Laminotomy Recovery?

@annie1 I'm so sorry they are not taking the time to address your concerns and I understand why that upsets you. They have to be careful how they answer you because of insurance and legal issues and they don't want to promise something that wouldn't be covered by insurance. I don't know how big your incision will be for minimally invasive surgery or how many incisions they will need. It may be an easier recovery than most lumbar procedures, but I don't have experience there. My surgery was not minimally invasive, and a fusion has a longer recovery time. My incision was about 3 inches.

I think it is reasonable to ask a surgeon to see you before the procedure for a few minutes. My surgeon at Mayo did that for me and I was much calmer because of it. Is this surgeon rushing to get through too many cases in a day? I want to know that a surgeon who cuts on me is calm and unhurried. It takes a couple of minutes to say hello and reassure a patient that you are in charge and concerned about their well being. It is hard to be a patient facing fears and get no compassion from providers. My surgeon's nurse held my hand in the operating room.

I know this is a difficult time for you, and this doesn't make it easy to trust your surgical team. I fired a surgeon like that, but he wasn't going to help me anyway because he didn't really understand the diagnosis and didn't take enough time to even know that. He spent 5 minutes at the most in the consultation and wouldn't answer questions having looked at my imaging without me. Well, no thank you. You have to do what you think is right for you. If you want to call Mayo tomorrow and ask about care there, you can do that if that is a feasible option for you as in insurance and wait time, etc.

Is this non-communication causing anxiety for you? Only you know how much pain and disability you live with now and if you had to wait for a different surgeon, would you be able to do that?

I know how hard this is, and what it is like to deal with a nurse like that. One surgeon's nurse refused to make appointments for me with the surgeon because they didn't believe my symptoms were connected to my spine problem, and this was a big head of department at a major medical center making this mistake. I had to look elsewhere. It took me 2 years and seeing 5 surgeons wasting my time before I came to Mayo.

What do you want to do? Is this surgeon highly recommended to you by your private physician? Have you checked out his background and reputation? Any disciplinary actions against him with your state's regulatory medical board? I don't want to give you more to worry about, but it makes me worry to hear these things about a surgeon. You have to hire the surgeon you trust and who offers you the best solution. FYI, you should still be able to edit your post now if you wanted to remove your name from it.

Jennifer

I think I'm going to call the head of the department tomorrow and just tell him I'd like to speak to my surgeon before my surgery. Because They have a webinar called spine time and I listen to the one about preparing for your surgery and he was talking about how the team will be preparing you and talking to you about what to expect and that's not happening in my case so I'm just going to call the department tomorrow and tell them nicely that I feel like they're not really living up to the standards of their renowned hospital. It's supposed to be one of the best hospitals in New York and they had this whole webinar series called spine time. But thank you again I don't know if I want to wait to get the seen by Mayo they turned me down last year for some reason.

@annie1027 Good for you. PA's and nurses try to protect the surgeon's time because they are really busy. You're not really asking for a lot. I'm sorry Mayo turned you down. If you need to talk, I'm here.
Jennifer

Maybe I could try Mayo again, they did say I could have a phone call, but I live in Brooklyn, NY and that would mean staying in Minnesota after the surgery wouldn't it ?

It is very important to keep all activity to a minimum for the required six weeks to insure proper healing. This includes no swimming. You don't want to get an infection. Taking very short walks to begin with is usually prescribed. I needed a helper in the beginning. I was not even allowed to begin PT for 9 weeks after. You may require some home health assistance for ADL,especially if you live alone. The social worker in the hospital arranges for that. The RN and PA will be answering your questions on this, not the surgeon. After the six weeks they will let you know if you are cleared to begin just pool walking. DONT OVERDUE. Good Luck!

I also agree with everything Jennifer said. Make sure you check the Dr's track record and the hospital infection rate also. Each patient is different and until the surgery is completed they can't specifically comment and be held to it. For instance what if they told me 6 weeks and for me it turned out to be 9 weeks because it was more severe than the usual cases. A walker can also be arranged by the hospital social worker. Do you have family that can come assist you in the beginning? I had to make sure I had easy clothing and everything at my finger tips. No shoes, only slipons. I could not even think of taking a bus ride, changing my sheets or even grocery shopping. My bedroom and bathroom were all prepared ahead if time . I had a L4 microlaminotomy and microdisectomy. Don't want to scare you, just caution you to be prepared and have a friend or family member to help you. I would have had to go to assisted living if not for a family member helping. Everyone's case is different. Prayers for less pain and a speedy recovery

@annie1 Annie, My guess is Mayo would ask you to stay a day after surgery in case of any complications, and after that say OK to travel. This was my recommendation. I was in a cervical collar and a fused C5/C6 with no hardware. I was not allowed to drive, but the 5 hour ride home was OK and I was instructed to stop and get out and walk every 2 hours (because of blood clot risk). I think you would be allowed to fly home and you would be in some discomfort during your travel. You would want a travel companion to carry everything.

You may want to make the call to your provider's facility in case that makes a difference in your comfort level with the surgeon you are scheduled with now. If you do contact Mayo, you will be starting over with what ever wait times they have. When you applied to Mayo before, did you apply for neurosurgery or something else?

Jennifer

Good News!...I am seeing the surgeon In Person on Wednesday, I guess calling the head of the Dept of Neurosurgery and telling them what was happening helped ! What is that saying about a Greasy wheel or something......I'm still anxious but now atleast I can talk to him directly about my concerns.
The other thing, I went to a Physical therapist who said my case is not very severe compared to other people he has seen and he thinks he could cure my Stenosis just with exercises and myofascial release. So that is confusing, but the exercises are mainly pelvic tilts and stretching. He says if I do them 3x a day, every day I will get better. I've been to four or five different physical therapy places over the last 7 yrs since this started though. They didn't all focus on Pelvic Tilts however.......anyone, I am doubtful that just that could help, but in the past week or two my symptoms have changed. What do you think ?

@annie1 Good for you! Make a list of your questions before you go in so you don't forget.

Your physical therapist is not a surgeon or a radiologist, and I question that opinion on "curing " stenosis. I agree that myofascial release helps and I have done a lot of it and recommend it, but stenosis in the spine is caused by not enough space around the spinal cord or nerve roots. Myofascial release doesn't change that, but it can help with posture, movement and better body mechanics, and that may decrease pressure on the spine. Your PT should not be making a judgement on how severe your case is compared to other patients or to influence your decision about surgery because he has a "better" plan. He doesn't know how much pain people feel, but he can judge functional movement. That might be an exaggerated opinion of himself. That's just my 2 cents and you have enough on your plate right now. You are the best judge of how you are feeling and when you think it is the right time for surgery and you have 7 years of experience in working on these issues.

I'm glad you are having an appointment with the surgeon.

Jennifer

I had a monkey wrench thrown in the works. I went to see another well regarded Neurosurgeon today who was adamant that I Should Not have Surgery because of my Osteoporosis, even though the surgery in question would be a laminotomy. He said that procedure could make my spine unstable which would lead to my needing fusion which is dangerous with Osteoporosis. He told me he had a patient that had a very bad downhill spiral after her spine became unstable, so he said he is very conservative about this for me or other people with Osteoporosis. He is sending me back to pain management. What do you think ?
Just to be clear, this is not the surgeon I am seeing tomorrow who would do a laminotomy and who I had to push to get the in person appointment.