What Causes Lower Back Pain Post A Hernia Repair?

Posted on Sat, 19 Aug 2017

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Sat, 19 Aug 2017 Answered on

Mon, 11 Sep 2017 Last reviewed on

Question : Hi my father who is 86 and has been relatively healthy all his life is now experiencing severe lower back pain L4 and L5 stenosis diagnosed and had a recent procedure on L1 and L2 for stenosis, is now having severe stomach issues has over the past 6-8 weeks lost 25 pounds and had a infection pustule come up at the location of a hernia repair about a year ago with the mesh in the same location they had a mesh issue with. Procedure for back in radiology on L1 and L2 3 days ago. Doctor said wait and pain should subside but has gotten worse and they said they will do L4 and L5 area next week. Just too many things all of a sudden going wrong. Upper GI last week showed nothing. He had prostrate cancer about 1 1/2 years ago.

Answered by Dr. salah saad shoman (2 hours later)

Brief Answer:
Possible malignancy of inflammatory bowel disease

Detailed Answer:
Dear sir , I have gone through your question and I understand your concerns but losing 25 pounds in 6-8 weeks obviously raises the suspicions of malignant burden which could be either an undetected metastasis of the previous prostatic cancer ( possibly to bones, lungs and Liver ) or a new unrelated tumor. I would recommend that he gets a full body ct scan or MRI scan to exclude or detect the presence of any abnormal growth of the body ..
Another cause of weight loss could be inflammatory bowel diseases which can be detected with a colposcopy ..colonoscopy can be performed in patients aged above 80 years but they will benefit less that younger patients and will be more prone to the hazards of anesthesia .. I hope you find this helpful

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Raju A.T