Dr. Tollestrup Doubles Up on Successful Surgeries To Heal Sciatica Pain
We recently shared this story about Spencer Hawkins, a patient of Dr. Tollestrup’s who battled severe sciatica pain for years. Dr. Tollestrup was able to eliminate Spencer’s pain by surgically removing his piriformis muscle. Now Spencer is back playing the sports he loves.
Ironically, Spencer’s softball buddy David Sherman was suffering from a very similar pain problem. The two researched online together and discovered they both had piriformis syndrome. David came to see Dr. Tollestrup first but opted to wait until Spencer had surgery. After seeing Spencer’s results, David decided to go for it too. This is his story:
Decade of Chronic Pain
David’s original problem was severe low back pain and bilateral sciatica pain. The sciatica pain in the left leg was much worse than the right leg. David suffered for more than ten years. He endured 11 epidural injections with varying degrees of relief.
Eventually, David decided to undergo spine surgery. His spine surgeon confidently told him that surgery would fix both his low back pain and his sciatica pain. He had a fusion of the lumbar spine from L4 to S1.
The results of the spine surgery were mixed. While the fusion fixed his low back pain, it did nothing for the severe sciatica pain in the left leg. The pain eventually got so bad that it limited David to walking no more than a couple of blocks at a time. This resulted in David having to give up tennis and softball, two sports that he loved to play.
David came to see Dr. Tollestrup after researching online. After an evaluation, Dr. Tollestrup diagnosed David with piriformis syndrome. A follow-up diagnostic injection of the left piriformis muscle resulted in two weeks of almost complete relief from his usual pain.
Bye Bye Piriformis Muscle
Based on his excellent response to the piriformis injection, David opted to undergo surgery with Dr. Tollestrup to remove the piriformis muscle pinching his sciatic nerve. A piriformis muscle is a spare part – like an appendix – that most people don’t need.
By the time David came back to see Dr. Tollestrup for his one-week postop appointment, his original sciatica pain was essentially completely gone.
Cautiously optimistic, David is back playing softball in two different leagues 3 to 4 times a week with his friend and fellow success story Spencer.
Here is what David had to say after his successful surgery.
“After suffering from sciatica pain for more than 10 years, one week after surgery to remove my piriformis muscle my pain is gone. I am now back to enjoying my life again.”
If you or someone you know has sciatica pain, the problem could be piriformis syndrome. Dr. Tollestrup can help. Fill out a form on the right or call 702-666-0463.
*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.