I'm having surgery for sciatica any one had id does it work?

Answer 1

I'm a theatre scrub nurse and assist in these procedures every day. Some patients have very good results, others need revisional surgery further down the line as different discs herniate or the first decompression has not been entirely successful. The majority of cases we perform are as a last resort after epidurals or facet joint injections using steroids have been unsuccessful but patients are on the whole very satisfied with the results. Following the operation you will experience a certain degree of pain for the first 24-48 mostly due to the retraction of muscle during the procedure, however the nurses on the ward should ensure this is controlled and you will be prescribed morphine and other pain relief. If you feel your pain is severe you can be prescribed a morphine pump you control yourself, ask your doctors about this if you pain thershold is low. The procedure takes around 45 minutes and often people feel the relief from numbness or sharp pain straight away. I would definately reccommend this procedure, however I've not had one myself so perhaps am not in a position to comment. It is also necessary to understand that all surgical procedures carry risks which will be explained to you by your surgeon. These include nerve damage and unfavourable reactions to anasethetic however for any procedure to be reccommended to you by a surgeon the benefits will always out weigh the risks which are very rare but have to be explained to you in order for you to fully understand what you are consenting to. In the 3 years I've been assisting in these procedures I've not seen any adverse effects. Good luck with your treatment.

Answer 2

From the net: Mayo Clinic

Surgery. This is usually reserved for times when the compressed nerve causes significant weakness, bowel or bladder incontinence, or you have pain that gets progressively worse or doesn't improve with other therapies.

Surgery is most often performed to remove a portion of a herniated disk that's pressing on a nerve, a procedure called diskectomy. Ideally, most of the disk is left intact to preserve as much of the normal anatomy as possible. Sometimes a surgeon will perform this operation through a small incision while looking through a microscope (microdiskectomy).

Success rates of standard diskectomy and microdiskectomy are about equal, but you're likely to have less pain and to recover more quickly with microdiskectomy. Possible complications for either type of disk surgery include bleeding, infection, injury to the nerves or spinal cord, scarring, and the risks of anesthesia. What's more, although you may experience immediate results from disk surgery, it doesn't stop degenerative changes and your pain may recur in time.

Answer 3

I presume you are having either a discectomy, laminectomy or X-Stop? A great majority of times these op's are very successful, but there is always a slight chance of you not getting any improvement. As with all operations there are inherent risks that will be explained to you. I would hope that you are having this op done by either a spinal or neurosurgeon as they are the best bet for success. I wouldn't let a a regular orthopaedic surgeon near me...but thats just my opinion and obviously there are good and bad surgeons in all specialities.

Answer 4

No answer for this question! Everyone will have a different reaction based on their own body. Some folks will recover 100% while other will get little or no relief. That's why you sign a release prior to surgery because of the risk involved. NO GUARANTEES!

Answer 5

i've had sciatica for years and didn't know there was an operation

Answer 6

there are never guarantees with procedures like this, but they work quite often, I would wish you luck, good luck

Answer 7

no but I just found out that I have it too, let me know how it turns out, it is such a pain in the ***,hahahahahah.................I'll pray for you.

Answer 8

CHIROPRACTER MIGHT BEEN ABLE TO DO MORE THAN SUGERY??