Is surgery reasonable at 31 yrs of age?

Is surgery reasonable at 31 yrs of age?

Q:

Age: 31 Sex: F Concern: Neuro-muscular

I am 31yrs of age and due to auto accidents as well as lifting of a few too many things now have a disc bulge between my L4-L5 as well as a disc extrusion between my L5-S. I have been getting very frequent disc pain "flair-ups", almost every 3 wks. Currently I have that disc extrusion pinching my sciatic nerve, causing my leg and foot to be numb. I'd like to know if surgery is reasonable and if its a good idea to do at my age, being that Im only 31 yrs old, when possible scar tissue formation could potentially create pain in my leg (that I dont have now) as well as possibly not do nothing for the lower back pain.

Also, I have tried epidural steroid injections in my lower back and they did not help relieve my pain.

-- sarahsarkhosh

A:

You should see a spine specialist for a face to face eval. Someone needs to look at your MRI and decides what the next best course of treatment is.

-- Sherman Nam Tran, M. D.

to ask Dr. Tran.