Back surgery - who has had it?

If anybody has had any of the following surgeries, please let me know your thoughts regarding them.

Lumbar Microdiscectomy

Lumbar Laminectomy

Anterior Lumbar Interbody Fusion (ALIF) Surgery or any kind of spinal/disc fusion surgery involving either the Lumbar or Cervical portions of the spine.

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If you've had any of those, please tell me:

1) Did you get relief / did it work for you?

2) Did you have any complications?

3) How painful was it immediately post-surgery?

4) How quickly did the pain diminish over a period of time and how bad was it on a day-to-day or week-to-week basis?

5) How long were you in the hospital?

6) How long was your recovery overall?

7) How long ago was your surgery?

8) Have you had recurrence of the original problem since the surgery/procedure?

9) Please feel free to add any other thoughts or memories that you think would be helpful to me.

*Essentially my doctors have a difference of opinion on how to end my back pain. Those three options have been mentioned. They cannot agree on any one of them, until they reconcile their difference of opinion I have no idea which of these I'll be having, or if some other doctor is going to come up with a fourth option. I'm just trying to get an idea of what to expect should I have any one of them.* Thanks.

Oh and last - if you had fusion surgery, did they go in through your abdomen, side, or back and do you remember which fusion device was used? Thanks.

If you have had a friend or family member have any one of those, and know enough about their experience to share it with me, please do. The more information, the better.

I will ask two people I know who had back surgeries your questions.
I know half for Mom but want to get the complete list for you.

What location are they talking about for you?
Also why do you need it done? I know someone with a curved spine who had at least 4 surgeries.

To start with L5-S1. After that, we might consider C4-C5. L5-S1 is the big problem though. There I have a decent sized disc herniation pressing on a nerve root affecting both L and R sides, and a year after the initial injury, an MRI shows it's getting worse which explains why I'm in so much pain in my legs are starting to have some neurological deficit too, namely I'm starting to lose control of my right leg, and am starting to have radiculopathic numbness in my left leg. I've exhausted every pre-surgical option.

C4-C5 isn't nearly as bad. I would only consider surgery if the L5-S1 surgery made an incredible difference. No neurological deficit with C4-C5. Just pain going into my arms and not as much as L5-S1.

The decision was made over a week or so ago that surgery would be necessary. We didn't anticipate that my doctors would disagree so strongly on what surgery though. In the meantime I'm trying to hold out with pain meds, but would prefer that we just do this already because the longer I take the pain meds, the more awful I'm going to feel when I stop them. I'm hoping that a 4th opinion might help put to rest the differences, but I have a feeling I'm ultimately going to end up having to make the call regarding how conservative or aggressive we go with this along with my father who is a physician who originally trained in neurology, so he has some understanding of what's involved.

I have no idea what the surgery was called, but my MIL had back surgery a couple years ago. One of her disks was completely gone just from pressure, it got ground to nothing...they put in a new one made of metal, she had to wear a back brace for six months. She said it was totally worth it, and she feel so much better.

My step mother had the same surgery, only on her neck and it's helped her greatly too.

Hope that helps a little.

Sounds like disc replacement. Like this device is for:



I don't remember why, but it was ruled out as an option. Thank you though.

I know someone who recently had surgery. I'll have to ask which one and how they're doing now.

I was told that I would eventually be looking at surgery. My L5-S1 is naturally fused which makes everything above it unstable. While I consider it tolerable I usually have problems with my left leg - it'll get to where I can't lift it or if I move it too much it'll give out from under me. Tonight is one of those nights.
It spooks me knowing that's in my future, but I'm hoping they'll progress more in the next few years.

Whichever your doctors finally agree upon, I hope it helps. But if your disc fluid has been leaking out on the nerves for a while they'll be scarred.

I've had 2 back surgeries. I was in 2 car accidents 4 months apart. I have a herniated disc at L4-L5. I have weakness, pain and numbness in my left leg. I had the first microdiscectomy in march of 2002. I was in the hospital overnight (I was released about 14 hours after I left the recovery room). The pain wasn't that bad after that surgery. I was walking in less than 6 hours. I would have been up earlier but they wouldn't let me. For the first few weeks I started to feel a little better. I was still having pain, numbness and weakness. About 6 weeks after surgery I was getting out of the shower and my leg gave out and I fell. It caused the pain to really increase. A couple weeks after that I still wasn't feeling any better from the fall so the DR ordered several more tests and wanted me to have an epidural steroid injection to see if that would help. After the epidural didn't help and he got the results of the MRI and CT myelogram he decided to do another surgery. I had the second surgery in August of 2002. He officially called that surgery a "Lumbar exploration". The doctor ended up redoing the microdiscectomy, removing bone fragments and fixing a spinal fluid leak among other things. The recovery from that was MUCH worse!! I was in the hospital 5 days. For the first 48hrs I had to lay completly flat because of the spinal fluid leak. I couldn't sit up at all not even to eat or drink, plus to prevent blood clots they had me wearing things on my legs that would pump up and release. They were killing me so they said if I kept moving my legs they wouldn't make me wear them 24/7. That was torture. After the 48 hrs when I was able to sit up the nurses let me try to walk but I wasn't able to even stand. Finally I was able to stand and walk to the bathroom that was maybe 15ft but I had to use a walker. I had to use the walker constantly for over a month. I probably should have used it longer but I was determined not to unless absolutely necessary. After that surgery the pain was much worse than before and it hasn't gotten any better since. At this point there really isn't many options left. I will not have another surgery unless it get to the point I can't walk at all.

My Dad also has had 2 microdiscectomies. He had them in 1994 and 1995 (almost exactly one year apart). They were at L4-L5 and L5-S1 ( I can't remember which one was first). He had pretty severe herniations both times. When the doctor came to talk to us after his first surgery he wasn't sure if my Dad would ever be able to walk again. My Dad is stubborn and about 6 months after his first surgery he was back at work feeling pretty good. Then about 2 months later he re-injured his back. He had his second surgey and tried to go back to work but was unable. His job retrained him and he worked for a year or so before he was unable to work.

My Aunt had the fusion surgery but I can't remember too many details. I know they took some bone from her hip and some bone from a cadaver to fuse her spine. I also know that the did part of the surgery through her abdomen, then turned her over and finished from her back. She had it about 15 years ago. She still has problem but overall is doing better.

Sorry about the spelling or any typos. I have a 16lb cat "helping". He thinks laying across the keyboard and biting me if he doen't get enough ttention is necessary.

Hopefully Mom answers soon. She just logged on her laptop

I can tell you she was diagnosed with spinal stenosis & Spondylolisthesis. I am guessing then she had the Lumbar Laminectomy & ALIF. They did take bone from her hip area and she does have a arthritic pain in that area. Her issue was L4 & L5. She had burning pain from the butt down the leg and numbness in one leg before the surgery. She was hunched over and couldn't stand up straight. It took her at least 2 years to finally agree to the surgery. She did therapy, pills and shots. The shots gave her the most relief but it only bought her time.

The burning pain is now gone but Mom still has numbness time to time. She feels it was well worth it.

Mom's friend flew out to St Louis for her surgery. Her's was complicated and took two days of surgery to complete. Her kidneys started to shut down during the first half. It would have been a 16hour surgery I believe if they went straight through. They went in her abdomen and had to create a wedge. They had to replace the titanium rods that cracked from the prior surgery(long story and huge mess). I know she has issues with her tailbone and is starting to slouch again.


For you
Back surgery isn't something to take lightly.


Mom's reply:
Lumbar Laminectomy
had lumbar fusion level 4&5. they put in 2 rods and 4 screws plus a cross-bar. bone cells were extracted from hip and injected to create new bone for fusion. pain prior to surgery was completely gone, however pain from surgery was intense the next day. recovery period was 4mos-no therapy until 3mos after surgery; then 1 month therapy and back to work. the fusion is perfect-no complications. you will experience muscle tightness which takes quite some time to return to normal. i don't exercise the way i should to keep the muscles relaxed-keep that in mind. wish i had the surgery a year before i did! good luck and keep a positive attitude-that's 90% of recovery.

I have a low grade spondylolisthesis at L5. My surgeon says that eventually I will need a spinal fusion with instrumentation. I work with him in the O.R., so I've seen his work, and I trust his surgical ability and technique. I am trying every thing out there to put off having a PLIF done (posterior lumbar interbody fusion) because I am not sure how much it will affect my ability to do my job (I'm a surgical assistant, and my job depends upon my ability to lift heavy weights, hold retractors and twist and bend my body and hold awkward positions for hours at a time.) Yesterday I had my first in series of three lumbar facet blocks. The local anesthesia wore off about 10pm last night, and today it hurts quite a bit. Hopefully the steroid will kick in soon. The last time I had facet blocks, the pain relief lasted about a year. I'm hoping that I will get that again, so I will be able to dodge the big surgery for a while more.

I will be reading your responses with great interest, as I will be following you down this surgical path eventually.

I can tell you a lot about the specific surgical technique, instruments and implants, since that is what I do for a living. Unfortunately, my patients are asleep, so I can't tell you anything about how they feel pre-op, or post-op.

Good luck! You will be in my prayers as you embark on this journey.

...after he was in a car accident. They had to put steel rods in his back and he has never been the same. In fact he needs another surgery to ease all the pain he has been thru, this other dr. said he has a piece of metal hitting something in his back and that's what's causing all the pain right now. His surgery was done in 2006, recovery was very painful. He has been living on pain pills and I don't think he will get this other surgery as the dr. recommended. He was about 48 yrs. old when he got the surgery. There of course was a lawsuit against the car that hit him and because the surgeon messed up his back so badly, the surgeon was never paid in full.

He can no longer work, he is getting disability as compensation but he will never feel the same again.

If you need back surgery, just make sure you check out the surgeon well with lots of references. I wish you the best of luck and sorry I didn't have any positive information for you.

My nextdoor neighbour had back surgery 4 years ago. He has a 6" metal rod at the base of his spine now, but is on constant pain killers. He now has to see a neurosurgeon because 3 weeks ago he lost the feeling in his legs and collapsed, and the pain is worse than ever. He takes 7 pain killers a day and now he's on liquid morphine. Their now talking about further surgery on the discs above

He was told that he could be in a wheelchair in his 40's and because he's now 36 he's so scared that it's going to happen with this latest episode

I am not liking what I'm reading here and elsewhere about ALIF and other fusion surgeries. It seems like most people end up being worse than they were to begin with after fusion surgery.

I'm leaning more towards seeing if I can get away with just a Microdiscectomy or Laminectomy. Furthermore, I mentioned to a member here via PM discussion that I got the creeps when talking to the doctor who recommended ALIF as he seemed to have some sociopathic tendencies. He told me that ALIF is extremely painful to have done, and in the same breath told me that due to him not wanting to potentially get patients addicted to pain meds, he does not give pain meds post-op, even while they're in the hospital. The way he said this too, with this tone of "I really couldn't give a darn." just was creepy. He added, "You could be screaming and hollering in pain, but I'd rather you just deal with it, than risk getting addicted to pain meds." Easy for him to say.

I am going to see 2 more doctors and see if eventually I can get to a point where I there is a majority vote for a certain surgery.

In the meantime, it seems Ally and Ollie both know something is wrong and I think they are trying to comfort me by always staying with me in bed. They really haven't been more than an inch away from me over the last couple of weeks except for when I leave to see a doctor or get a test.

Your right, it is easy for him to say because he's not the one that's in pain!. I've never seen pain on my neighbours face before until 2 weeks ago He hates being on painkillers, and one of them is a painkiller that Michael Jackson was on, so he would have to be weaned of it if he ever came off them.

I would definitely wait until you see more Doctors to get further opinions though, because although the stories are scarey that you've read, everyones different. Lots of coming over

My two cents......

I have four blown disks, all in my lower back. The initial pain was horrid. I used to lie on my back on the floor because nothing else helped. My personal physician and my neurosurgeon agree NOT to operate. Why?

They both feel (and at this point I agree with them) that if a person can get through the first year without an operation, chances are that it's not necessary. You can stand me next to somebody who has had back surgery and, at the end of the year, our pain is the same. The only difference is that that person has had surgery and I have not.

Those disks blew out about ten years ago. There are some things I can no longer do. I have to be careful with exercise. I cannot ride the roller coasters at the amusement parks anymore. I have to be careful when lifting. I can't move my living room furniture by myself anymore. And I really have to be careful not to "over-do".

Other than that, I'm good to go. I have good days and bad days, but my good days far outnumber my bad ones. My doctor does say that I'm a bit of an anomaly. Most people with bad backs have trouble walking; when my back acts up, I have to walk it out....it's the only way I can deal with the pain. That and Advil (I haven't had to take prescription painkillers and the one time they were offered to me, I wouldn't take the script). A warm compress when it's really, really bad.

I've been lucky and I know it. So far, the need for an operation isn't there. I know people who have had operations on their backs and those people hurt. Sometimes, one operation leads to another, which leads to another. One of my cousins has had four operations for the same area. No. Unless I really, really need an operation, I'm just not going there. But that's just me.

Originally Posted by LawGuy

I am not liking what I'm reading here and elsewhere about ALIF and other fusion surgeries. It seems like most people end up being worse than they were to begin with after fusion surgery.

I'm leaning more towards seeing if I can get away with just a Microdiscectomy or Laminectomy. Furthermore, I mentioned to a member here via PM discussion that I got the creeps when talking to the doctor who recommended ALIF as he seemed to have some sociopathic tendencies. He told me that ALIF is extremely painful to have done, and in the same breath told me that due to him not wanting to potentially get patients addicted to pain meds, he does not give pain meds post-op, even while they're in the hospital. The way he said this too, with this tone of "I really couldn't give a darn." just was creepy. He added, "You could be screaming and hollering in pain, but I'd rather you just deal with it, than risk getting addicted to pain meds." Easy for him to say.

I am going to see 2 more doctors and see if eventually I can get to a point where I there is a majority vote for a certain surgery.

In the meantime, it seems Ally and Ollie both know something is wrong and I think they are trying to comfort me by always staying with me in bed. They really haven't been more than an inch away from me over the last couple of weeks except for when I leave to see a doctor or get a test.

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I am still waiting for Mom's friend to get back to me. She has cabin fever and went out. LoL If you want to talk to her via email PM me. She has done tons of research for many years and worked in a hospital. She has been through the negatives and still convinced Mom to have her surgery. Each person is different and so are the doctors.

Mom had her surgery 2 years ago and does NOT regret it. She said the pain went away the day after the surgery. Of course she had muscle pain but it's completely different. Her neck is acting up again. She read your story and it's the same location, slip disc there too. She went through therapy and it was great. This was over 5 years ago. We think running around with a 10month old is adding stress to the area. She refuses neck surgery though.

Again everyone is different but Mom is a success story!

I asked. The person had a PLIF - there have been complications and not much relief from the pain.