Life in Walnut Creek, Lafayette and surrounding areas: Facing Surgery...Get a Second Opinion!

As Realtors, we face personal situations that we don't often share or blog about.  This is a personal, human interest story that I felt was worth my time in hopes it might make a difference in someone's life. 

  My husband was diagnosed with spinal stenosis in his 2nd and 3rd lumbar region.  This is when the spinal cord is being pinched off and resulting in severe leg pain and numbness...in my husband's case...down the back of his legs.  He had a series of 3 epidurals in which he had temporary relief for a few weeks.  He finally decided he couldn't live with the pain and the longer he waited, the greater the risk of further injury to his spinal cord.  He went to one Orthopedic surgeon and he recommended a couple of spinal fusions.  The recovery time would be months!  He was desperate and in so much pain, he agreed to the surgery.  As days went by and we began to share his upcoming surgery with family and friends, the more horror stories we began to hear about in regards to spinal fusions!  The news and their experiences were not encouraging!! 

He called the surgeon and told him he wanted to discuss other alternatives and that he did NOT want the fusions.  The doctor told him he would not do the surgery unless he had the fusions done!  This raised our eyebrows, but in all fairness to the doctor, it's probably what he totally believed was the best remedy for my husband.  Needless to say, we opted for a second opinion.  This surgeon felt, in his professional opinion, that a fusion would not be necessary.  He said he has had great success with a procedure called Lumbar Microsurgery.  This procedure is done through and with a scope and the best part...recovery would be a few DAYS at the most...barring no complications.  Well, as you can imagine, this was music to our ears and knowing this surgeon's reputation, this was a no-brainer decision for us!  We did wonder why this procedure wasn't mentioned as an alternative from the first surgeon, but we later learned that not too many surgeons in this area are skilled or trained on this procedure.  We also learned that some don't believe in it.  At least we had more information and could now make an informed decision.

I'm happy to report that my husband has had this Lumbar Microsurgery operation and is doing great!  He went in for this 4 hour surgery at 11:00 am and I brought him home at 8:30 pm that SAME day!  Other than the slight soreness of his 6 inch incision, he is pain-free!  The surgery was a success and I will be forever grateful to this surgeon for giving me my happy-go-lucky husband back! 

This story is not intended to talk negative about the first surgeon or the fusion procedure itself.  Doctors are only human and they make decisions based on their professional knowledge of a situation.  It's merely a reminder that it never hurts to get a second...third...or fourth opinion when you hear a doctor say 'you need surgery'! 

(The way in which I described Spinal Stenosis and Lumbar Microsurgery may not be the proper, medical descriptions.  It's explained how I understood it!)