Sacral colpopexy

[julesd]

I wonder if there are any other women who arrived at the Corner of Chronic and Pain by way of sacral colpopexy? My surgeon knows of 5 other patients in Dallas who had this gynecological surgery and ended up needing disc surgery, but I have no way to connect with others like me. Thanks to all of you for posting; I have learned a lot from you. I have been advised by 2 excellent surgeons to have an L5S1 fusion with L4L5 ADR and am now trying to decide between them.

[Catherine]

Hello Jules and welcome! I'm not familiar with a sacral colpopexy, but I have a few of the same issues that you list in your signature. I am surely sympathetic with all you are going through. I have seen a few surgeons who recommended surgery also, but only would give me a 50 to 60 percent chance of having less pain. Through all of my research I do know that the surgery to repair the pars fractures and spondylolisthesis (if done by an experienced surgeon) results in much greater relief than that. So, I'm heading out to Stanford Medical Center in CA to see Dr. Eugene Carragee. I've read lots of things about him and his work and feel comfortable seeing him. I'm sure Dallas has qualified surgeons there also, but living where I do, I'm going to Stanford. As I'm sure you've read on here many times, get many opinions. Definitely go with someone who has done a few thousand of these surgeries. And it's not that I'm advocating surgery, but from everything I've read, when this becomes symptomatic and doesn't respond to therapies, then surgery is the only option for relief. I hope you get relief with your issues, and please keep me posted as you progress through this "intersection".

Catherine

[Catherine]

Hello again Jules,

I did a quick search and at least now know what the surgery is for.

Catherine

[LaCansada]

I arrived at this point following a lap-assisted vaginal hysterectomy and the cause of our pain my be the same - it is the placement of the patient in the lithotomy position (google this) on the operating table. This places stress on the back, and in my case it was the sacroiliac joint. In your case, it may have blown out your disc. Following the surgery, I could not feel the toes of my left foot and this has never changed. I thought, how could abdominal surgery affect my foot for crying out loud. I also had hip, groin and back pain and nerve-conduction studies reflected that the problem was located entirely in my back. But even at that point, the neurologist who did the studies did not put 2 + 2 together. It was a second pain-management specialist I worked with who said that he thought my sacroiliac joint was the source of my pain. A subsequent nerve block to the joint proved him right. And here I am, five years later, still in pain. I keep thinking "if only I had known...I never would have had that surgery done that way". If only you could go back in time...