What a shame so many of you seem to be having probs having this done on nhs. I have suffered low back pain/degenerative changes/prolapsed disc over the past 15 years. I an 38 yrs and live in bristol. After mri showed worsening since previous mri 5 years ago I had several tests to determine which op I had. I was originally told about fusion, dynesys and total disc replacement. I was not suitable for disc replacement as it is experimental still and best if only 1 level affected - I needs stablilising of l3,4 and 5. I was offered fusion by a registrar but refused asking to see consultant surgeon as knew there were other options. I met with consultant in bristol who decided on dynesys and told me 6 months. Surprisingly 5 weeks later I was phoned and offered to do it 3 weeks later which was too soon but I am now having it done on 16th march. I am expecting a huge amount of pain - in the surgeons words "you will feel like you have been run over by a bus" for a few weeks. I will post results afterwards.

Quick update....

Had surgery - dynesys stabilisation of l3,4 and 5 - on the afternoon of 16th march. On the morning of 17th march I walked the length of the ward. Was painful afterwards and I had a reaction to morphine adn tramadol so 24 hours post op I was on paracetamol and codeine only. On the morning of day 4 I was discharged home. Things are going well so far and I would not hesitiate to recommend as was nowhere near as bad as I expected. Whether or not it has worked remains to be seen as rather than having leg pains as many have - therefore knowing immediately if it has worked, I had flare ups 3-4 times/year when discs moved out of place so I shall wait and see.

Hi, I am having this operation on l4-l5/l5-s1 this tuesday and would like to know anything that might aid or speed up my recovery from this type of op? I have had a graf ligerment stabilisation before that has failed, hence the dynesys, and got back to work in eight weeks :o I now think this was too soon. Any advice would be gratefully recieved,

thanks,

cwyn

I had dynesis done on 2/21/06 l4-l5. (27 years old) I was close to getting a fusion about 5 years back and then again about two years back.

It's been about 3 months and I am about where I was before the surgery, and my doc says he thinks I will continue to progress for the next couple months. Just curious about the success rates, which in general often tend to be exaggerated by medical studies and the medical community.

My pain is predominantly back due to ddd, i've had since 16. If I miss a couple of days of physical therapy I would feel pain in my thighs as well. I was out of the hospital within 24 hours, and back to work full time in about 3 1/2 weeks.

For those of you who don't know, dynamic stabilization can be used in lieu of fusion and adr, and is sometimes recommended for younger patients since it is reversible and doesn't alter spinal anatomy (wallis is also in trial right now and does not use pedicle screws) some doctors think dynamic stabilization could be the future of back surgery. However, dynesis is still new and "experimental", which is why it is nice to hear tangible stories from real people.

I'll post another update in a couple months.

Hi, its now 5 1/2 months since my op and all is very well. I thought I might just mention some shoes I bought which certainly seem to help. They are called mbts (masai barefoot technology). I had read about these before and was unsure. I waited until after 16 weeks post-op then tried them. I have to say I think they are great. Definately improve posture when you are wearing them and are surprisingly comfortable. I dont wear them all day but I walk 10 miles/day - 5 miles to and 5 miles home from work. I wear them to do those walks and at weekends. They are not the most trendy shoes but worn with baggy combats, you dont really notice.

Charliesangel, it's good to hear your improving every week...Walking ten miles a day!!.

My attempted dynesys op failed when they removed a previous ops screws and found they had been moving about making the screw holes too big to get a new fixing, they did drill deeper and wider but were convinced it would come loose as before so took it out and said see how you get on! If you improved with nothing in your back then lovely jubbly but if you go down hill then it's two artificial discs in one years time, thats to give me time to get over this op and loose two stone (male 5,11' 14 stone at the mo)

this latest op was at the end of may 2006 and now 14 weeks on, my physio has said she can do nothing with me, as in one day I can move quite freely and the next I will have trouble just getting about the house, and I am in quite a bit of pain with the siatica getting worse and my back becoming more unstable every day.

Next appointment to see surgeon is end of nov because he is behind on his ops for the year. I am struggling to find a way to cope until then...But one more year of pain after 7 cant be that long.

Bit peed off to say the least,

cheers,

cwyn.

Ask your physio if she's heard of those shoes - they one a physio award apparantly. I saw a physio a few times and I asked him and he said they were supposed to be good but he didnt know much about them. I also wore them when I went to see the surgeon the other day and he agreed that they are a good idea - improve posture. Only thing is they are expensive if they dont work. Mine were £135. Obviously my op has worked though but on days when it niggles a bit it is definately less when wearing them compared to wearing "normal" shoes.

I hope you get some relief soon.

i had dynesys done on 7th july last year and until november I was slowly improving to what I was before the operation. I thought from now on anything is a bonus but unfortunately I have gone downhill since so that I am not as good as I was before the op. I suspect it was not done as well as it could have been so want a second opinion independent of my original surgeon - so your guy could be my answer. Could you please name him for me

I had 2 stage stabiliasation on 1st jan 2002 decompression dynesys.
I had to wear a brace(like a girdle but sexyer ha) I was 35. It didnt work.
They also caught a nerve on my good side!! So I have no feeling in my right buttock. I`m on dihydrocodeine 240mg 400mg paracetamol,600mg pregabalin, amitriptyline 50 to 75mg, 30mg oxycodone,20mg oxycontin.200mg celecoxib.
I also have dropfoot from the op which restricts my walking, but looking at some sort of splint thingy. I had a nerve root block last year not a good exp but worth a try? The only positive thing to come out of it, I no longer smoke.
I am under pain management again! So back to phsyio.
I will say one thing the hospital aftercare has been good.
I wish I had gone for the fusion or waited but I still wont accept defeat!
Talk to a couple of surgeons first.

Hi, after reading some of the other comments from people who have had problems following this type of surgery thought I would tell you about mine; I had the operation on feb 14th this year following back pain progressively getting worse over the past few years. I had the stabilisation carried out on l4 and l5 which seems to be most common. Although it was very painful and took longer to recover than I first imagined, I am really pleased with the results. My surgeon was james craig at the winfield hospital, gloucester. Cigna paid the costs (about £12,000 I think), although I had to pay about £1,000 myself. He said I would have possibly 70/90% max improvement in the pain. I'd say it is more like 99%. All I get is some aching and burning of the muscles occasionally, say if i've been doing loads of gardening or something strenous all day. I have always been really fit and have managed to get back up to swimming a mile straight off. 4 weeks ago I went mountain climbing in southern ireland and did 3 days of strenous climbing and walking with absolutely no problems at all. Not bad 7 months after major back surgery! I am so glad I had it done, I can sleep all through the night now without waking every time I turn over, and can manage to muck my horse out and lug buckets around again (obviously with great care). I have had to get a new car as the a3 sportback I had was totally unsuitable for getting in and out of and driving long distances. I have had to get a 4 x 4 which is much much better for me. I am going mountain cliimbing again next weekend and have also lost half a stone just because I am able to move properly again for the first time in years. All in all great success. Jill

Hi, I am 40 and I am having Dynesis on L4, L5 & S1 on 15th of November on the NHS at Paddington Hospital in London by Mr Akmal. I understand that he is a very good surgeon. Hope that I recover quickly.

Hi

Did anyone ever get any joy in getting the insurers to pay for this Dynesys treatment? I have been recommended one and PPP won't pay.

Thanks

I had the dynesys put in Dec 05 and have not been without pain since. A month ago they called me into the office for what they called as research and after getting x-rays they tell me one of the pedicle screws has broken and it is causing others to move. Has anyone had any dealings with this?

I had the Dyenesis a week ago and I am already able to walk 2 miles - before the op I could manage 100 yards. It's just great to have my life back.

I had the dynesis surgery in May 2007 L5 - S1, I have not had any previous fusions. I have had great success, my leg pain was gone after surgery. I am presently walking 45 minutes per day then lifting weights 20 minutes every day. If I over do it my back does get sore but if I lay down and rest it usually is ok. I have all the feeling back in both of my feet and no leg pain, which is great. The only pain meds I have taken since surgery is Tordol and maybe one pill a week (only needed if I over do it). I am returning to work as an RN next week starting with 4 hours a day so we will see how that goes. I had been off work for 2 years after I slipped on a wet floor - most doctors wanted to do the fusion and said I wouldn't ever return to work. Good Luck

i had dynesys operation on l4, l5 fitted in dec 05. i felt improvement in the pain i was previously feeling but since the op i have developed infection in the two upper right hand screws. this has caused me more grief in the way i feel than when i had the back problems. losing 2 stone in weight, night sweats, uncontrollable coughing to name just a few symptoms. the surgeon has suggested that i go on a low dose of anti-biotics for 3 months to see if this clears this problem up. if it does not clear the problem i will have to have at the least the right hand side fixings removed.interested to know if any one else has had similar complications

Hi Pat,

please can you let me know how the operation goes, I'm having the same operation on L4, L5 and S1 and am on the waiting list with St Marys and Mr Akmal.

here's hoping it will be a success

Hello
I'm having stabilization surgery on Nov 27th . I heard about Dynesis from a Readers Digest article on new frontiers to manage back pain. Made perfect sense to me to try the flexible fusion vs. heading directly into rigid fusion so that's what my approach was when looking for a neursurgeon. After talking with 4 of them (this is a big deal to me. Felt I needed more than just second opinion.) and ultimately finding out my insurance would not cover this product, I've gone with the DR I linked with the best, who offers a very similar but much less marketed product that the insurance companies don't have on their radar yet. It is slightly less "flexible" than the Dynesis product much MUCH more so than the rigid fusion. He will also use a much less invasive procedure by going under muscle vs. cutting through it to get to my spine.

I don't know if its the skill of my surgeon or our crappy US healthcare system but this will be outpatient surgery. I'm told I will walk out of the hospital the day of surgery or the next morning at most. And I will most likely be back at work in 3 weeks, 4 tops.

I'm 52, healthy other than this. Have DDD, two rupture discs, spondylolisthesis and of coure stenosis.

I'll post back after surgery.

Hi, i would really appreciate some help with this dynesys system. My surgeon wants to brace all my lumbar vertabrea's with this system. I have been living with intense pain for over 10 years,and take the max dose of neurontin and tramadol each and everyday. I have had L4/5 disc replaced and also had nerve decompression surgery as well. I average around 3 hours sleep per/night and have done for years. My pain is getting more and more intense and i feel that if this new surgery does not go right i have nothing left. Should I have it or not. I have not heard of anyone having 5 levels done Please someone help me think it through as if I am in more pain after this I think it will be time to quit this painful crappy world.

Actually, I know someone. She has had her back stabilised with this by the same surgeon I had - James Wilson-MacDonald in Oxford. So far, things are going pretty well for her, but it has only been a couple of months.
Only you can make the decision if its right for you and it sounds like life is pretty miserable at the moment - perhaps weighing up all the options you might feel what have you got to lose?