Expert: Dr Ian Jackson - please note UK based - 7/21/2007

Question
Hi,
I am a 31 year old woman who had spinal anesthesia one month ago for a knee scope.  A student at the hospital administered the anesthesia while being monitored by the anesthesiologist.  I didn't know that he was a student until he was almost done with the procedure.  At one point, he said that he couldn't get it in, the doctor in charge of him told him to just push it in.  One month later, I still have soreness and some pain in the sight where they did the spinal.  I had a spinal before for another knee surgery.  That spinal was much lower on my back than this one, involved only one prick, unlike this one which involved several pricks.  My previous experience with a spinal did not involve any pain afterwards.  I'm wondering if this is normal for me to still have tenderness and pain in that area.  There is not any redness or signs of infection.  I am unable to tell if there is any swelling, but I don't think that there is.  thanks for your help.
Danielle

Answer
Hi Danielle
I suspect that the person doing the spinal on this occasion was a trainee anaesthetist i.e. someone who has trained as a doctor and is now sub specialising in anaesthesia. I also suspect that the inexperience of the person doing the procedure meant that they struggled to find the right place to put the needle and so you felt several pricks as they attempted to insert the needle between the bones of your back. I have no doubt that this has caused a degree of bruising over the area concerned and this is causing the tenderness.
I am afraid that there is not much that you can do about this though I would recommend regular exercise (swimming, cycling, jogging or even just long walks) as this will help keep your back mobile and probably speed up your recovery. Mind you that does depend on the success of your knee op!
Kind regards
Dr Ian Jackson