Dr. Arun Saroha

Consultant spine surgeon, treating conditions of the neck and back — disc prolapse, sciatica, spinal stenosis and instability. Much of the work is deciding who does NOT need surgery: leg pain that follows a nerve, matches the MRI and has not settled with conservative treatment is a different case from back pain alone, and the consultation is where that distinction is made.

What a spine surgeon treats

Disc prolapse, sciatica, spinal stenosis, instability and deformity of the neck and back. Operations range from a microdiscectomy through a two-centimetre incision to decompression, disc replacement and multi-level fusion.

When you would be referred

Leg pain that follows a nerve path and has not settled after six to twelve weeks of conservative treatment, or walking distance that has shrunk because of pain and heaviness in the legs. Some presentations are urgent: new weakness in a leg, or loss of bladder or bowel control, needs assessment immediately rather than an outpatient appointment.

At the first consultation

Much of the work here is deciding who does not need surgery. Leg pain that matches the level shown on the MRI is a different case from back pain alone, and the two have very different odds of being helped by an operation. Expect the MRI to be reviewed against your symptoms rather than on its own — scans of painless spines routinely show disc bulges.

What to bring, and what to ask

Your MRI images, not just the report, and a clear account of where the pain goes and what makes it better or worse. Worth asking: is this operation aimed at my leg pain or my back pain, what happens if I wait, would decompression alone do, and what is the plan if a fusion does not fuse.