New Member - after surgery leg numbness???

I am a new member but have been following the boards. I just had PC nerve sparring surgery at MD Anderson in Houston January 16. After my surgery - my left leg has had slight numbness from the groin area to the inside of my knee. At night it's hard to sleep. Leg feels a little heavy and weaker. Has anyone else had this issue? I was told this would get better with time. No one has really give me a straight answer as to what might be the problem. I just get the answer that it may have been the positioning. I did have both lymph nodes removed as well..

Thanks
Todd

hi todd,

Welcome to the forum..

Maybe leg numbness could be due to the removal of lymphnodes, I recall the surgeon came to the observation ward to check with me whether there was any numbness or swelling to my legs after the surgery...coz I had quite a nos of lymphnodes removed.

All the best to your speedy recovery.

 

Welcome to HW.

I had surgery recently also - open RP. I have also been experiencing numbness in both legs and my abdomen. I was trying to describe the pain/discomfort to myself and I finally thought of the incision as a cutout on a pumpkin. Inside my abdomen and into my hip areas it feels like it has been scraped out (like with a spoon on the inside of a pumpkin). I do believe that it has gotten better as I have become more mobile (walking) and staying hydrated.

I would believe that there are many nerves that are affected by the surgery, especially if you have had lymph nodes removed (I did too). Your body will take time to recover. Give it the fuel and exercise it needs and hope your discomfort fades quickly!

My left leg was numb from the groin area to the knee for 2 days after surgery.

With me, I was experiencing a very strange feeling, on occasion, after surgery. It was a very peculiar feeling -- kind of like an itching/burning combination of numbing sensations. I still get them from time to time 2+ years after surgery.

I know that they apparently do some real angling & twisting of the body during a robotic surgery, so perhaps this explains it.

Does the feeling you are referring to seem anything like what I've described?

Chuck

Resident of Highland, Indiana just outside of Chicago, IL.
July 2011 local PSA lab reading 6.41 (from 4.1 in 2009). Mayo Clinic PSA Sept. 2011 was 5.7.
Local urologist DRE revealed significant BPH, but no lumps.
PCa Dx Aug. 2011 at age of 61.
Biopsy revealed adenocarcinoma in 3 of 20 cores (one 5%, two 20%). T2C.
Gleason score 3+3=6.
CT of abdomen, bone scan both negative.
DaVinci prostatectomy 11/1/11 at Mayo Clinic (Rochester, MN), nerve sparing, age 62.
My surgeon was Dr. Matthew Tollefson, who I highly recommend.
Final pathology shows tumor confined to prostate.
5 lymph nodes, seminal vesicles, extraprostatic soft tissue all negative.
1.0 x 0.6 x 0.6 cm mass involving right posterior inferior,
right posterior apex & left mid posterior prostate.
Right posterior apex margin involved by tumor over a 0.2 cm length, doctor says this is insignificant.
Pathology showed Gleason 3 + 3, pT2c, N0, MX, R1
adenocarcinoma of the prostate.
Prostate 98.3 grams, tumor 2 grams. Prostate size 5.0 x 4.7 x 4.5 cm.
Abdominal drain removed the morning after surgery.
Catheter out in 7 days. No incontinence, occasional minor dripping.
Post-op exams 2/13/12, 9/10/12, 9/9/13 PSA <0.1. PSA tests now annual.
Firm erections now briefly happening in early mornings, 2 years post-op.

I also had numbness in my left leg for several weeks after my RALP, but mine was on the outside of my thigh from my butt to the knee, I just chalked it up to nerves running g down my leg? It went a few after a month or so.

Along the lines of this thread, yesterday I was removing a car battery from the rack at walworld, and when it came down I felt a burn in my lower left back. This morning, I can barely walk, left leg goes from cold to needles to extreme sharp pain. Something felt weird in the willy area and sure enough, total ed which wasn't there before and continence is going away. To the hospital I go today for sure.
I had always had some slight bouts of left hip pain since surgery and have been treated for it for 3 yrs. PT and low dose pain meds mostly.

Hello:  I had very bad numbness in my left arm immediately after daVinci surgery.  It was so bad that it bothered me far more than the actual prostate surgery. I could not grip a fork or even hold a glass of water for days. My whole arm felt dead and cold.  While in the hospital, I actually resigned myself to the fact that I may not have any real control of that arm again.  A neurologist was summoned and the final finding was that the damage was done during surgery while being firmly secured and tilted in the daVinci "vice".  My surgery was over 5 hours long and they told me that the pressure on my arm for that period of time caused some temporary damage to some of the nerves in the arm.  After about 2 weeks, about 80% of feeling returned although it sill felt much weaker than my right arm.  After about 2 months, all feeling and strength returned! So, your problem may simply stem from the positioning and duration in the secured position during daVanci surgery.  After all, they must keep you perfectly still during surgery with the robotic probes deep inside of you.  Good luck.

Bill K. from NJ