emergency disectomy & reoperation after 1 wk
 

I am new to this site and just looking for some more resources to use. I have been struggling with DDD for some time now but it really came to light over a year ago on Jan. 2, 2008 with a work injury with back and radiating leg pain. After weeks of Pt and epidural injections, surgery was discussed. MRI showed L4-5 herniation and L5-S1 protrusion/bulge. Discogram confirmed need for further interaction-- tear in L5-S1 and L4-5 disc totally gone. After weeks of back and forth with workers comp and doctors, I finally decided to do a disc replacement with Dr. Yue-- only catch was that I had to lose some weight. After 4 weeks or so, the weight did not come off fast enough and I got worse. Dr. Yue took a new MRI which showed more disc protrusion. I was scheduled for an emergency discectomy the day before my b-day on Jan. 24. I expected to be in the hospital only 3 days but got worse and was rushed again into surgery to find out the problem. They said I had tremendous swelling which further pressed on the nerves. I am now post-op 1 week and went to the doc today. He said that I may or may not still need ADR surgery and won't know for 3-6 months when I heal and lose weight. Any tips how to deal with this limbo?? Also I am dealing with workers comp-- I got fired due to my back condition-- have been out of work for a year now but I really want to know if that was legal. Any suggestions was be greatly appreciated. Thanks for reading my long post.

Wow
 

Hi Sassy

Welcome to this site, we are all going through spine issues.

Did you get a second opinion?

Would workers comp pay for ADR?

I am sure others will chime in soon.

Gil:)

Sassy,

Did you fill out the injury report when it happened?

If so.. Find a good Lawyer to help you with your claim.

Comp. ins. companys love to play games, it saves
them lots of $. :eek:

Don't let them off the hook!!!!

Todd

Sassy, welcome to the forum.

Sorry about your emergency surgery, plus redo. I hope to hear great news.

How do your symptoms compare now versus pre-op... also please describe the symptoms between the first discectomy and the reoperation. Your experiences will help others in the same situation.

I would think that once you are a couple of weeks past the trauma of 2 surgeries, you'll be in the same boat as an ordinary post-discectomy patient. Hopefully you are already seeing that symptoms are addressed. It's not as easy as we'd like to think after a discectomy. Some people bounce right back in a few days and others will move slowly for some weeks.

I look forward to reading about your success. All the best,

Mark

PS... would you mind changing the subject or adding the words... emergency discectomy and reoperation at 1 week. That will help people looking for relevant surgery blogs to find this unique situation. Thanks.

emergency disectomy & reoperation after 1 wk
 

Thanks for all the support everyone! I just don't know what to expect. The pain in my right leg is much better now compared to pre-op but I have pain in my left leg now. I also have lack of feeling in my right leg and foot since surgery. My back is hard to tell with pain right now-- as the pain from surgery is still there. Also wondering how much back pain is "normal" after a discectomy.
I did file a report of injury as this was work related and I am receiving workers comp benefits. The concern is more that I lost my job due to the injury and being unable to work. I don't know if this is legal or not.
Any legal advice or advice on the above is much appreciated. Thanks!

Sarah

Hi Sarah and welcome,

I'm sorry you were injured and required emergency surgery. I've had 2 disco/lami's and then... 3 ADRs. Statistically speaking, first discectomies are more successful than subsequent similar surgeries. However, my own experience was complete relief of of all pre-surgical symptoms after 1 week. Surgical pain/disabilities took longer. Your pain disappeared from one leg but the other one caught it! Ask your doctor to see if there is some reason this might have happened.

As for losing your job because of a work related injury. No, I don't believe that is legal but I am not any kind of attorney. The worker's comp system is very broken but this is one time to become a squeaky wheel and a loud one at that. Since you were fired, an attorney speciallizing in both worker's comp and employment law would probably be in your best interest.

A friend lost her job because she got seriously ill. Long story -short, she sued and won. You have a better case, I think.

I wish you luck and pain free days, Dale

Hey, do we have anymore lawyers on this forum or are they all better and have 'moved on'?

Legal Help
 

Sarah,

I'm sorry to hear about your troubles. I had a percutaneous discectomy/IDET done in 2004 & it took me a while to feel "normal". I was out on disability for 3 months before going back to work. I know that I was in pain for a long time.

I am a paralegal in New York, however I am not able to offer you legal advice. I did a quick search on Google for "Connecticut Labor Law". I wasn't able to find out if Conn. is an "employment at will" state like NY is.

Do you have an attorney to represent you in your Worker's Comp case? If not, you may want to contact an attorney to represent you. Insurance companies love doing all that they can to keep from paying out.

I came across this PDF file which offers a Q & A on Workers Comp for Conn. It also lists some phone #'s for statewide legal services at the bottom which may be of assistance to you.

I hope that this helps & I wish you all the best for a speedy recovery!

Karin

Hi Sarah,

Welcome to the forum. Sorry to hear about your previous surgeries, but it sounds as if you are on the mend. Your current pain sounds normal, especially considering how much trauma your spine has been through.

Definitely look into a lawyer regarding your previous employer. Please keep us posted on your progress!

I wish you the very best.

thanks-- still some pain but getting there
 

Thanks for all the wonderful feedback!! I am still in some pain but a little less uncomfortable. I am kind of frustrated right now because I have to start transitioning off narcotics and docs told me to take tylenol. I don't want to be on painkillers forever, as I know their addictive potential (I'm a social worker), but tylenol never has worked for my pain. Sorry to sound like a crybaby but I had 2 surgeries-- I week ago!!!
As far as worker's comp., I got several lawyers names so I will begin talking to some tomorrow. Thanks for listening to my babbling and for all the wonderful suggestions!!

Hey Sassy,

Don't worry about it. Another name for ISpine could be babble desipherers;). I think there's a code book somewhere:D