Lumbar disc herniation
A lumbar disc herniation occurs when gelatinous material inside a spinal disc presses on the outer wall, often causing back pain, sciatica and numbness in the legs.
Right intraforaminal L5-S1 disc herniation
Muscular strength can be recoverable even when we think it is lost!
A 51-year-old patient suffers from:
- Intense lower back sciatica for more than 2 years.
- Very significant motor deficit in the right leg with difficulty walking for more than a year.
Diagnosis: very lateral intraforaminal L5-S1 disc herniation on the right side.
48 hours after surgery: the patient has recovered almost all of her muscular strength.
Herniated disc in a 32 year old patient
Surgery can sometimes give us better results than we expected!
A 32-year-old man had already undergone an operation for a herniated disc 5 years ago. For 3 years he has suffered from severe paralysis of his left foot and leg due to a herniated disc. He could not walk without assistance.
24 hours after the operation, he regained the ability to walk and got rid of the paralysis that had lasted for three years.
Compressive disc at the level of L4-L5 on the left side
There remains hope of regaining the muscular strength lost due to paralysis caused by a herniated lumbar or cervical disc.
The patient (32 years old) has suffered for more than three months from severe pain in the left lower limb, difficulty walking with partial paralysis of the left lower limb and inability to move the foot (muscle strength = 1/5).
MRI showed the presence of a compressive disc at the L4-L5 level on the left side and inside the lateral canal. The disc was operated on by Dr AFIF.
24 hours after surgery, the patient got rid of his pain and regained the ability to walk and move his left foot.
Disc at L5-S1 level with vascular malformation
A 41-year-old patient. He suffers from intense and debilitating neuropathic pain with an inability to walk due to almost complete paralysis of his right foot for a month and a half. Lumbar MRI showed the presence of a mild disc with a vascular malformation (venous aneurysm) in the right root canal at the level of L5-S1 with compression on right S1.
The operation was done and the aneurysm and disc were removed. 72 hours postoperative:
- The patient regained 95% of muscle strength and the neuropathic pain in the right lower limb disappeared.
- Physiotherapy is necessary after surgery.