Chapter 5 - Surgery
It was September 2015. I had been seeing the chiropractor for four years, and it was time for a repeat neurological test. Up until then the results had been fairly normal. Not so this time - significant right foot drop when walking on my toes - not good. The chiropractor stated it simply. It is time for another MRI, talk to your family doctor.
I scheduled an appointment with my family physician. The chiropractor had sent his clinical notes to my doctor. He repeated the neurological testing - significant right foot drop when walking on my toes - not good. If I did not have surgery, I would lose all function in my right leg within a year to year and a half. He scheduled the MRI, the insurance approved, and he recommended Dr. Webster Pilcher. I was later to discover Dr. Pilcher is the Chairman of Neurosurgery at the University of Rochester Medical Center, Strong Memorial Hospital.
The first visit to Dr. Pilcher’s office involved meeting with the nurse practitioner. We discussed the previous MRIs and the notes from the chiropractor. She advised there may be major surgery, but this would be dependent on more tests and the doctor’s review. (More tests? Doctor’s review?) I was starting to get nervous.
Another round of tests, an MRI, multiple blood tests, a CT Scan and myelogram, pre-surgery physicals and cardiology appointments, and a final visit with Dr. Pilcher to plan the surgery. My thoughts had been running to a major operation, spinal fusion with cage, or some other such major debilitating, long recovery affair. Dr. Pilcher had other ideas. This would be a much less invasive procedure which would include decompression at L4/L5 and cleaning the foramen. Normal nerve function could be restored.
In the days prior to surgery the muscles in my right leg began to tighten and constrict. It was more painful to walk even a short distance. Sleeping was next to impossible and it would take forty-five minutes to an hour to stretch and relieve the sciatica pain and cramping in my back in the morning. Plus - I was not very cheery and/or hospitable at all when I first woke up.
Any prior discussions with doctors or other allied health professionals had indicated very slim odds for success with less pain than before the surgery. As the day of surgery approached I became more apprehensive and this was the devil’s own choice - don’t have surgery and lose the function in my right leg with who knows
what eventual outcome, or have the surgery and maybe live in pain for the rest of my life. Hey wait? I was doing that already. Leigh and I discussed the options - surgery was the logical choice.
The day of surgery, July 18, arrived. Our son drove us to Strong Memorial Hospital. We walked to the 23 hour surgical unit, and by 1:15 PM I was in the operating room. After the operation Dr. Pilcher called Leigh and told her I would be ‘as good as new’. The next I knew it was 5:00 PM, and I was awake in the recovery room.
When I was finally fully awake and alert, the muscles in my right leg were not cramped or constricted. There wasn’t any sciatica pain. Frankly, it did not seem real. I was discharged the next day, less than twenty three hours after the surgery.
It is now days after surgery. My right leg feels normal and there isn’t any sciatica pain. I need less pain medicine every day. If someone had told me months ago this would be possible, I would have been very skeptical.
The right physician and surgical team made all the difference. I now understand why so many residents and interns are eager to study with Dr. Pilcher. God bless them all and the wonderful work they do!
My repeat visit to Dr. Pilcher was on August 22, 2016 with Sue Smith the Nurse Practitioner, and she was very happy with my progress. Pain medicine - done! Walking more every day - you bet! Nerve tests show improvement, but not 100% yet. Weight restriction is now up to 30 pounds, but still no twisting activities, so bowhunting is out this year (but not next!). Muscles in the back are still healing, and will be for about another two months. Nerves are regenerating and am having associated nerve pain, but this is also a good sign. More walking, resume back exercises, and can resume TaiChi! Good news all around!
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