Dr Adriaan Liebenberg My Spine Explained | Page 31

My Spine Explained
For a comprehensive list of possible surgery risks, you should discuss the
matter with your specialist. Some of the most feared risks would include
nerve damage, which may be damage to the nerves leaving the spinal canal
or damage to the spinal cord itself. The potential effects of this could be par-
tial or complete dysfunction of these nerves and can include numbness, pain,
weakness of the muscles or complete paralysis of one or more muscle groups.
What are the long-term expectations?
Spinal degeneration and spinal disc disease are progressive entities. In cases
where the disease is conservatively managed, it is possible that the herniated
portion may retract and no longer cause symptoms or require surgery. When
only a portion of the slipped (herniated) disc is surgically removed, there is a
possibility that another piece of the remaining disc may herniate and com-
press a nerve root, requiring further surgery. When the disc is completely
removed and a fusion is formed, this may accelerate the degeneration process
in the adjacent discs. It is obvious that disc degeneration is a progressive enti-
ty that may well require further treatment in the future, no matter what treat-
ment is instituted.
In cases where the symptoms settle with conservative measures, the symp-
toms may reappear at some stage. In cases where a discectomy and fusion are
performed, the symptoms are usually relieved immediately in almost all
patients and improvement is usually permanent.
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