Back Op & flying 6 weeks later
I flew Tornado, actually burst a disc, had (minor) spinal surgery & was flying 6 weeks later!
Burst L4/5 & effectively had a hydraulic leak (disc fluid) into the electrical system (spinal column) which was messing up the nerve transmission
Physio was useless
The simple version was to remove the hydraulic fluid from the electrical system & all was fine
Technically it was a hemi-laminectomy (I think), where they made a semi-circular hole in the projection on one of the vertabrae to allow them to reach the fluid & suck it out
Because there was no alteration to the structure of the spine, there was no ejection seat issue & it was merely a case of post-op recovery
I was fortunate that the GP that refered me was an av-med specialist & refered me to a doc who he knew had done the exact same op 12 months previously - I was in Saudi Arabia at the time & he was a BAE doc
Consequently I have been fine & flew for some 2 years before retiring. My back is now better than it ever was - no twinging or anything
If you want to talk specifics further, please PM me
Last edited by NorthernSID; 13th Aug 2008 at 12:52.
Reason: Extra info & spelling