Leg / Groin Pain Post Surgery

As someone who suffered from a slipped disc 30 years ago, I can sympathise with the pain and trouble you are experiencing.  The pain would go down the back of my leg and into the foot with tingling before the agony sets in.  Initially it was my left leg then some years later moved to the right leg.  Currently it is behaving itself but your symptoms of walking, resting etc is almost identical.

I found this article which seems to be an exact match.  Prostatectomy, lymphocele etc.

Quote "Lymphocele formation was the most common cause of hospital readmission after radical prostatectomy."

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5927813/

Edited by member 02 Dec 2018 at 19:02  | Reason: Not specified

Hi Mr Angry and thanks very much for your input and the article - I've added it to my 'ammo' file. Sorry to hear about your own pain issues and glad things are stable!

Hi Tom - my lymphocele was a mere 2cm at its widest point - really small but it caused one hell of a lot of pain!

I can't tell you how difficult it was to insist that I believed it was the source of my problems - all I can say is be as much of a pain in the arse as you can!!!

Sometimes the patient knows best - which doesn't always go down well with some medical professionals. To me it was pretty obvious but hey....

Best of luck to you father in law!

Simon 👍👍👍

Dear Simon I hope you don't mind one more question.

Could you share the name of the doctor who helped you?

Best

Tom

One of the few rules for this forum is that we are not permitted to name medical professionals. We aren't supposed to name hospitals or clinics either but everyone ignores that 😒 

Based on my own experience, my initial suggestion is simply don't give up!

In my case I kind of always knew / felt that the culprit of my 5 years of pain was the lymphocele I was left with post surgery. Apparently lymphoceles are pretty common after any kind of abdominal procedure but don't always cause any lasting issues. I guess if your MRI doesn't show any then that can't be the cause of your pain.

The pains you describe sound different to mine which were essentially caused by the repetitive movement of walking which resulted in the lymphocele rubbing against the obturator nerve leading to my right leg. In fact the lymphocele effectively 'straddled' the nerve. No amount of drugs even touched the pain I experienced - I simply couldn't get them into me in time for them to be effective. Tried 2 different nerve blocks and loads of nerve tests. My neurologist utterly dismissed the lymphocele as the cause of the pain - she knows better now - a learning experience :-)

Best of luck with your search for a solution - maybe someone else will pop along with suggestions.

Hi Simon. I have recently had a radical prostatectomy (April 2023) and have started to develop the same symptoms post op - i.e.sharp pain at the top of my leg/groin area. So about 4 weeks after surgery as I was walking, I started getting strong stabbing pain at the top of my right leg/groin area. The only way I can attempt to describe it is -  it is rather like a burning sensation which starts in that area and then radiates around to my hip and then lower back. It is difficult to analyse whether it is a nerve or muscular pain. I have monitored it exactly and it is after approximately 1 mile of walking that the pain jabs start. If I then take a 5 minute break, I am able to continue before it recurs. I am also now starting to get the pain when at rest so I have taken ibuprofen as needed which seems to help. I have spoken to my consultant who at this stage does not think it has anything to do with the operation and could not be a lymphocele as he didn't do a lymph node dissection. He thinks it would be more likely that it is either orthopaedic in nature or a hernia. I have no sign of a hernia (no bulge etc..). Your symptoms seem to be very close to mine and I would rather not wait 5 years to find out a treatment!! Can anyone else out there in a similar situation please get back to me as this is now getting frustrating! Steve (UK)

Many thanks for getting back to me. So you're a little ahead of me - very interested to hear how you get on, so do keep in touch. I was very active (5 mile walks each day and landscaping) so this is becoming a real worry. Good to hear your continence is back, mine is definitely improving but still need a pad and there is the occasional wet bed - god, the last time I had that I was 8 year old!

Best wishes

Steve

So it transpires I have a hernia as the lump is now very visible. Seeing my doctor Friday.

Best wishes

Steve

Hi Steve,

At least you know what's going on always better once you you find out what's going on .

Good luck.

I had a 65cc prostate the surgeon said this was the max for the type of procedure I had.

I'll keep you guys posted in a week or so as to my progress and my way of treatment cheers Stephen.

I started a new thread 2,3 days ago on this subject but cannot find it again.

What can I do to SEARCH and find it?

Mistermind, looking at your profile you only have two posts on here the one above and the first test one you did. Sometimes you can start a new conversation and think it has worked but in reality it hasn't. If you click your name next to your avitar and look at your profile you can see your previous posts.

I will often select and copy my text before completing a post, there is nothing more frustrating than spending a long time typing only to lose the post.

When posting a new conversation there are certain criteria you need to meet, including confirmation of the subject or area. Many of us start a new conversation of our own an just keep adding to it. I look at all posts irrespective of the subject.

Just noticed Lyn has posted while I was typing.

Thanks Chris 

This thread is as related to my issue as any other -- except that my issue did NOT follow surgery. Mine arose out of the blue, first time in my life. Having said that I am also age 82 for the first time in my life and thus reasonable that there will be a first time for everything.

I hesitate to use the word "PAIN", preferring as description "persisting ache" or "soreness". Five weeks after this first arose I still do not have definitive proof whether this is muscle/tendon related or the result of metatstaic cancer tissue spreading and squeesing on bones and nerves and vertebra foramen (specifically impacting my right thigh but not lower leg, while left thigh remains 100%.

If this is due to muscle tighness or knot in vastus lateralis or medialis or sartorius (not hamstring), or lymph node, a really knowledgeable masseur or masseuse hopefully can rectify this condition. I paid two sessions of £70 and £55 for massage, but the practitioner obviously did not have the insight for pinpoint-precise remedy. In two days I shall see the Oncology Registrar in my prestigious London hospital, hopefully to get a diagnosis and remedy, hopeful not confident.

My prostate high PSA alarm was known 11 years ago. Androgen deprivation following confirmation of metatasis was started by my consent only two years ago, comprising daily bicalutamide and 3-monthly Protap injection. For 11 years I was totally asymptomatic from anywhere in my body and persisted so -- until 5 weeks ago. Up until 5 weeks ago i did a scenic exercise walk of 1.5 miles per day taking 50 minutes and feeling noticeably better for it.

I shall discuss with the Registrar whether to start Enzolutamide or Arbiraterone.

Docetaxel I am wary of as it has a high chance of triggering total hair loss. Info and experience would be appreciated.

I was referring to the use of "orifice" LOL

🤣🤣🤣🫣

It may be my Registrar, if I get to see her, has never encountered lymphocele-obturator squash-up before.

Where would be the smoking gun to prove this squeezing (and not metastatic cancer tissue encroaching on vertebra foramen and nerves)? In other words the collision of lymph noe and nerve takes place in the right buttock and under the quadriceps, not in the classic location around the spine?

Please, what procedure finally produced the imaging that pinpointed the location and persuaded the specialist finally towards draining the lymphocele? Thanks.

As I never had lymphodenectomy there were no lymphoceles to leak lymph. However my previous MRI revealed the existence of my 11-mm iliac lymph node. In general I wonder if one lymph node or another in some sensitive cramped location could generate pressure which is then felt by the Obturator nerve.

That kind of pressure might explain intermittent worsening or easing nerve response, according to pressure and activity and placement of leg? I shall put this to my Registrar tomorrow and hope she does not laugh me out of court.

After having my soothing cleansing hot shower, I now aim COLD water from the shower-head at my leg/groin. This seems to persuade nature to cool it and my ache signals become muffled or less noticeable -- at least for a period of time.

I surmise that pain and pleasure signals are to some extent subjective -- if the body and mind are persuaded or cajoled into believing that an upswing or downswing is in progress, that interpretation will be accentuated.

If cold water spray or immersion helps, well cold water unlike painkiller pills will never become addictive.