Quote:
Originally Posted by ian05hunter
I had my surgery on the 16th November 2010,it was done by Mr Guy Selman at the Conquest Hospital in Hastings East Sussex.As yet i have only had an Epidural pain block injection in May 2008.the reason for my back injury was a lifting accident at work.I realise that the benefit from the operation would not be immediate but was just wondering about what sort of time scale i could expect.
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Hi Ian, my name is Dan Davis and I had a combination of vertebral slippage (spondylolisthesis) and degenerated/bulging disks in the lower lumbar region. This was causing compression of both the spinal cord and the exiting nerves. Walking was difficult due to back pain and pain and numbness in my legs despite high dose opioids. Conservative methods were no longer effective in controlling my symptoms.
My surgery was performed in April 2005 by Dr. Alexander Powers in Bethesda, MD. Extensive spinal decompression was carried out between L1 and S1 and a Dynesys device was placed between L3 and L5 to provide stabilization and support. As an added bonus, degenerative scoliosis was ameliorated by
inserting longer Dynesys spacers on the right hand side of the spine.
My intense leg pain was gone the day after surgery. Back pain took much longer to become ignorable. There was a noticeable improvement a few days post surgery and improvement continued over the course of the next few months.
As an aside, resolution of symptoms was probably due to the extensive decompression and not to the Dynesis device. As with fusion, the Dynesis device provided structural support and stabilization post surgery.
As a caution, Despite the residual mobility allowed by the Dynesys, I had a severe adjacent level Disc rupture at L2 about 1.5 years after my surgery. (Possibly tennis related) It resolved with conservative measures and I've been OK since.
During a follow-up appointment, my surgeon advised me that
he'd heard that the Dynesys spacers can compress about 10% post placement. I assume that this should be taken into account when deciding on the length of the spacers prior to placement.
Please feel free to contact me if you want to talk further. You can get my Email address and Phone # from Mark.