in july 2008 i had L4-S1 fused with 2 rods and 6 screws. it has been 2 years since the surgery and i am getting weaker in both legs as time goes on. i am afraid i will eventually be paralized. my neurosurgeon seems indifferent to this problem. he said i have developed DDD and there is no cure. i have recieved injections at L3-L4 because he said i had a disc prolapse. does anyone think paralisis could be in my future? i use a cane for walking support and tend to fall often. i a wonder if i sould seek out a new specialist? any advice will be welcome, i know since i am new here no one knows me yet but my problems started in 2008 after a fall from a roof i was working on fractured my spine at L5. i also dislocated my neck at C6-C7 and they fused it with bone from my hip. thanks for listening to me.
Does anyone have leg weakness after lumbar fusion with hardware?
Question posted by blackfoot62 on 3 Sep 2010
Last updated on 24 October 2020 by slimtb
3 Answers
Wish i had an answer for you.
Unfortunately i am in a similar situation. In the last 6 years I've had 5 back surgeries. Fusion, hardware removal, fusion to fix failed fusion, etc.
After my last 1 i came out with weaker legs. Can barely lift them to walk, can't stand up from a chair without assistance. After 8 months of stretching and exercising, i see no improvement. New mri and ct show nothing according to dr. So if any of you get an answer, I'd love to know if.
Good luck to you all
I have right leg weakness since my surgery that was not there before.
I had lumbar fusion of three levels one month ago, this is my fourth surgery since a bicycle accident in 2014 that fractured my pelvis in three places and also fractured one vertebrae.
The four surgeries were as follows:
Lumbar Laminectomy
Lumbar Fusion L3-L5
Lumbar hardware removal
Lumbar Re-Fusion L2-L5
All surgeries basically about a year apart.
I had one follow-up appointment so far but there was no major concern at that time, Since then I have become more and more concerned. While sitting on a chair I cannot lift my leg/foot off the floor. I cannot lift my leg to get in the car and I cannot operate the brake on my car so I must use my left foot to operate the brake, consequently I cannot drive safely and have chosen not to drive at all. I have to lift my leg by hand to get it into the car and its the same to try and use the exercise bike.
I put my foot in the stirrup by hand and when cycling my foot falls off the pedal.
I called my neurosurgeon yesterday to express my concern and was told that if I am concerned I should go the ER for testing. I was kind of dumbfounded by that response and I am now in a state of limbo wondering where to go from here.
I have another follow-up scheduled for next week but I am thinking I may need a second opinion already.
If you have any insight into this type of condition please do comment.
Thanks,
BMB
I too have a similar question after 4 surgeries and a staff infection I’m having a hard time regaining strength in my legs. I have been to therapy I exercise but still having a problem getting strength in my legs. My work terminated me because I didn’t return to work in time. So now I have no insurance. Please help I don’t know what to do or where to go.
You poor guy, I certainly hope you are well compensated by L & I or some sort of long term disability insurance, what a terrible bunch of things to have happen to you from that fall. I'm sorry, i really am. Now, when it comes to your question, I would get myself to a new neurologist/neurosurgeon, as fast as i can. There is no reason, with a fusion that was done correctly, you should be walking around w/a cane and falling down on top of that. Get yourself a walker, right away, not the cheap aluminum kind w/tennis balls on the bottom either, you need a 4 wheel walker w/brakes and a seat, so that when you are feeling as if you might fall you can sit down and put the brakes on and take a break (pardon that) until you're feeling up to walking again. A prescription can be written for that walker so you do not pay for any of it. Any Dr.
that tells you that you "might" have something for which there is no cure and is not testing you for every possible thing that could be wrong is a total idiot as far as I am concerned. I would imagine this is the man that did your surgery? His indifference is probably due to the fact that he wants you to think what you are experiencing is normal and not something that he may have done wrong during the surgery that is causing these problems. Rods and screws very often become loose, come out, there are many things that can go wrong w/fusions and they can just have been done incorrectly, I know that for a fact, as my best friend had a botched fusion and waited too long to sue the Doctor, so she has to live w/her pain, which is tremendous, or on pain pills, which she does not like to take and although that would not have changed, at least she could have gotten a settlement of some sort from the surgeon that did the poor work, and it has been established that he did do poor work, there's no doubt about that fact. Those are her choices and if, by some miracle, she were to get better some day that would be a wonderful thing, but due to the place where the fusion is, any kind of new surgical procedure could be dangerous and cause paralysis for her, (her fusion was in front of her neck, even tho it was for her back) so I know just a little about how these things can go wrong, not that much about the actual surgery. I do know, however, that screws and anything foreign in your body can certainly come undone and if your surgeon has not even ordered an MRI for you, there is definitely a reason he is trying to keep you from knowing what's going on. I don't know if it is too late, but I would first of all contact an attorney and tell him when you had the surgery and what you are experiencing w/this surgeon and ask if there is a possiblity of starting a lawsuit at this time against this Dr. That way you at least know if there is a time limit on lawsuits against Doctors in the state, but you have to have info from the new neurosurgeon to know what is really what.
Next phone call is to another Doctor and be certain to go into that new neurologist with everything you have been told by the previous one and also be sure that you get in RIGHT AWAY, no waiting a month for an appt., you need to see someone now. I mention the lawyer, simply because I am so appalled that any doctor of any kind would ignore your symptoms and questions and tell you you MIGHT have something for which there is no cure. It sounds to me as if your hardware is coming undone, but of course there are many more things it could be, so don't get in a panic about anything until you see a new Dr., have an MRI and find out what the real problem is. I don't think anyone on this site could or would tell you that you may become paralyzed, for one thing, I don't think we have any neurosurgeons on here and even if we did, i believe he/she would tell you to get into another Dr. and stay as far away from this guy as possible. I really feel badly for you to have gone through all this and now have to walk w/cane, fall down and be told the Dr. doesn't even know what the heck is wrong. He is a total ass in my opinion, and i hope you are not terribly fond of him, but it does not sound as if you are. Please see someone else right away and please keep in touch and let me, or all of us, know what a new Doctor says regarding all of this. I wish you all the luck in the world and hope you find someone that can fix what is wrong, that is most important, but also, that if the surgeon who did the work, did something wrong, you are able to be recompensed for your pain and suffering, both physical and emotional. Pick up the phone today, okay?
Dede
I agree that you need a second opinion and that your Doctor is not treating you the way that you should be treated by investing the cause of your weakness, however, hardware can come lose even if the best surgeon puts it in so lets be fair about that. Yes, your surgeon needs to investigate the cause of your weakness and an MRI may not be the best test because even though the type of metal used in a spinal fusion is safe for the MRI, the metal and the scar tissue can sometimes create too much refraction, therefore, a CT scan may be a better option. I too have a spinal fusion and leg weakness (but mine was before the fusion due to a fragment left behind by a surgeon who did not care to listen to me either so I found another surgeon). My new surgeon listened to me, did surgery, which was a fusion with intervertebral spacers, removered the fragment the first surgeon left behind.
When I had additional, ongoing symptoms, he again listened to me and found with a CT scan (after the MRI picture had too much refraction from the hardware and the scar tissure) that one of the intervertebral spacers had moved when I had fallen due to the nerve damaged caused by the fragment left by the first surgeon. So, as you can see bad things can happen even if you have the best surgeon, but if they are willing to investigate, repairs can be made. Ask for an MRI or a CT scan. IF your surgeon is unwilling to complete the test go elsewhere. Ask him, is it possible that the hardware could have lossened up, say I know it happens, I know it is not your fault. There is information about this very issue in Reader's Digest this very month!!! If you are not good with your present docor go find a neurosurgeon you are comfortable with, ask for reference from your lawyer, they generally know who is good out there. Please keep us informed. I too know weakness in the legs, I too walk with a cane and have suffered falls. I just had my second knee surgery because I tore the cartilage in both of my knees from falling because my ankle gave out on uneven ground due to the nerve damage that I was left with because the 1st surgeon was in too much of a hurry to properly clear the surgical field after I ruptered my disc. Good Luck and fight the good fight!!!
thank you for your reply. i am now in the search for a new surgeon, i will keep you all informed and yes we must all fight the good fight. thanks again.
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