Can Cauda Equina Syndrome Be Treated Conservatively?

Can cauda equina syndrome be treated conservatively, but must it be treated with surgical intervention? In this article we explore how cauda equina syndrome should be treated, helping you understand whether an operation might be required.

Do I need surgery for cauda equina syndrome?

Cauda equina syndrome cannot be treated conservatively. In other words, it cannot be treated with non-invasive techniques such as medication and physiotherapy. Furthermore, it is not possible to see whether the condition ‘settles down’ and symptoms improve. If doctors recommend conservative management, the level of care will be wholly inappropriate.

Therefore cauda equina syndrome must be treated with surgical decompression. If you have cauda equina syndrome, you will need an operation. Cauda equina syndrome cannot be resolved without surgery.

What happens if I don’t have surgery?

Without surgery the patient will experience a clear-cut deterioration over the following days. In particular there may be the onset of urinary disturbances with incontinence, retention and numbness. This represents a rapidly progressive and complete cauda equina syndrome.

Once the patient has reached this stage, the nerves will be severely damaged. Even if surgery is then carried out, it will not produce a positive effect. The patient will have long-term neurological injury, and the symptoms they are experiencing will be permanent.

Can this outcome be avoided?

This bleak outcome can be avoided with timely surgery. Cauda equina syndrome progresses very quickly, so surgery must be performed immediately. It is not accepted to wait and see how the condition develops. A patient needs surgical intervention on an emergency basis.

As long as the nerves are surgically decompressed before the condition becomes progresses, the outcome can be good or even excellent. If treatment is given early enough, it is possible to avoid bladder and bowel dysfunction, neuropathic pain and severe sensory loss.

Failure to treat cauda equina syndrome with emergency surgery

If doctors decide to delay surgery in the hope that the cauda equina syndrome will resolve by itself, the level of care will be deemed substandard. If this causes a patient harm – which it undoubtedly will, given the nature of the condition – there will be grounds for a medical negligence claim.

If medical practitioners failed to offer you an emergency operation to decompress your cauda equina nerves, meaning you suffered a poor outcome, please get in touch with us today. You could be entitled to claim compensation.

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