Nerve Surgery Makes the Difference for Patient with Nerve Compression Syndrome
Dr. Tollestrup’s Nerve Surgery Success
The team at Dr. Tim Tollestrup’s office is always pleased when patients share their stories about how our nerve surgery helps patients improve their lives. The follow is from a patient named Marshall, who was kind enough to share his story about how our surgical efforts helped address his chronic knee pain.
“I am pleased to report a success story. I had an ACL replacement done some years ago, and was given a large knee brace with multiple straps to use when doing hi-stress sports. No one told me that it might have to be re-fitted over time. As I lost a bit of weight, I simply made the straps tighter to compensate. One day, after skiing, I found that I was intermittently unable to stand up. Apparently, the brace strap had pinched a nerve below the knee in such a way that I had no ability to lift the foot, and virtually no strength in moving it either up or down. The knee surgeon told me to just wait and see if it “fixed itself.” It didn’t.
The surgeon referred me to a neurologist, who performed a number of painful tests involving needles and electric currents and then flatly informed me that “nothing could be done” and I would have the foot drop for life, so I should get used to it, although “maybe physical therapy might help a little.” I pressed for some possible solution, and the neurologist (rather reluctantly, for some reason) eventually referred me to Dr. Tim Tollestrup.
Ten minutes into an examination in his office, he correctly diagnosed the problem (with a manual strength exam), but he also took the extended time needed to get the history, and figured out that the brace itself had been causing the problem, probably over an extended time, further taking the time to explain the problem and possible solution in words I could understand. He was the only doctor I spoke with in the whole process who knew (or at least told me) that there was a limited time within which a surgical correction of the problem would work, before the nerves degenerated from non-activation. We scheduled surgery, which was an afternoon out-patient procedure; recovery was quite short. And on his suggestion, I got a replacement knee brace.
The wound is long-sealed, with a bit of a red scar. The problem addressed (foot drop) appears to be gone completely – I can and do run and jump (and play racquetball, and ski) better, further, and stronger than before. As a bonus, the recurrent pain in both knees (mainly the one in the leg with the foot drop) has greatly diminished – my guess is that the foot drop had been there for some time, causing me to compensate, altering my gait and causing stress and pain in other joints. Now able to run without pain, I am in better shape than for years previously.
It is a wonderful thing when something can be actually “cured.” My life is much improved, and I have no complaints of any kind. Again, my thanks to you all!”
– Marshal*
*Disclaimer
We do not guarantee any specific results or outcomes for surgery, should our practice work on your behalf. Information on this website may be used as a reference for successes we’ve achieved for our patients, and not as an assurance or guarantee for similar results in all instances.