Hello there!
 

I've been lurking on these boards for a while now... Decided it was time to officially join and hopefully learn even more about my options.

Bit about me...

I'm 31 and have been having back issues since the summer of 2010. I was training for strongman with some friends who are much stronger than I (330 lbs in each hand, while walking seemed like a great idea at the time). Felt a pinch and it's been downhill ever since.

Had X-rays taken and never received a call back/was living in China and wanted to get the hell out of here, so I went back with my slight pinch... I kept training in China (kickboxing and weights) and my symptoms got worse and worse...eventually to the point where I found it very difficult to walk.

At this point I figured, why not try Chinese medicine (since I'm already here) before I head back home. I started acupuncture treatments in the winter of 2011, and to my astonishment, after two weeks of treatment, I was 100% pain-free! I was so happy and wanted to make sure I took advantage of this pain free time!

From early 2012 until May of 2013, I was completely pain-free and training very hard in Thailand. I returned back to Beijing and the pain worsened...Eventually, I had an MRI taken in Beijing (150 bucks, 3 hours lol), and the doctor told me that my condition wouldn't get better without surgery. This bummed me right out and made me realize that my wonderful relaxing lifestyle of 5 years in the middle kingdom was about to end...

Came back to Canada at the end of October 2013 and waited a good long time to see a specialist to read my scans. I saw 3 surgeons here and all of them recommended fusion (L4-S1). I got a job and worked with some crazy pain for about half the year (friggin hurt!). After this, I caved in and told my doctor I was ready for the fusion. I'm the type of person who likes to know what I'm getting into, and what I read about fusions was pretty awful...the bad severely outweighed the good and I started having a very bad feeling about my upcoming surgery.

At 22 hours pre-op, I called to tell them I was cancelling my procedure and started having acupuncture here. The acupuncture here wasn't even close to as effective as it was in China (and significantly more expensive! 65 bucks a pop versus 6...lol). Two thousand dollars and 3 practitioners later, I decided to pull the plug on my local acupuncture experiment.

This brings me to now (anyone who has actually read this intro, I'm so sorry lol)... Year and a half of depression and 60 lbs of weight later :(

I found out about this site while googling alternatives to fusion and came upon the TOPS system. I then checked online where they were doing this surgery and eventually contacted Dr.Bierstedt in Germany. After looking online for reviews, I found myself on this site more and more, so...

Here I am!!! :jacks::jacks::clap::clap:

Sorry about this extremely crappy intro...maybe I just needed to vent?

Perhaps a Hybrid Approach is the way to go
 

Mrbaozi, I'm sorry to hear what you're going through. It sounds like you're just at the beginning of your research. Dr. Bierstedt is a good start. There's also Dr. Clavel in Barcelona and Dr. Zeegers in the Netherlands. You might also want to check out the Texas Back Institute (TBI) in Plano, TX. That's where I had my cervical ADR at C5/C6 which was below two levels of previous fusion. Here is their website: Center For Disc Replacement - Texas Back Institute

You might want to discuss a hybrid approach with the surgeons with whom you consult. From reading these boards most people do okay with a fusion at L5/S1. However, you might want ADR at L4/L5. Most people who have ADR at L5/S1 do well afterwards. However, it is amongst the highest levels of failure (maybe 2%). It's not a high percentage, but when that level fails it can be debilitating. Since it's one of the best levels for fusion and worst for ADR, that's why I suggest you look into the hybrid approach.

Best of luck to you!!

Gene

I just read your posting on a different thread. It sounds like Dr. Bierstedt is recommending what I suggested, a Hybrid approach.

Gene

yes
 

it provide a good balance of fusion and ADR. If the fusion is in the correct place it an be a good benefit along with an ADR.
Is hybrid surgery of the cervical spine a good balance between fusion and arthroplasty? Pilot results from a single surgeon series. - PubMed - NCBI
drzeegers: 2 level L4-L5 Activ L ADR + STALIF L5-S1 hybrid spine surgery | Dr. Willem Zeegers – Artificial Disc Replacement

Thanks Gene and Cheryl!

Ya, I have been told by both Clavel and Bierstedt that I'll need a fusion at L5-S1 due to my spondy, it has a fairly decent amount of slippage, so an adr there wouldn't do much unfortunately :(

I hope I'm making the right choice, as I could have a double fusion (or single fusion done here for free), but when it comes to standard of living and health, I think it would probably be best to have it done right the first time...

I too had a hybrid fusion done, a fusion at L5-S1 and ADR at L4-L5. It has been 1 year and 4 months, and unfortunately i did not fuse at L5-S1. I just had an anterior plate put on. My spondy was no more than 2mm shown more on flexion. If your spondy is that bad, a posterior approach with an anterior one should do you well. An anterior approach will NOT correct spondy, but a posterior one can have some benefit of correcting some of the slip. If you can an ADR a complete 360 fusion wouldn't be a bad idea. The base of your spine would be very stable.