My name is Gene and I am suffering with long term spinal
problems. So far I have lived with the constant pain, but it is slowly
becoming more of a problem. I have met with a number of specialists to
evaluate my problems and hopefully come up with some solutions. They all
agreed that I have serious spinal injuries, but are lacking in the answers
category. I can't even get a consistent diagnosis.

What I know at this point is that I have four damaged discs in my
cervical area along with arthritic changes which include bone spurs. I
also have a damaged disc in the lower lumbar region.

My current doctor suggested a four disc fusion and would not seriously
discuss ADR. His advice was to search out a clinical trial and hope that
I could get them to take exception to the two disc limit that seems to
be the norm in the US. As usual, the European option is not taken
seriously.

I don't like the blind study reality of clinical trials which are
typically spearheaded by surgeons inexperienced in the technique being
tested. That's not good enough when this much is riding on the line.

I want to find the best doctors with the most inexperience in cervical
ADR, but so far that has been a difficult task which has finally led me
here.

I was first attracted to Stenum Hospital. It sounded great, but them I
began reading the input form the forums and took a few steps back when I
read some of the horror stories. What am I supposed to believe? Where
can I get neutral reliable information on doctors who really know there
stuff when it comes to ADR? Which technology is the best for me. Has the
technology really come of age. The list of questions go on.

I know I have to do something about my condition soon, but there's one
thing I don't want to do, and that is make worse, which seems to be a
real possibility if I don't make the right decisions. I need help in
that pursuit. The US doctors I have talked to so far, have not been
helpful. Ideally, I would like to work with a doctor in my area. I live
in California. It's a long way from Germany if something goes wrong,
not to mention the out of pocket expense. Are doctors in US experienced
enough with cervical ADR and would they attempt a four level replacement?

This is getting scary. I hope you can provide some answers and/or point
me in the right direction to get some.

Gene:

I sent you a PM and I would be happy to discuss your issues with you. I definitely understand your concerns. Who do you have for insurance and, are they willing to approve any ADR surgeries?

Terry Newton

I was thrilled to hear you live in CA (so do I). I had my 3 cervical ADRs done in Germany (Bertagnoli), but Drs. Regan, Delamarter and Kropf all do cervical ADRs in CA and I've not heard of any negative results/stories. I believe Regan is in Beverly Hills and Kropf and Delamarter work out of St. John's Hospital in Santa Monica. I think you're very wise to be concerned about the surgeon - not too many docs in the U.S. have much experience at this yet.

Hope you're able to find a surgeon you feel comfortable with and get a lot of relief.

I'll be the negative voice in the crowd. With bone spurs at the C-spine levels, you'll need to ask your surgeon to really spend time evaluating whether or not ADR is safe for you. It is possible, not certain, that the osteophytes, bone spurs, also involve your facets or exist because you've been fighting this long enough for your facets to also be involved. If so, ADR may not work and/or may work but not take away all your pain. This isn't intended to be doom and gloom but a call to research carefully. Facets are more of a lumbar problem but can intefere with c-spine to some extent.

Hi Lisa,

I would be interested in talking to you about you knowledge of doctors doing ADR, especially those in CA. I am just beginning the process of finding out about procedures ans physicians so I'm looking for all the help I can get while I still have time to make choices.

Thanks

Gene

Gene

Where in CA? Such a big state and it seems like the most frequently mentioned ones are in socal. Is that where you are? You're lucky because CA has a lot of ADR experienced drs! I flew to socal for my ADR surgery.

The first hurdle for you is finding a surgeon you feel comfortable with but read as much as you can about your specific circumstances and write a list of questions to bring with you to drs office.

seek out people here with the same issues. Use the "find" tab for things like bone spurs etc.

Hi,

Thanks for your reply.

Somehow, I don't feel lucky after the conversations I had with a few local doctors. If you know of doctors in CA that have experience with multiple ADR, I would certainly be interested in hearing about them. I am in the San Francisco Bay area.

Would love to chat sometime.

Gene

I think you should probably take a southwest flight down to LA and meet with Dr. Bae or Dr.Kropf, if they are in your insurance plan. And perhaps Dr. Regan who has a separate practice outside of LA Spine Instit.

And if you can also go down to San Diego, meet with Dr. Peppers or Dr. Westerlund, both at Core Orthopaedics. I had surgery with Dr. Westerlund. I picked San Diego because I used to live there and felt more comfortable in a more familiar area where I have friends to help me in my recovery before I flew home. I really liked Dr. Westerlund and Dr. Dandan (vascular surgeon) but I did not like my hospital experience at all. There were too few people at the hospital that were truly helpful and compassionate. So I have mixed feeling whether to recommend SD as a option. If you end up having surgery at Scripps Encinitas, you must have someone to stay with you as much as possible in the hosp room to help you. I can be more specific if and when you find out you'll be there.

Just look these drs up on the internet and call their offices to see if they do what you need and whether they accept your insurance, and check to make sure the respective hospitals accept your insurance.

I know there is someone up in SF but I do not recall their name and what the opinion was about them. You could do a search using "San Francisco" as your search criteria and see what you find.