Hi, I'm new to this forum.

Foillowing a herniated disk in the late 1990s I had a microdiscectomy at L5/S1 in 2001 which did not produce any positive results. After trying every other kind of treatment I eventually found a great neuro surgeon who has just performed spinal surgery on me 4 weeks ago on September 25th. Specifically he performed a right L5 nerve root decompression with right L5/S1 foraminotomy and implanted a Coflex device for spinal stablisation at L5/S1.

The operation went well and although I still have some leg pain and soreness, it is improving. The problem I have is swelling at the site of the surgery. Monday this week I sat too long at my computer during the day and Monday night my back swelled up to the size of a softball. I lay down all evening, went to bed but was woken up with loud noises in my head (tinnitus) and strange deafness in my ears. I called my surgeon the next day who said the swelling might have been a spinal fluid leak giving rise to the ear problems and tinnitus. I accept that I am probably 'overdoing' things and need to rest more. The symptoms have since subsided but I remain concerned about the swelling. Has anyone else had a similar operation and had problems with post op swelling?
Thanks a lot....