subject: Are You Ready For Sciatic Nerve Surgery? [print this page] Do you know what to expect when you have Sciatic Nerve Surgery? Often times you wonder how it got to this point. Surgery. Yes, you are in pain, but did you ever really think that pain would require an operation? It is scary to think about, but if you are here, odds are you have decided that surgery is quite possibly your only way for relief.
What should you expect from sciatic nerve surgery? There are two main reasons that people have sciatica pain: - pirifformis syndrome - disc related sciatica
The two of these can cause quite a bit of pain, but they are two separate and distinct issues. So they each require different surgical procedures for relief.
No matter what type of sciatica pain that you have though, the operation is usually done under general or local anesthesia.
General anesthesia means that you will be put to sleep for the actual operation, but you are likely to feel pretty badly when you wake up because your body is not only coming out of heavy sedation, but you are also dealing with the actual operation.
Local anesthesia means that you will be awake or semi conscious while the procedure happens, but you will not feel any of the pain. It may be intimidating to think about being awake while you are going through this, but it will make your recovery much easier if you go the local route.
What will recovery be like?
Recovery time also depends on what your body went through during the operation. Generally though, you will be in the hospital overnight, maybe even a day or two. So you want to be sure to pack a bag. Your doctor is likely to try to make you walk within 24 hours of surgery. Going back to work and other activities will be limited at your doctors discretion.
Will it truly help?
This also goes back to why you have sciatica, and every person is different. Normally, those who have piriformis syndrome do not benefit as much from the operation. They are more likely to find their pain returning. However, disc related sciatica tends to get much better results from surgery. No matter which way you decide to go, having surgery is a big decision. Which is why you need to make sure that you know what you are getting into and if you will really benefit from it in the long run.
