Lumbar Spine Surgery | Spine Surgeon, Faisalabad

Lumbar spine surgery treats a trapped nerve in the lower back when leg pain, numbness or weakness continues despite proper non-surgical treatment. Most kamar dard never needs an operation. At Mujahid Hospital, Faisalabad, Dr. M. Abdur Rehman, consultant neurosurgeon, examines you, reviews your MRI, and tells you honestly whether surgery will help.

lumbar spine cross-section diagram showing nerve roots exiting between the vertebrae — Illustration: Laboratoires Servier, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Do I actually need lumbar spine surgery for my kamar dard?

Probably not. Most kamar dard comes from strained muscle and ligament, and it settles in four to six weeks with walking, heat and simple painkillers. A lumbar disc bulge on an MRI is found in large numbers of people who have never had back pain. The report describes a shape, not your pain.

Surgery on the lumbar spine is for a small minority. It is considered when a nerve in the lower back is genuinely trapped and the leg is suffering for it. If your pain sits as an ache across the lower back and is improving week by week, you do not need an operation and you should not be pushed towards one.

Is lumbar spine surgery safe? Will I be paralysed?

Serious paralysis after lumbar spine surgery is rare, and the reason is anatomy. The spinal cord ends high up, roughly at the level of your lowest ribs. Below that the canal carries a bundle of loose nerve roots rather than cord, and those roots can be moved gently aside in a way the cord never could. This is why lower back surgery is safer than most families in Punjab assume.

Rare does not mean impossible. Any operation carries a risk of infection, bleeding, a tear in the lining around the nerves, or leg pain that does not fully settle. A small number of patients need a second operation later. You are entitled to hear these risks named out loud, in Urdu or English, before you sign anything. Ask what the risk is in your particular case, and ask what happens if you wait.

When does lower back surgery become the right choice?

The usual reason is leg pain from a lumbar disc that has not settled after roughly six weeks of honest non-surgical treatment. Honest means regular medicine and real physiotherapy, not two days of tablets. Weakness that is getting worse, a foot that drops, or a walking distance that keeps shrinking are also reasons to operate rather than keep waiting.

One situation does not wait. If you lose control of urine or stool, if the area between your legs goes numb, or if both legs become weak, go to hospital the same day. Do not wait for an appointment. That is the one pattern where delay can cost function permanently.

Which lumbar spine operations are done, and what happens in them?

For a single lumbar disc pressing on a nerve root, the usual operation is a discectomy. A small opening is made in the lower back, the nerve is lifted gently aside, and only the piece of disc pressing on it is removed. The rest of the disc stays. Nothing is replaced and nothing is screwed in.

For spinal stenosis, where the canal itself has narrowed with age, the operation is a decompression. Bone and thickened ligament are trimmed to give the nerves room again. A smaller number of patients, usually those with instability or a slipped vertebra, also need screws and a fusion to hold two bones together. Fusion is not the default, so ask why it is being suggested if it appears in your plan.

How long does recovery from lumbar spine surgery take?

Most people walk on the day of surgery or the day after and go home within a few days. Leg pain often eases quickly, because the pressure is off the nerve. Numbness and weakness recover more slowly, sometimes over months, because a nerve heals at its own pace and not at yours.

Expect roughly two to six weeks before light work, and longer if your job involves lifting, standing all day, or long bike rides on rough roads. You will be given a plan for walking, for sitting and for starting physiotherapy. The commonest mistake is lying still for weeks out of fear. Movement is part of the treatment, not a risk to it.

What does lumbar spine surgery cost in Faisalabad?

Cost depends on which operation is needed, whether implants are used, how many days you stay, and whether anything is covered by a panel or insurance. Ask for a written, itemised quote in PKR before you agree to admission. It should list surgeon's fee, anaesthesia, theatre, bed, implants, medicines and follow-up visits separately.

Get it in writing even when you trust the person quoting. Verbal figures change. Ask what is not included, ask what happens if you need to stay longer than planned, and ask what a repeat MRI would cost if one becomes necessary. A place that is uncomfortable putting numbers on paper is telling you something useful.

I tried a hakeem and malish first. Have I made it worse?

Most families in Punjab try a hakeem, malish or a local bone-setter before they see a neurosurgeon. That is normal and it is not a failing. Gentle massage can ease muscular kamar dard, and many people improve during that period anyway, because disc inflammation settles with time in most cases.

Two cautions. Forceful pulling or twisting of the back while a nerve is already inflamed can make taang mein dard sharply worse. And time matters when there is real weakness in the leg, because muscle that has been weak for months recovers less completely. If the leg is weak or numb, get it examined now, and continue other treatment afterwards if you wish.

How do I arrange a consultation and what should I bring?

Bring your MRI films and the written report, not only the CD, along with previous prescriptions and a list of what you have already tried. If you have diabetes, blood pressure trouble or a heart condition, bring those medicines as well. They affect how and when surgery can be done safely.

Dr. M. Abdur Rehman, consultant neurosurgeon, sees patients at Mujahid Hospital, Faisalabad. Families travelling from Jhang, Sargodha, Chiniot, Toba Tek Singh or Sahiwal can send the MRI report ahead and ask what a first visit will involve, so the journey is made once. Bring the family member who will share the decision. When you write, say plainly which is worse, the back pain or the leg pain.

Questions patients ask about this

Will I walk normally again after lumbar spine surgery?

Most people walk on the day of surgery or the day after. Leg pain usually settles first. If a nerve has been squeezed for a long time and the muscle is already weak, strength comes back more slowly and sometimes not completely. That is the main reason not to delay when there is weakness rather than pain alone.

Can a slip disc come back after the operation?

It can. A discectomy removes the fragment pressing on the nerve, not the whole disc, so the same lumbar disc can push out again in a minority of patients. Keeping your weight sensible, staying active and avoiding heavy lifting too early all reduce the chance. If leg pain returns later, get it re-examined rather than assuming the worst.

Can an injection help me avoid lower back surgery?

Sometimes. A steroid injection around the irritated nerve root can reduce inflammation enough to carry you through the weeks while a lumbar disc settles. It is not a cure and it does not remove the disc fragment. It helps most when pain is severe but slowly improving, and least when there is real and worsening weakness.

I am over sixty. Am I too old for this surgery?

Age alone does not rule out lower back surgery. Fitness matters more than the number. Diabetes, heart disease, kidney problems and smoking all affect risk and healing, and several of them can be improved before an operation. Many older patients have a decompression for stenosis and walk further afterwards. Bring your complete medicine list to the consultation.

My MRI says slip disc but my back barely hurts. Why?

Because the words on an MRI describe the shape of a disc, not the size of your pain. Bulges and protrusions are common in people with no symptoms at all. Treatment is decided by your leg pain, your examination, your reflexes and how long the trouble has lasted. The scan only confirms which nerve is involved.

Ask about your own scan. Send your MRI or X-ray on WhatsApp and get a straight answer on whether surgery is needed at all.

Dr. M. Abdur Rehman is a consultant neurosurgeon in Faisalabad. Send your scan on WhatsApp and ask what it actually shows.

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Two clinics in Faisalabad, each with its own timing. Mujahid Hospital, Madina Town, Susan Road, Faisalabad: 4:00 PM to 7:00 PM. IDC, 563-B, Satiana Road, Faisalabad: 8:00 PM to 9:00 PM. Message before travelling to check availability on the day.

Lumbar spine surgery in Faisalabad