Dascor Nucleus Replacement

[nurse4kids02]

I am 12 weeks post Nucleus Replacement on Level L3-L4. I have had good results so far. Still experiencing some leg pain and some numbness... anyone else have any comments or experiences from this surgery?

[sharman]

I'm glad you posted, as I am very interested in this new stuff.

What was your problem going in to this--leg pain, back pain, both? What kind of improvement, and how soon did you get the improvement?

Thanks!

[mmglobal]

Nurse... thanks for posting. Is your leg pain new... immediately after surgery... delayed after surgery? or is it familiar pre-op pain?

Mark

[nurse4kids02]

my problem was a annular tear, slight decrease in disc height and slight herniated disc. the tear was giving me the most problems. i had numbness and tingling in my right leg and foot. i was on pain medicine 24/7 for almost 2 years until i had the surgery.
right after surgery, i noticed the leg pain was completely gone!!! it is now slowly coming ba ck.... but i am hoping it is due to inflammation from P.T.
I keep trying to find information from the german study, to see how people who had annular tears are healing, and what they are able to do.
i have trouble walking long periods, or standing or sitting.. i am trying to get back to work... but as a nurse, i have a physically demanding job. so i am wondering if anyone has any papers or research out there to see how other patients have done post op.

melissa

[nurse4kids02]

by the way mark,
i am the one you were talking to the other day at dr. regans office....while we were all waiting for appts!!!

melissa

[Poncho]

Hi Nurse4kids,

I am glad that you are noticing positive results after the procedure. The nerve pain sounds like something that will take some time. Are oral steroids contraindicated with this procedure?

Even though you are having what appears to be positive results, I hate to hear of another nurse having back issues. I come from the same industry and can definitely relate.

Hopefully, the inflammation will go down soon and you will be able to get back to normalacy before long.

Please keep posting about your progress. I have not seen very many recipients of this procedure on here. I'm sure many of us would be interested in any feedback you have to offer.

Take care,
Poncho

[dylan]

I had the dascor 8 weeks ago with regan

similar patterns to pre op - work one week, rest and realign the next (thank god for freelance)
muscles are still healing, all of my ranges of motion are not back yet

I can stand sit and lift for longer periods of time, but I still have to
rest and
pay a little for it later

I'll keep you updated with my progress

[mmglobal]

Melissa... I hope the drive home was OK... did your test done first?

This technology and other flowable nucleus replacements are way cool.... for people not too far down the degenerative cascade... this will be wonderful.

I look forward to hearing good news about your recovery... thanks for coming here and please keep us posted.

All the best,

Mark

[nurse4kids02]

hey dylan,
ya sitting and standing still bother me... not too fond of lifting, but definelty immproved since before surgery.
i have to return back to work (nursing) in another week, so that will be the true challenge.
are you having any numbness or leg pain? he went in through my side..and i think that is what is causing a lot of it.
what about you?

[dylan]

when I am hurting it is the whole shebang - nerve root irritation, back / leg pain, muscle spazms, tingling / pins and needles, numbness / loss of sensation

if I am on the upswing I am fine / none of that

I know when the nastyness comes because my facets lock up and the I have to do a gental side posture to unlock them, it happend last wensday, starting to feel better now.

It feels like the facets lock up and then pinch the nerve in the forimina. Arthritus probably causes it, may clear up with time and pt

[dylan]

wow, he went in through the side?

it was the front for me - it has taken a long time for the muscle soreness to go away - still not completly gone

[nurse4kids02]

well i am 16 weeks post op now... i go back to dr. regan in 2 weeks for my follow up.
i am back to work as a nurse for 4 hours a day... and right now that is enough. i come home and take a nap!! after being off work for 2 years, and surgery only 16 weeks ago... its tough!!! but its getting better.

leg pain is gone most of the time.. i got new shoes, and they have alleviated almmost all my back pain, knee, hip, feet pain......(see my posting under shoes).

still have numbness on my left leg, top area, groin, and bladder... but that is still left over from surgery... just hope it goes away soon!!!

standing is what is really bothering me. sitting has became WAY better, and walking is better than it was... but that standing is horrible!!!!!!

overall... i am pleased. now if i can just get work comp issues taken care of, then things will be well.

i do only have 40 more calendar days to get back to full time job which for me is 12 hour shifts... so not sure if i can hit that goal... i have to come back with no restrictions..and lifting is so hard!!!! Dr regan has me on a 30lb limit right now... not sure if that is gonna be forever or what.

anyone have insite on that? i think most ba ck surgeries have lifting restrictions?

i would love to hear from anyone with the dascor replacement....

[Maria]

After my initial back injury in '82 I went from working in Neurosurgery to Preemie Nursery because it was all I could tolerate in terms of lifting. I couldn't even handle the NICU shifts so stayed in Level II nursery as they were 8 hours but couldn't work in well nursery since that was normal weight infants which at 8 lbs plus were too heavy for me on a consistant basis!

I was in a MSN program (Family Practice NP) at the same time because I knew I had to get out of staff nursing/hospitals into ambulatory care in which I lasted another 10 plus years and two spine surgeries....

I don't know if you'll get released entirely off your lifting restrictions but for myself, after my first discectomy when I felt good to go and able bodied, that didn't last long in terms of what I thought I could lift in comparison to what I could safely lift w/o consequences.. and I think I was predisposed to this additional weakness because of the L5S1 discectomy. L4 went nearly 2 years later. L3 has been disrupted for many years/annular tear and troublesome supposedly tho not concordant for pain on discograms.

I never made it back to 12 hour shifts after my original injury. Can't stand long enough in one place, be on my feet that long, walk that long, sit that long or even combine all 3 to be able to hang with that many hours.

Seems like from many of the spinal success stories post op though I may be rare dinosaur~ maybe my next spine surgery (#3) will be the charm!!!

You will start with a part time re entry won't you? That is how I returned to work after each of my surgeries and the first time it was part time for 3 months and WC paid the remainder of my hours, then the 2nd surgery it was part time for several months as well but that surgery failed so I never returned to full time after that~

As I recall, after the first surgery I was eventually released with no restrictions. The second surgery not turning out so well, I had continuing restrictions but eventually had to beg the doctor to take off all restrictions so I could even keep my part time hours~

[mmglobal]

Hey Melissa... I'm so glad to hear that you are improving and can even work some now. My wife is a nurse and works on a surgical floor with many ortho patients and also gastric bypass patients. I know how physically demanding being a nurse can be.

Regarding standing... you've seen the videos of me skiing and playing tennis. Although I could not sit for 10 minutes before my surgery, I can now sit for hours. However, even at my high functioning level, I still hate to stand still or do the 'museum stroll'. I can do it... I just don't like it. I had 2 posterior surgeries prior to my ADR, so I don't know if I have damage from my DDD, collateral damage from prior surgeries, collateral damage from ADR surgery, or other pain generators that were not addressed by my surgeries.... it does not matter to me. My pain is still so very low compared to what it was. My point in this is that you don't know how good you are going to get... hopefully, you'll keep improving. If you must return to 12 hour shifts, can it be to a position that does not include the intense physical demands of working the floor? If doing so will be too much, I hope that you are in a position to put your spine-health first.

I'll be interested to hear what Dr. Regan says.

Thanks for posting.... I'm excited about many of these new technologies and it's great to have some first-hand experiences here.

Talk to you soon. All the best,

Mark

[ans]

Dr. Regan told me that after a two-level surgery, I should never lift more than 30 lbs. He told me that he used to lift heavy but after seeing so much damage, now he lifts light, many reps for tone/endurance.

ans