Is Syringomyelia a common complication of spine surgery?

[MoonBoy1969]

In February 2014, I had very invasive spine surgery to remove an "exploded" disc in my thoracic spine. The disc had ruptured and had been putting pressure on the spinal cord for many years. Nearly 9 months after the surgery, I'm experiencing pain, numbness, instability, etc. in both legs. Have been to physical therapy, go swimming each day, doing what I should be doing as far as surgical recovery goes. I'm seeing a physiatrist now for pain management (narcotics) but pain continues to get more and more severe. Prior to discovering my spine issue, I'd spent about 8 years trying to figure out what was wrong with me. My faith in doctors is not high, which is why I'm doing my own research. Has anyone experienced Syringomyelia after spine surgery, and if so, how difficult was it to detect on an MRI? Did you have any issues with doctor(s) regarding this?

[Graybo]

You should read some of the old posts for answers as not many write here any more. As far as I am concerned it is mostly a muscle problem and the symptoms are not caused by the syrinx.

My faith in drs is not high either and that's why I work on fixing it myself

[pmaxwell]

Unfortunately many doctors are not familiar with syringomyelia. Your surgery was probably done by an orthopedic surgeon and he may not be familiar with this disorder. Most radiologist will pick up the syrinx on an MRI but you will probably need to see a neurosurgeon. Spinal surgery is a cause but I'm not sure what the percentage would be. There could be swelling from your surgery that is responsible or damage to the nerves in the spine. Hope you can find the answers and get the relief you deserve.

Patricia

[reedy]

A syrinx is not that hard to see if you are looking for it and have a bit of experience looking at scans - i.e., radiologists should pick it up. You probably have scans already that could be double-checked for a syrinx.
As Patricia says, the pain could also be coming from any number of other problems around the nerves. Many of the symptoms are not unique to SM.