Oh, that's one of those very delicate nerve areas, some spinal surgeons won't go there. Am truly sorry to hear yours was damaged by whatever surgery performed.
I've been disabled since early 2006 (since 43 years old), had a 4 level lumbar fusion that wouldn't had been performed at today's age. While the surgeon did fix what was wrong, it would cause more issues & today am in pain management & will be so for my remaining lifespan. For the first 18 months to 2 years while my nerves & other tissues were healing, there would be pain spikes like fire, no amount of rescue pain meds would tame this. All I could do was bury my head into a pillow & hang on.
Of course, at that time, the surgeon, while acknowledging the root cause was severe wear & tear on my spine, stated smoking didn't help & that I'd have to quit for at least 6 months afterwards for proper healing. I lied & said I wasn't smoking while doing so, and the post 6 month CT scan was 100% normal......so much for his theory.
So be it smoking,
vaping or drinking in excess, if the doctor(s) know we do it, that's the first issue many will blame for whatever illness. Today, my pain management doctor, rather than celebrates I'm alive due to having quit smoking, says that the nicotine constricts blood vessels & narrows those going to the spinal column. BTW, I have degenerative disc disease, am hoping for no more surgery, would rather accept pain relief rather than their 'cure'.
He can say what he wishes, I'm going to
vape on!
Cat