Question:
Has anyone experienced leg numbness after surgery?

   — Betty M. (posted on June 26, 2004)

June 26, 2004
I had this problem and it did eventually go away. I had my surgery LAP and they told me it was a temporary condition due to the way I was placed on the table and moved around during the surgery. Just make your doctor aware of it and make sure it does go away.
   — Cathy S.

June 27, 2004
I had numbness in my right thigh. It went away at about 1 1/2 months post-op. I called the doctor about it at 1 week post op and they said that it was just from the way I was moved during surgery and then laying in bed the next few days. They weren't worried about it. I am now 3 months post op and it's gone. Julie Glennie LAP RNY 3/17/04 341/268/165
   — Julie Rich

June 27, 2004
Yep...it's called meralgia paresthetica.It's a compression of a superficial nerve in the groin area...It can be caused by how you are positioned on the operating table.I had this prior to surgery though and it was due to the extra weight, so it did improve after I had weightloss surgery.If it starts to cause you pain as it did in my case, over the counter capsaisin cream works great.
   — jennifer A.

June 28, 2004
Yes, and it is still there, after nearly a year. As the others said, it is due to positioning on the table. This is one reason my doc stopped doing the lap surgery; with the open the patients were on the table an hour less. As for the leg numbness; Doc said I might want to see a neurologist. My PT wife says that also, but that I might have permanent damage and it will never be 100%. It's not all bad news; that numb area is where I give myself my monthy B12 shot!
   — jimarnett

June 28, 2004
Please go have this checked IMMEDIATELY! About 3 months after surgery, I started getting sick everytime I ate and so started being careful what I ate. Unfortunately, everything I ate made me sick, so I quit eating. Without eating I wasn't taking my vitamins and I noticed that my legs started getting numb. I was going to my doctor this whole time, telling him that I wasn't eating and that my legs were going numb. He was treating the nausea, but did nothing for the numbness. To make a long story short, after 3 trips to ER and 2 hosp admissions, I now have neuropathy from my chest down that was caused by a vitamin B deficiency. I take massive dosages of vitamins B1, B6 and B12 daily and walk with a walker. I am improving, but they estimate that it will be at least a year and possibly 3 years before the feeling comes back, assuming that I do not have permanent nerve damage. Hopefully your numbness is caused from positioning on the table, but losing the use of your legs is not something you want to mess with. I should have been more vocal and persistant, but was just too sick to fight and if not for my sister throwing a hissy fit, I'd be in a wheelchair or worse.
   — tmchase62