[wmiller]

#32479

Hi. I am six weeks post left L4/L5 laminectomy (no discectomy) along with right L5/S1 revision discectomy for reherniation.

My right side (the side with the reherniation and revision discectomy) is pain free.

My left side, which just had the laminectomy, is not. On the left side, I have intermittent back pain that goes into my glute. Some days, I am almost pain free. Other days, I have deep back pain. There is no way to predict it. I had no pain all day today until this evening when just reclining in my chair it began to ache.

Is this kind of up-and-down with symptoms normal at this stage post laminectomy only? I see my surgeon in two weeks, and wondering if I need to ask for imaging or continue to wait this out. At what point do you decide to image for continued post-op symptoms?

[Donald Corenman, MD, DC]

#32480

If your symptoms are less intense now and intermittent, I would give it another 6 weeks. If you have minimal improvement at the 3 month point, further investigation should be considered.

Dr. Corenman

[wmiller]

#32487

Thanks–symptoms got worse on Thursday and my surgeon ordered a standing extension/flexion x ray, which I had done on Friday.

If my operated segment was L4/L5, and I developed a slippage and subsequent foraminal stenosis, would the L4 slip over the L5 or would the L5 slip over the S1? My symptoms feel a lot like pre op, which involved my L5 nerve. I’m struggling to understand how a possible slip, as he explained, could bring back my original symptoms?

[Donald Corenman, MD, DC]

#32503

The typical level that slips in your case would be the L4 on the L5 vertebra. L5-S1 tends to be more rigid than L4-5 due to the transverse-alar ligament but still can slip. An L4-5 slip can affect either the L4 or L5 nerves.

Dr. Corenman

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