Lots going on with me.

I'm having to type this with one hand; the other (left) is bound up. Please bear with any typos.

Almost a year ago, this January, I had ACDF surgery (and posted about it on another thread) that involved cadaver bone, fusion, plates, etc. The pain manifested in my left arm so, while trying to favor that arm, I picked up a flat of bottled water with my right arm and ripped my supraspinatus clean into. I couldn't have an MRI that close to the ACDF because of the plates, so I had to wait for a diagnosis on the right shoulder. As I said, it turned out to be a full tear and had no blood flow to the area for about 3 months, so the surgery to repair it (just 12 weeks after the ACDF) became an ordeal. I'm right-handed, but I had to have my right arm bound to my body for 8 weeks before I could even go to PT.

I'm able to move my right arm again but then something else weird happened. On my left hand, something just showed up between my pinkie and ring finger. I thought it was a cyst, but it was too hard for that, really. My Ortho said, "No, Sis, it's not a cyst", and made an appointment for me with a hand surgeon. I had x-rays and, come to find out, all the bones in that hand are covered with all these weird "extra" bones, just growing all over. In fact, I was told that it's very likely that if I had a full body x-ray, these extra bones would be all over my skeleton. Three days ago, I had to go through yet another general anesthesia and have that bone cut out (it was pressing on a nerve). So... three generals this year; three seemingly unrelated issues and now we come to the point of this thread: my left hand. Even before the surgeon cut out that bone a few days ago, I have had, the past couple of months, a very isolated place on the ball of my hand just below my index finger that feels exactly as if I've burned it on a curling iron. (I haven't.) It's a raw, exterior burning, not any sort of internal "fever" thing. It's completely surface. But it burns like a blister. It looks fine.

So.... of all these surgeries, would you say this burning is neuropathic and more likely related to some nerve ending following the ACDF? I won't see my surgeon again until next week, but he's the "hand guy" and maybe I should be talking to the neurosurgeon? That's just it; I have no clue who to approach about this.

Anyone ever heard of this sort of thing?

Hi, rocckyd. The hand surgeon hasn't updated my chart (that I can log in and read online) so I'm not sure what kind of bone growth this is, but he did mention something called "bony exostosis". He said that it's hereditary. I was shocked, looking at my hand x-ray, to see just how many extra bones there are, just sprouting out all over.

I sort of lean toward this burning being perhaps connected to the ACDF. My left index finger and thumb are still numb, almost a year later, but that area on my hand has become a steady burn and feels as if I've just touched an iron, or something. Nerve pain, like you said, makes sense.

My Ortho made an appointment for me to see another doctor in pain management. I've lost track of how many doctors I'm currently seeing but, sitting here, counting it out.... seven, currently, if I've not forgotten one. Wonder how many new golf clubs I've personally paid for?

Hi, mckaren! I'm not taking anything for post-surgery pain other than the Lortab surgeon prescribed last Friday, but this burning sensation is more painful than the surgery wound. Every few minutes, it's like I've pressed that part of my hand against a lit cigarette or a curling iron. I do tend to think this is neuropathy, but, to be honest, it's hard to tell when I have such a grab bag of other things going on, ha! But I intend to talk to the neurosurgeon about it, to at least find out if this is a side effect of ACDF. (I want to remember to ask him about neurography, as well; I've not heard of that.) Thanks so much!

AngMichelle, thanks so much! I can't even imagine this burning of mine being to the degree that yours is! Before my ACDF surgery, my entire left arm felt as if it was being crushed in a vice, but to have an entire arm experience the kind of burning you're talking about is more than I can wrap my head around. I cringe, just thinking about it! I hope you're able to get some lasting relief.