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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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Broken Disk. Intense Pain. On Wheel Chair, Taking Pain Killers. Should There Be A Surgery?

My brother has a piece of his disk which has broken off. He is on holiday with his family and wants to finish off the week. but he is in intense pain. He was told he would need to see a neurologist and an orthopedic surgeon. He is on painkillers and in a wheel chair. Shouldn t they get the broken piece out asap so there is no possibility of further injury?
Thu, 3 Jul 2014
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Emergency Medicine Specialist,  's  Response
Intense back pain is due to instability of the vertebrae and if the pain is radiating to the limbs then it could be due the disc compressing on the nerve roots.
person on wheel chair could be either due to pain or due to neurological defects leading to muscle weakness.
now answer to your question : sequestrated disc (Broken disc) can migrate along the cord to cause compression at different level hence it is advisable to undergo surgery. if the person has instability of the spine at level of the broken disk then along with disc removal he has to undergo stabilization with implants( rods and pedicle screws).
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Broken Disk. Intense Pain. On Wheel Chair, Taking Pain Killers. Should There Be A Surgery?

Intense back pain is due to instability of the vertebrae and if the pain is radiating to the limbs then it could be due the disc compressing on the nerve roots. person on wheel chair could be either due to pain or due to neurological defects leading to muscle weakness. now answer to your question : sequestrated disc (Broken disc) can migrate along the cord to cause compression at different level hence it is advisable to undergo surgery. if the person has instability of the spine at level of the broken disk then along with disc removal he has to undergo stabilization with implants( rods and pedicle screws).