ADR surgeons at TBI

Hi all,
first this is a very encouraging board. After reading all the (sucess) stories, I am going to see what my options are wrt ADR.

I am currently seeing a Pysiatrist at Texas Back Instiute who has told me I am not a good candidate for ADR because my pain levels do not justify surgery. I am a Baseline 4-5 (which goes to a 6-7 once a week). I scale this relative to the discogram which I rate a 10 (writhing in the guerney screaming 10). She painted a pretty dismal picture saying ADR is typically recommended for patient who are at a baseline 8-9 and therefore are better candidates for pain improvements (logic being it cant get any worse than that)....With a baseline of 4-5 I could actually see my baseline go up after ADR.

However, that is not what i see at this Board. It looks like there is at least some improvement for everyone who has had ADR ( although the range varies).

Please could you all recommend some ADR surgeons at TBI. Preferably those who have had the procedure done by that specific doctor. PLease PM the name as I am sure one cannot list a doctors name publicly on the forum.

Appreciate
Rhaps

[Harrison]

It seems this post relates to Trace's...interesting parallel!

Any way, I was a pain level of 3-5 prior to ADR. And I managed this through exercise, using an inversion table and NSAIDs. But my L5-S1 disc was dessicated and flat. If I listened to your doc, would I have not been a good candidate? In fact, I was starting to autofuse! Good gosh!?

Pain is one of the many factors an experienced arthroplasty doctor will factor into their assessment.

You may want to refer to:

http://www.charitedisc.com/charitedev/domestic/patients...e_whentoconsider.asp

And the Q & A from the Texas Back Institute I did a while ago:

http://www.adrsupport.org/private-cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cg...t_topic;f=4;t=000001

[Alastair]

Thats a "Great Posting" Harrison

Harrison,
i had already viewed the article in your Q&A list on the ADR main page.
Excuse my ignorance but is an Arthoplasty doctor another qualification for a spine specialist?
very intresting & encouraging to hear that your basline pain was lower than mine and you saw significant improvement from the ADR.
I am thinking of picking a ADR specialist (from your list) at TBI.
thanks

[annapurna]

It is a fact that pain is a poor indicator of pathology. Pain is a quality of life issue and that generally drives decisions but it is just as important to understand the level of your degeneration and how quickly it is advancing. Possible increaing damage to surrounding structures may wind up driving you to a decision much earlier than your pain levels would.

[jf110]

I had one level lumbar ADR done at TBI last June By DR. Scott Blumnethal. He implanted a Charite disc at L5,S1. I recovered very quickley from that surgery. I went back to work (physical work) in 9 weeks. I also started back into my weight training (slowly)of course 6 weeks out. I am now training and working with no restrictions. My back is doing fine. I go to Plano TBI every 2 to 3 months for follow up. Everything is doing fine. Dr Blumenthal to me is one of the best you could possible get there at TBI. I personally feel that all of them there are very good.
Hope this helps, JF110

Hey Annapurna, I have been seeing Doc Guyer at TBI, he is great, of course i am still waiting for UHC to cover. I need a 2 level adr as per Dr. Guyer's recommendation. I don't think i will hold my breath tho. Doing okay, buy I would like to get this fixed and not have to pay for it myself. He told me about a cool 50 grand to cover it ourselves. I am just worried that it will progress and get worse. I feel the TBI is a great place to get taken care of. Good luck Yukon

Harrison, as a patient post adr, are you having anymore pain from your back problelm?? Did that disc replacement fix it once and for all?? Just wondering, you seem like you did great with it. Not sure if i can ask you questions here??? Would you recommend this procedure again??? What insurance covered yours??? You were on of the lucky ones, yes, thanks for you input Yukon

Hi Rhapsody (et al),

"It seems this post relates to Trace's...interesting parallel!"

Yes, and I think it's important to underline once again: depending on whom you see and where you live, you will get different theories regarding ADR. Some feel you have to be in agony to even consider it. Not so elsewhere.

Here in France, I was evaluated by a French NS and by DR B. Both recommended ADR regardless of my low pain factor, in order to 'fix' the level before it worsened and possibly made the surgery harder and/or impossible.

Persevere, Rhapsody--ring as many bells as you can and compare the melodies, then know that at the end of the day, only you can decide which song you prefer

Trace

[Harrison]

Rhaps, in case you did not see the post-op pain survey (in it�s glorious, unscientific design), check out the results.

You are right; most people do better, especially with the passage of time. More specifically, 86% have less pain, even at only 4 months after ADR.

Annapurna, it sounds cold about what you said about pain, but you�re right. That�s why I said it�s one of the factors docs take into consideration.

Yukon, my ADR went really well. I have no back pain afterwards, probably because my pain was entirely discogenic, and the doctor removed the entire disc/annulus. I�ll tell you more (soon) via an update to my "ADR Surgical Outcome."