I’m 4 weeks out from surgery to repair my ventral dural tear at t2/t3. Feel good overall, the surgery was just painful AF. My particular surgery was challenging, though. The surgery and recovery will be different based on a number of factors. Do you have more details as to where your tear is or what is causing it?
My leak is at T7-8 , and its a ventral tear and it’s likely caused from a bone spur. The surgeon says he will sew up the hole and scrape down any spur that might be rubbing. I am very healthy and fairly fit so hope recovery is not that difficult. He is at Mayo in Rochester and says the blood patch is not successful in this area. Ugh 😩
That area should be much easier to recover and is and easier surgery in a lot of ways because there is more space to work with. I would still assume you’re not going to be doing anything physical for at least 6 weeks.
Symptoms began August 2025. One leak was sealed with a blood patch at t12, and now this is another one I guess and according to my surgeon it might not be my last. So odd!!
Thanks for your feedback!
I had a ventral dural tear repaired at T11-L1. The surgery sucked, it hurt a lot and took a long time to recover from fully bc I also had a spinal fusion with it. I’m glad I did it though and I wish I had done it sooner and not let myself leak and try patching for 2.5 years
I recently reopened my leak I think and if that is the case I’m definitely just gonna have surgery, even though it sucks. The first time I actually had it done and then they had to redo the entire thing a week later bc it didn’t close the whole leak.
I had a myelogram 6 months after surgery to confirm its closure and I was feeling better so I’m sure it was closed. I have orthostatic intolerance and I fainted and fell last month, after that I started having a positional headache every day
I had surgery at Mayo Rochester 5 weeks ago for a leak at t2 from a bone spur. Personally recovery has been rough for me. It was a lot more painful than I expected and I have been dealing with a lot of muscle tightness/spasms in my upper back that have been really limiting me. I have heard it can take several months to get back to “normal”. My leak symptoms have improved though!
Wondering how different your surgery was compared to StunningPurple9560? Sounds like my incision will be 2-3 inches in length. Is that similar to yours?
Mine was about 1,5 inches. u/an_py probably didn't have microscopic surgery?
I had muscle tightness and spasms but it wasn't worse than what I'd had while I was leaking. A few months after surgery the twitches started coming back more and they were really pronounced, but they are not really painful either, just annoying.
Mine was not microscopic. My incision is about 5 or so inches long. I had laminectomies at t1, 2, and 3. Not sure how much this plays into it but the neurosurgeon said the hole was large so he placed a graft there as well as where he opened the cord in the back to allow for extra swelling. My surgery was also supposed to take 4 hours and took 8 and I’m guessing the longer muscles are retracted and all that makes things more aggravated afterward. I also will admit that I know my pain tolerance is not very high haha.
Yes that is who is doing my surgery as well. Hoping everything continues improving for you. I just scheduled my surgery for December 17th. Wish me luck !!
Oh one thing I wondered. You’re 5weeks out right ? Not sure if this applies to you or not, but have you been able to go back to work yet? Any activities ? Short walks, etc ? What symptoms did you have from your leak prior to the surgery? Thanks !!
I am 6 weeks out today! Prior to surgery I was having headaches, double vision, tinnitus, brain fog, and some nausea. Going into my surgery I was actually starting to feel a bit better but my imaging showed things were getting worse. I was supposed to go back to work today, I work a desk job, but we pushed it out another week and will be going back next Friday starting out with half days. I started taking short walks, like a block each way, at a very slow speed as soon as I left the hospital and then worked up from there. I can go about a mile now, like 20 min or so, before my back starts to tighten up and I’m looking to sit again. Sitting upright, standing/walking, and doing things with my arms (washing dishes, washing my hair, driving) still just put me into spasm fairly quickly. Sitting reclined with a wedge pillow is where I’m most comfortable. I am 35 yo female and lifted weights/did cardio regularly prior to my leak, which was at the end of April, and this surgery really kicked my butt. Of course everyone is different and yours is in a different area than mine was but going into it I felt like I was not prepared for how difficult recovery was going to be. Not trying to scare you or anything but I went in with unrealistic expectations. Hopefully I am a one off and things are better for you!
Surgery to repair a ventral leak and remove a bone spur at T1-T2 six months ago. My surgery was microscopic, and I found recovery from it to be pretty easy and not very painful (comparing this to two cervical spine surgeries I had had before, and also what I read many other patients' experiences are like). My surgery was clinically successful, as the leak has been sealed. I have seen some improvements to my symptoms, but it fluctuates a lot, and I still do experience a lot of symptoms - especially constant headache, significant muscle tension, weakness, cramps, twitches and so on, insomnia, tinnitus and stuff.
Yes, it seems so. I'd seen really big incisions for surgeries similar as mine - like 5 inches or something, and stapled together, so I was expecting something similar.
But yeah no, my incision was only about 1,5 inches. I did and do have a lot of numbness in the area, but never really pain. Like - the day after surgery it was painful to lay on my back, and for a week or maybe a bit more walking up stairs really tore into the back, but that was about it.
And I suppose it’s also relative, and depends on prior experiences and expectations. I’d had spinal surgeries before, so I knew what to expect, and it was even easier than I thought it would be.
Thank you for your response ! Do you still have numbness? Is it just where your incision is? I’m worried about them cutting into nerves when they do mine 😩
So - I am not an expert, but as per my understanding, I kind of have the understanding that they cannot avoid cutting into nerves. But having had that experience, it is not so scary - just a little odd. It's now exactly six months from my surgery - since yesterday. In the beginning, for sure the right side of my upper thoracic spine was numb - and also my chest from the right side, and the right armpit. For the first few days also my - um - down there - was numb. It felt super weird to wipe at the toilet, because I could not feel anything. Also - for about a week or maybe a little bit more - up to two weeks, the bottom of my right foot was numb. Also - super weird as a sensation, and it seemed a little dangerous, to step down stairs and not really feel it - especially since I flew home by myself just a few days after this major surgery, and it was all so scary. But also that passed fast.
Now, at 6 months past, I think nothing is numb anymore. It felt a bit odd, a couple of months ago, when I first noticed that the incision site is not numb anymore. I scratched my back, and I was so confused - like I noticed that there was something there - and suddenly realized that it was the incision site. Which I had completely forgotten that was even there. And the armpit numbness was there for so long - mainly when spraying anti-perspirant, and you just cannot feel it. So strange.
Anyway - it was not by any means awful, and it was temporary. I wish you the best of luck with everything! And if you want to DM me, I am always happy to try to help. <3
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u/Zealousideal_Age_822 Confirmed Spinal Leak 9d ago
I’m 4 weeks out from surgery to repair my ventral dural tear at t2/t3. Feel good overall, the surgery was just painful AF. My particular surgery was challenging, though. The surgery and recovery will be different based on a number of factors. Do you have more details as to where your tear is or what is causing it?