[ZorroSF]

In my opinion you want it done as close to home as possible unless you know someone in texas close to the hospital that you can stay with for 2 weeks. Regardless of the disc involved, spine surgery in general is dibilitating and you will require assitance for at least 2 weeks.

Taking a trip from TX to NC (by air or car) right after major surgery is not recommended.

Another thing to think about is the amount of experience the doctor has. Of course, the more the better. However, some surgeons are so good, that their first 25 operations will be sucessful.

I stayed in San Francisco cause I wanted the prodisc and it wasn't being offered in Oregon or Washington by experienced surgeons. My surgeon was part of the FDA trial and has a lot of experience even if he hasn't had 100% success rate. I took a chance and it paid off so far.

At this point in time most of the US is only offering the Charity Disc. From what I have read, if the surgery is performed by an experienced surgeon then it doesn't matter if the disc is charity or prodisc.

I'd focus on your pain management and how much longer you think you can tolerate the pain. It will probably take 6 months before you can get an operation date. You also need to take into effect your insurance. If you go out of state your insurance might not cover as much as if you stayed in your home state. I know my bill would've increased greatly if I went to a different state.