Thread: Axialif Procedure/Trans 1 procedure

Am I ever glad I found this forum/post!

I had the AxiaLIF procedure done Oct.29th,2009 L5 S1. If I had it to do all over again, I would have never done it. I WAS a very active woman. I am 41 and have taken great pride on staying physically active. My problems started about 5 years ago, but last March proceeded to get worse and never went away. I got epidural injections (last hope) and on the last & 3rd one, they hit a pocket in my spine causing me to have spinal fluid dripping on my brain. THE worst headache I've ever had in my life. So, after all other options were tried to relieve my DDD & herniation, the AxiaLIF seemed to be the procedure for me.
The neurosurgeon spoke very highly and talked of great success with the other AxiaLIF's he had performed. Told me I'd be back to work in "2 weeks tops" (YEAH Riiiiiight) and it was very minimal recovery. I was SO misled. After the procedure which took almost 3 hours I didn't feel too bad other than the "normal" pain you would feel. It really wasn't much worse than what I had before the surgery. Felt pretty good (but was very sore) for the first week and on Nov. 8th is when it all went downhill.
I now have taken on a whole new problem. The Dr. at my pain management clinic (yes, I still have to go) thinks that I have not "fused" yet and that it could take up to 6 months?! It's been 3 1/2!! The nerve pain I have from this procedure goes beyond anything I'm able to describe. Some days are far more worse than others. I had some sciatica pain before the surgery, but along with the sciatica, I now have constant pain in my right buttocks, right leg, sometimes my left, groin pain, and pain in my right hip. The best way I can try to describe it is it almost feels like a spranged ankle type feeling, but it's in all those areas? There have been times that you can literally put your hand on my leg and feel the trerabling from the nerve being so irratated. On my follow up 2 wk appt. after the procedure, my neurosurgeon looked at me and said I was having muscle spasms. Um, NO! I had to be laid down in the back of a pick up truck just to get to my appt.. I couldn't walk, sit, lay anything without screaming in pain. I was crying my eyes out when he looked at me and said that. I left there and have NEVER went back. He never even looked at my incisions. Just told me I was having muscle spasms & that I could go back to work anytime I wanted. Sure! I couldn't walk, let alone work. I finally went back to work after being off for almost 7 weeks even though my physical therapist did not advise me to go back and it was too soon. I had to, financially short term disability wasn't enough to pay my bills. I hadn't planned on being off that long so you can imagine the financial mess I am in now. I had to borrow against my 401K just to pay my bills.

I am a single Mom with 3 children. Thankfully they are all young adult/teen years. I could not imagine having this done with small children. Anyway, please please try everything else out there before getting this procedure done. After reading some of the other stories, I see that I'm also 1 of the unlucky 5%. Had I known what I was getting myself into, I would have suffered and just kept taking pills. Now I've taken on this new problem. Just 2 nights ago I went to get something out of the fridg. and was "locked" in pain and could barely move. Took me several minutes to compose myself and my fiance is just furious with my recovery. About the only physical activity I can do is walk and they told me I may never be 100% again. GREAT! I'm 41 years old...I need my life back!
This has been a complete nightmare. And I'm sorry I don't wish to be a downer but let's be real with the fact that this procedure has it's downfalls. I wish any one luck who gets the procedure done and please keep us posted with your recovery.

tjdobbs:

I certainly don't envy your situation. It sounRAB like you've been through more than enough.

No one in this thread is a Doctor, that I know of. I can't say whether Axialif is right for cleaning up past surgeries, cages, etc. I posted in an earlier message that if you really have to do it, find a Doctor who is experienced with Axialif. Mine was very experienced, a teacher of the procedure, who had done more than 300 of them himself. My back is doing fine. I have no back pain, no pain down the legs, just some pain in my feet. I'm told that's the result of nerve trauma from three back surgeries and some arthritis in my feet. Regardless, I have no regrets and would do it again if I had to.

My only additional comment would be on the Doctor. It sounRAB like you've been at this for years. Don't be afraid to get a second opinion. I'd find the Doc in your area who has the most experience with Axialif and get his/her thoughts on whether the procedure is right for your situation. Loyalty to your current Doctor shouldn't be a factor. He may want more experience with Axialif and try to force the round peg into a square hole. It's a relatively new procedure, so look for experience.

All the best.

Johnwr

I had an axialif done on 11 Feb 2009. I had a lamonectomy 20 years ago at L5 S1, and that op was a contributing factor with the severe disc degeneration that developed at the same level. My condition was manageable, but I like to keep fit and active, and I was increasingly finding that I couldn't do things without unacceptable penalties........... The surgeon I went to was for a third opinion, and he suggested axialif. I had never heard of it. He had only done it twice before, which worried me! However, the op went well. Post op pain was very manageable and I was up and about the morning after, and left on day three. It was difficult brushing teeth/shaving, and I felt pretty stiff, but compared to the open surgery which I had twenty years ago, this procedure for me was a doddle.
However, since returning home I have had problems with pain in my buttock and down my leg. This worried me a lot, becasue it seemed a step backwarRAB in my recovery. I have probably tried to do too much. My surgeon says that the re-establishment of disc space could have stretched the sciatic nerve, and along with some possible scar tissue, could well cause a bit of a problem, and will probably settle down. I have confidence in his diagnosis.
At the end of this month (6 weeks post op) I will get a check up, and hope that I can then start physiotherapy. I am walking quite a bit, and this is actually more comfortable than lying or sitting. Sitting is the most uncomfortable. I think the best rehab line to take is little and often. Lifting is of course discouraged at this stage.
I hope that this info is of some help, and if anyone else can offer me advice I too would be grateful!

Hello Plaza player,and all the other people on this thread.
I, too, am from the UK, and had the op done privately, (non NHS) in Feb last year, nearly a year ago now.
It has been the worst year of my life.
I was a fit 59 year old, with bags of energy and motivation, and I too, thought that it would be really bad luck to end up in the 5% who end up worse than before they had axialif.
I now wish I had never had it done. I can empathize with your depression and anxiety, plaza player. I wish I could offer you sound advice, but the best I can offer is really only my own experience and take on the matter. It certainly sounRAB to me like you do need further advice, and I agree with you that will be difficult in Britain.
The marketing of axialif is misleading. It is still major surgery. I thought, and was lead to believe, that I would be fit and well again after 3 months. I naively thought that because I had had no open surgery involving stripping of muscles etc that I hadn

Things are going well here. I finally have no more back pain or leg pain. I still have some nurabness in my left leg which can be bothersome at times. The Dr. said it could take up to a year for this to heal. I am still hopeful that this will go away in time. Overall, this surgery was the best thing I could have done.

Hello MK,
Apparently both parts of the screw are still aligned, so the preferred option is to simply leave things as they are. The rod is the major player from a stability point of view, and the hope is that the facets will simply fuse of their own accord in time. L5/L4 are as they were before the op, which is good news. I gather it might take a year before things settle down. I still cannot comprehend how the screw could be broken. It must be pretty strong, and I would have thought it would take quite some trauma to break one. However, whatever the cause it is what has come to pass, and I certainly don

Thanks for the advice. I have tried a chiropractor, injections and some physical therapy. I feel like I am running out of options and the more invasive surgical solutions are not very appealing. I feel pretty good in the mornings, but be mid day I begin to get some pretty significant hip and leg pain that severely limit my activities. Grundy, I hope the MRI today goes well.

mksdks3 and grundy56,

Greetings. I found this thread and was curious as to how you are both making out post AxiaLIF. My surgeon has recommended it to fix a grade 2 spondylolisthesis with disk damage. I have some moderate back pain and sciatica down the left leg. Any updates on your experiences would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Grundy56. Thanks for the info on your procedure. We all appreciate the sharing of experiences. Good luck with the nerve settling down. The nerve trauma is a possible outcome from just about any spinal surgery. My understanding is that it usually settles down. All the best.

Johnwr

I am sorry not to have updated you sooner. My X ray confirms that the rod and facet screws are in the right place, and not bent, broken, or twisted. My surgeon considers that my recovery progress is about right, and that the sciatic type pains will be transient. Since my last post they have been more "on and off" rather than chronic, but the condition still persists.
I am generally feeling stronger and get less tired. I am sleeping better at night. Any local pain at incision points has all but gone, not that they were ever significant. I still get pains though, and get concerned that they will just linger on. I don't feel as though there is any strength in my healing yet. I am still to avoid twisting, lifting, and bending. If I accidentally bend I can get warnings from my back, that I might "put it out", and sometimes get spasmodic pain for a while. Sitting is more comfortable than it was.
I think the axialif promotional web sites can give patients like me unreasonable expectations of recovery speed, and notions of returning to sport in a couple of months. At the end of the day, axialif is still major surgery.
I am walking further, but still have to pace myself on "not so good days"
I easily get depressed and find myself doubting that I made the right decision, but I sure that this is normal. I am desperate to be fit and well again.
Like you, I think we all search for re-assurance from someone else who might say, "Don't worry, I had just the same symptoms as you, and now I feel great!"
I will try and update you in a month or so. If you want one earlier, just give me a nudge and remind me!
Best wishes,