OK, thanks for removing them. My pain generally is localized to the left side lower back. It is there all the time, it has been there noticeably for about 3 years. Did you take a look at the links at all or just remove them? Sometimes i get it in my leg depending on how much i move. Obviously, doing more of anything makes it worse. Sometimes the muscle bulges in that area, sometimes aches alot, depends.
Before my surgery, i couldn’t walk or run on this left leg. After surgery, it’s gotten better, but still get symptoms occasionally, depending on how i move. It’ hard to explain, all i know is, the issue stems from an area no more than 2 inches by inches on my left lower back.
Right after the surgery, i knew something was wrong. To the left of my lower back, My pain levels were extreme in that area. with terribly painful sciatica all the way done to my left foot. My right lower back had none of that going on. Since then, it’s been chronic pain there and won’t go away.
You think the distraction caused the pars defect to open back up? Here are a couple CT scans of the pars defect taken 2 months before surgery:
Dr. Coreman..does it look like that the L5 nerve root on the left is being trapped by the pars defect? And that could explain my left-sided symptoms? If i have had this fracture most of my life, couldn’t it be arthritic, since it’s essentially a joint? Why do you believe a pars defect repair is not necessary? You have stated that the anterior approach is not your first choice for this, and posterior support would be better? By decompression, you mean a laminectomy correct? Why cut anything out, if it can repaired give additional support?