Yes, such a possibility does indeed exist. It may be necessary to have a second operation next to the operation. There may be various reasons for such a situation. First, if you disregard the rules that your surgeon asks you to follow after the surgery, you can reset the chances of your surgery to be successful and you will have to have the surgery again. Doctors call this a “relapse”. For example, the recurrence rate after herniated disc surgery varies between 5-10% and unfortunately this rate is the same in all surgical methods. A herniated disc in the same disc space but on the opposite side of the operated side or in another disc space does not mean recurrence. This means a new lumbar hernia and is not called a recurrence. It is common for other discs to deteriorate over time and a new disc herniation occurs.
Secondly, if you do not take the necessary precautions and change your lifestyle after the surgery, a similar problem may arise in the organs adjacent to the area where you have surgery; that is, the disc adjacent to your operated disc may also herniate. Don’t you think you have six discs in your neck, ten in your back and six more in your waist waiting in line? This is what doctors call “adjacent segment disease.”
Third, some diseases tend to recur due to their nature, so you may still need to have surgery again despite all the precautions taken, for example, you may have to have surgery 3-4 times in a row for some brain tumors. This is what doctors call “recurrence”.
As a fourth possibility; Your surgeon may decide to perform the operation up to a point, sometimes depending on an unexpected setback he encounters during the operation, and sometimes as a pre-planned one, and to do the rest later and at a more convenient time.
Doctors call this “residue” among themselves. Of course, this decision is not arbitrary, it is a decision taken to protect the health of the patient.
