Expert: Ronald Levy, M.D. - 2/22/2009

Question
I recently went through labor/delivery.The resident who put in my first epidural had problems with it. It took about 20 minutes & spinal fluid leaked out. The next day I had to have another one done.It's been a month since delivery & I'm still having bad pain in that area. It's not surface pain so it's not infected but it's quite painful. My OB/GYN says to have an MRI to see what's going on. Is it normal to have bad pain so long after delivering?

Answer
It is not impossible but you should probably get it looked at. The 2nd epidural was a blood patch to seal the leak from the spinal fluid leak (spinal headache). It is not uncommon to have soreness at the injection site but it should dissipate with time. I agree it's not likely anything serious but you should be seen for evaluation.

Ronald Levy, MD
Professor of Anesthesiology
UTMB-Galveston