Question
QUESTION: my husband was diagnosed with idiopathic syringomyelia.A syrinx was found between c5_c7.He had almost all symptons associated with syringomyelia except Chiari malformation.A syringo subarachnoid shunt laminectomy was performed 2weeks ago.Some of his original symptons have dissappeared.He now has severe pain in the left side of his neck and shoulder with muscle stifness.Is this a side effect of the surgery and will it go away?

ANSWER: Hi Fraces,

I trust this was done on his low back?

The KHLT for the insertion of a syringosubarachnoid
shunt in the treatment of syringomyelia is a safe, practical, and preferable technique associated with
less risk and fewer complications, as compared with standard techniques in multilevel hemilaminectomy or total
laminectomy. I already like your surgeon.:) I suspect early formation of new herniations in his neck so towel traction is strongly recommended. This is done by a D.C. that is proficient in reducing disc protrusions. If your present D.C. is unfamiliar with this, I can find you one that is. Relief will come in a week or less, it is very effective and proven to work. A thin mesh towel made up of material similar to a pillow case is used to pull the base of the skull with approximately 80lbs of traction with 5-8 reps ending with a slight thrust. Getting a home over door water bag traction kit will speed recovery, these can be purchased for 40-50 dollars at most physician offices.

I don't beleive it is a side effect of surgery unless it was done on the neck, then we have much to talk about.


Thank You for your question and I hope it was helpful!

Sincerely,
Dr. Timothy Durnin
drs.chiroweb.com

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: thankyou for your prompt reply.The inscision starts at the nape of his neck and is approximately 11cm long.Does this information change your conclusion?

Answer
Yes it does Frances,

The issue now is scar tissue proliferation, therapeutic ultrasound must be done ASAP to minimize scar tissue proliferation that is probably causing nerve compression. This in combination with the treatments outlined above should make a tremendous difference. The sooner he enrolls in therapy the better the outcome will be.

Thank you for your kind comments, I hope I helped!

Dr. Timothy Durnin
drs.chiroweb.com