Australian Cycling Forums - Bicycles Network Australia

Hi everyone
Ok lets start with a little background information I have just been diagnosed with spinal canal stenosis which is a narrowing of the spinal canal that puts pressure on the spinal cord.
I'm 33 years old and was told today by the rheumatologist I was sent to see that if he was unaware of how old I was, by looking at the ct scan he would have assumed I was in my 60's or 70's, so we got off to a flying start right away. Pretty much he told me my spine looks like !! BAN ME NOW FOR SWEARING !!, well no not pretty much he actually said it looks like !! BAN ME NOW FOR SWEARING !!! I have also have been affected by Scheuermann's disease which basically has caused wedging in the vertebrae in my lumbar and a moderate scoliosis in the same area, adding in the I am rather tall and overweight everything added in has caused a fair bit of degradation to my lower back.

I was told today that surgery is my only option for getting relief from the symptoms that I am having which have involved muscle weakness, loss of control of my left leg resulting in me hugging the floor with not much of an idea of how I got there, and before you ask I had not been drinking :p, a tingling sensation in my left calf muscle and foot and intermittent muscle and tendon pain and a loss of balance but more so if I'm in the dark or can't see or feel anything around me. So I have been referred on to a surgeon. I have a moderate narrowing at my L3/L4 and a severe narrowing at my L4/L5 and for the people who need a bit of eye candy

Ok now that that is out of the way, my question is if anyone here has had the surgery to remove the growths that are causing the pressure on the spinal cord called a Laminectomy and also anyone who has had lumbar spinal fusion, I know its not a one size fits all but I'm just wondering about recovery time and any complications you have had because of the surgery.
Thank you for taking the time to read this.
Jim.

EDIT: Really it changed S H I T to showtime?

That looks like my dads back! He broke his in a motorbike accident years ago, got run over by a truck. He was paralysed for nearly 12 months and was the 1 in a million that walks out of the spinal unit. He had an operation 4 or 5 years ago where they ground away some of the bone that was putting pressure on the spinal cord (not sure of the operation name). Although it was better than before the operation he went for a check up recently (with 4 or 5 years of ct scans to see if it is getting worse) and the doctor said it will need to be done again. The doctor wants to fuse a few of of the vertebrae together to stop it moving again in the future. He is tossing up whether to fuse it or get it ground away like the last operation.
He was basically told he had no option, don't get the op and he will more than likely end up paralysed anyway.

It sounds like whats going on with me, the growths are putting pressure on my spinal cord, the operation where they grind it away is a Laminectomy they cut out bit of the spine. I think I'm going to be in the same boat long term as it won't go away with our the surgery and cos of the scoliosis I have and the 2 places I am having problems are the very bottom of my spine I don't think they will want to do the grinding with out fusing it all from what the specialist said to me. I wish your Dad all the best.

Friend of mine just had the grind surgery. Op was 6pm Friday night and he was home 2pm Monday. He did physio a bit but was hampered by a bag due to being booked in for prostate surgery tomorrow. The back was unplanned but no option. He was walking fine but couldn't sit for long, though that improved in the first 4 weeks tremendously. I think he was told to aim for about 7-10 days pretty flat. He had the surgery 6 weeks ago and should be back at work in 2 weeks after round 2 with the knife.

He was happy he had it done as it took him from extreme pain and unable to hobble 10m to niggly pain but decreasing. He's more worried about tomorrow!!

Dad had same op in the late 80s and was in hospital for weeks and off work recovering for another 8. With any surgery, the longer you out it off for the more the technology advances.

Had a double laminectomy but 30+ years ago and I'm pretty sure surgical techniques have improved since then. Well, I'm walking and riding, my back hurts all the time (just the degree varies) but it was better than the alternative.
Find a surgeon you like. They are all good, but find one who has some humanity and a sense of humour. You'd be surprised how much that helps.
Good luck with it all.

Good luck with this op mate.

Foo

Have a google about laminectomies, because the surgery isn't really a process of removing "growths" or bony spurs etc, but a procedure where the spinal canal is "decompressed". This is achieved by cutting through the !!! spammer !!! bone on either side of the spinous processes thus allowing more space withinh the spinal canal. Any obvious osteophytes, or areas of focal compression can also to trimmed up as well, but it's not the mainstay of the operation. Laminectomies are quite common in the older population, and recovered from quickly in that age group. Your radiology however shows that u have a rather unique, and complex lumbar spine so it would be very difficult to correlate any outcomes from laminectomies to yours I would suggest... If it was my back and symptoms, I would crack on and get the op done, then go and hammer the core exercises with a decent trainer for 12 months... Good luck [THUMBS UP SIGN]

PS: u have some fecal loading in your cecum that u should attend to as well!

Thanks Dr_mutley, I was not planning on drawing to many comparisons between other peoples surgery and what I'm going to need done just wondering about time frame for recovery from it all. I am waiting for my appointment with the surgeon now but it's still a few weeks off.
My only question is what is fecal loading of the cecum ? I need to go to the toilet ? Appendicitis ?

Do a big poo lol... Mite be analgesia related constipation?

Your recovery time will depend on how many levels are decompressed, and how much dissection etc of the soft tissues there are... I could imagine your neurosurgeon would want u off the bike for between 6 & 12 weeks...

Hi there, i have had two Laminectomys at L4/5. One on either side and about two years apart. My nerves where being compressed and getting serious issues in my legs and severe back pain. The surgery it's self was awesome. Hobble in, just, and walk out fine. About three years on now and no issues. I have to be careful with what I do ie no more rowing surf boats but apart from that I am still very active and ride with no issues at all.

My back is not good in general with compressed disks and stuff but that is just a hazard of my job. The surgery itself was great and no issues with that at all.

Good luck with it all.