Comments on: what’s the worst that could happen when having surgery for a bulging herniated disc?

By: Dan

Dan — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 03:54:02 +0000

No neurosurgeon or orthopedic surgeon will ever tell you this but the success rate of spinal surgeries is 30% or lower. In the absence of risk to life or possible nerve damage or trauma non-surgical treatment is the optimal route. The research backs this up. Some possible risks from having the surgery include death, paralysis, permanent/temporary nerve damage, loss of sensation, loss of muscle control, CSF leakage (cerebrospinal fluid), fracture, infection, etc.

By: ems.junkie

ems.junkie — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 03:25:39 +0000

To be 100% honest, any invasive procedure poses risks, especially surgical ones. Complications can arise during and after the surgery, some more serious than others. The two extreme worst case scenarios? You can die or become paralyzed. With routine surgeries like those to repair discs, such complications are extremely rare.

Before any such procedure, a doctor should go over the risks, the procedure, post-op requirements, etc and you will be asked to sign a form for “informed consent” which, as the name implies, states that you are aware of the risks and grant the doctor consent to perform the surgery.

In the case of your friend’s mother, it could have been a number of things, but without further information, I could only guess that because of the location of the operation, complications involving her spine or spinal cord ensued. It is not uncommon for a doctor to prescribe some form of physical therapy subsequent to the surgery, regardless of how successful it was.

My mother had the same procedure done to repair a bulging disc around two years ago and the operation was a complete success with no complications. After three months of physical therapy she was back to normal, maybe even better than she was before her issue with the disc.

I also have a friend who had the procedure done after he suffered some sort of injury while working out. He too was completely successful and is back to his previous gym rat lifestyle with no issues whatsoever.

Discuss your concerns with your doctor. He/She should be more than happy to go through it with you. Good luck!

By: dual_reality

dual_reality — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 02:51:54 +0000

My doctor said it was a 50-50 chance of surgery not working…so Iopted out. it took 3 yrs of therapy but I am living with it…it’s been more than 20 yrs now…and the only time it bothers me is when it gets cold…other than that..I am pretty much living a regular life…hell I went skydiving last year.

By: Pegasus90

Pegasus90 — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 02:10:15 +0000

The doctors give patients a warning “informed consent” prior to surgery, listing all the possible things that can go wrong. It runs from death to paralysis to making the problem worse (unintentionally) to not solving the problem, to anesthetic complications.

I have no way of determining how common any of these are, but research on the net may be possible. Most good doctors will prescribe a couple month course of physical therapy, even if the surgery goes well.