Tight Filum Terminale Surgery & question

September 21, 2006

Hi,

I just got back from TCI Monday night. I has surgery for tight filum

terminale on September 12th. Dr. Milhorat told my husband after

surgery that she (me) had " The Real Deal. " He also told me that I had

minimal spinal fluid around the nerve roots (at the end of the spinal

cord) and they were crammed into the lower half of the thecal sac and

were not moving. After they identified the filum terminale and cut

it, the spinal cord moved back up 1 1/2 inches, the spinal fluid

increased, and the nerve roots began to undulate and move freely. My

husband and I were so happy about this. Also, they did not operate on

my two herniations. They looked at them but felt that they were not a

problem. A few days after surgery, my left left foot problems

decreased and I was able to tiptoe on my left foot, and put all of my

weight on my left tiptoes by raising my right foot off the ground. I

was unable to do this before surgery because I had developed " drop foot. "

Anyway,I do have a question. Have any of you who had tethered cord

surgery have problems with sciatica in their left or right buttock/leg

due to swelling? Whenever I press gently on my sutures, I get sciatic

pain down my left buttock and leg. I also get the sciatic pain when I

get up from sitting, and when I lift my left leg up while turning over

in bed. I'm worried about this.

Also, during surgery I was bent up over a spongy type bench, with my

knees in donut holes, and my lower legs and feet were straight up in

the air. When I woke up, I had left and right hip bruising/pain, with

left and right upper thigh numbness which has now gone away for the

most part -- Still have a little of it in my left hip and upper thigh.

Did any of you experience this too?

NC

October 8, 2006

I was under the impression that the type of Tethered Cord

that they are finding with some ACM patients is Tight

Filum Terminale............so, I am a bit curious/confused, how does this

type of Tethered Cord restrict the CSF Flow?

Thanks.

Me

Nebraska, USA

mymocha@...

He also told me that I had

minimal spinal fluid around the nerve roots (at the end of the spinal

cord) and they were crammed into the lower half of the thecal sac and

were not moving.

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