detailed Answer:
Thank you for getting back and expressing your opinion in detail.
I would agree that surgery would be preferable in your case, as you have had inadequate relief with medications.
In my department, about 4-5 surgeries are done every week for lumbar and cervical disc disease, and about 95-99% of patients do well after surgery.
They are relieved of pain and go back to normal routine life in about two weeks after the surgery.
Best wishes,
Dr Sudhir Kumar MD DM (Neurology)
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
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