Q: I am 54 years old and male. I worked as a heavy-duty mechanic for many years and am now paying for it with back problems. My doctor says I have degenerative disc disease and there is nothing that can be done. Is there any type of surgery that would work? My back is so painful that I cannot do much at all and I am desperate to try anything new.
A: The only kind of surgery that would work for degenerative disc disease is spinal fusion. This joins all the vertebrae in the damaged area, so the pain would be less, but you would be stiff and have limited mobility in the spinal column. This works quite well for older people who do not have an active life style, but you are still quite young.
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There is a new procedure pioneered by an orthopedic surgeon and the Cedars-Sinai Medical Centre in Los Angeles.
Dr. John Regan, who performed the procedure, says it “has the ability to perform a quantum leap in the treatment of degenerative disc disease.”
The surgery involves replacing damaged intervertebral discs with artificial ones. These are small metal discs with plastic inserts.
Unfortunately for you, I expect that it will be quite a while before this type of surgery is available in Canada, but at least there is hope for the future.
Q: I fell off my bicycle a few weeks ago, and went to the emergency department. Staff there said I had a broken bone in my foot – the metatarsal bone, I believe. They put my leg in a splint and I had to walk with crutches.
When I went back to the doctor three weeks later, he said the X-ray showed it wasn’t broken after all. Then yesterday, I had a bone scan and they said it did show a fracture. How is this possible?
A: Although it may sound as though the technicians and radiologists are incompetent, it is sometimes quite difficult to see certain types of fractures on an X-ray. A fine hairline fracture may not show up immediately, but it can be seen a few weeks later.
A bone scan can help throw more light on the problem. The other kinds of fractures, the displaced type that show an obvious break on an X-ray, are much more serious and take longer to heal. You should be fine in six weeks or less.
Sometimes people can break their metatarsal bones in the foot just from overexercising or walking too much. These are known as stress fractures. Stress fractures of the foot can be prevented to some extent by the use of inserts known as anti-pronation devices. These help to keep the foot from twisting when running or walking.
