Hi There
 

Hi Everyone,

My name is Bernadette and I am 54 years old and new to this site. I received a back and neck injury on Active duty (Air Force) in 1998 and have tried everything that eastern/western medicine can do for all the side effects that I suffer on a daily basis without surgery. On January 31st 2014 I finally agreed with my pain management doctor and husband in getting an upper lumbar steroid injection. It was disasterous as I had an allergic reaction and my whole body felt the side-effects for months. I was placed on FMLA and STD in March 2014 and am still on it until the end of this month. Thankfully, I paid into LTD and hope that I will be approved once the STD ends.

Just recently I went to the spine institute in Johnstown, Colorado to see if I was a candidate for my DDD and was told that I wasn't a candidate for the DDD and needed three artificial disc in my cervical (multi-level) C5, 6, 7 and Lumbar L5-S1. My insurance Tricare (United Health Care) denied the claim twice. First stating it was experimental which I refuted and then the second time around they responded that they will only approve one level in the spine and the lumbar is still considered experimental. I submitted another appeal this week to a second party to review and also submitted a package to the VA asking them if they could pay for my surgery since it is all service-connected and I am rated at 80 percent disabled through the VA.

I am getting very frustrated with the medical system in the US and have been suffering from severe depression fighting for everything I need to be healthy again. I also suffer from chronic pain syndrome and did get a stem cell procedure via IV in July since I was a candidate for it. The Stem Cell Institute said it takes 3-6 months to notice an improvement. I've already noticed that it is starting to work and hope that I can get off some of the medications that I am on soon.

I just wanted to thank everyone for all the information I've been reading on these boards and it has helped me in not feeling so alone as I advocate for my health and know there are others out there fighting as well. Thank you all for your help and support. It is truly appreciated.

Bernadette, thanks for sharing your story. I hope that your recent treatment helps you feel better and stronger every day! Keep us posted!

Harrison,

After reading Lauren's story I am a little concerned about the Prodisc. My doctor is suggesting the ProDisc-L for my three ADR's. Dr. Pettine is an excellent orthosurgeon and is well known within the US and abroad. In reality, I am hoping that my appeal will be approved for the multi-level ADR in the Cervical and I already know in my heart that the Lumbar ADR will be denied. Am I taking chances with the ProDisc-L?

Dear Colorado Babe, From reading these boards and have multiple surgeries on my spine, here's what I have come up with from reading these boards:

1. ProDisc is one of only a few manufacturers of ADR's that are currently approved by the FDA for use in the U.S.

2. Most people who have had ProDisc placed in them in both the cervical and lumbar spine do quite well.

3. There is always more risk in the lumbar spine with any type of artificial disc, since it bears more weight.

4. Given what I said in number 2 above, when there are ADR problems in the lumbar spine, they seem to take place most often at L5/S1.

If it were me, I would consider the best possible means of ADR for your cervical spine and consider fusion (likely to be covered by insurance) for L5/S1. I would get the opinions of some of the top surgeons in both the U.S. and Europe for your cervical spine. Going overseas has it's positives and negatives. It's likely to cost you a lot of $$ to go overseas with little chance (but not impossible) of insurance reimbursement. You will get a much better quality disc placed in you (Active-L or M6) and get your life back to normal much quicker. The downside is that it will be difficult to see any U.S. doctor for follow-up. There is one exception. Dr. Carl Lauryssen of Beverly Hills, CA works with the M6 disc. He will be doing procedures in Switzerland since he can't do it in the U.S. since it's not FDA approved. If you get the M6 placed in you, he will probably see you in CA for follow-up even if you didn't use him for the initial surgery.

Going back to ProDisc a moment. If you want to go with that, Dr. Zigler and Dr. Blumenthal of the Texas Back Institute have a great reputation using that device. They also do fusions and other minimally invasive surgeries. If you send them your MRI's they will review them and give you their recommendations.

One last thing, as a C.P.A., I can tell you that there are tax deductions available for medical expense paid out of pocket that exceed 10% of your adjusted gross income. If you send me a private message I can go into more detail.

Good luck whichever way you decide to go.

Gene

Dr. Kenneth Pettine is one of the top ortho surgeons as well. And he is two hours away. I have been considering the two-level ADR surgery on the cervical and fusion in the spine. Just spent 5k on the stem cell procedure which was a priority and I Totally trust Dr Pettine and his expertise on both surgeries. Now it's a wait and see game with insurance and the VA. I'm sure it will take a month or so but my congresssman is involved so hopefully he'll be able to push it through quickly.

Bernadett, Dr Pettine's name comes across here occasionally, and he's only ever mentioned in complementary terms. Good luck on getting this pushed through quickly!

Interesting as he does many surgeries on NFL players and people around the U.S. I have found many articles on him as one of the top surgeons in the US and to know.

Bernadette,

My name is Mike and if you read my short bio in the signature, you will see that I had a Prodisc L procedure by Dr. Pettine's partner/colleague Dr. Donner in May 2013.
I'm doing quite well after a year of up's and down's. I agree with Gene's advice above.
Multiple level lumbar ADR's are quite risky, and I can tell you that now having just ONE in my body, I am less likely to consider 3.
As of now, I have 3 damaged cervical disc's (from car accident) and Dr Donner has suggested that my option is fusion only. I have too much underlying Degenerative Disc Disease and he feels that 3 Cervical ADR's is just too much.
My father was operated on by Pettine, he is an egotist (probably deservedly so) and can be an abrasive character. Having said that however, he is a top-flight surgeon as well as researcher.
Pettine and Donner both have financial interests in the Prodisc. To what extent I do not know. I do know that The Spine Institute is now part of the M-6 clinical trials that are currently going on.
Like Gene said, do your homework (especially if considering overseas surgery) and I'm always available for a phone conversation if you are interested in hearing from someone who has experience with both the Prodisc and The Spine Institute.
Regards,
Mike

Mike - Funny that you should say you think Dr. Pettine is an "egotist". I didn't get that impression at all when I saw him. I was so impressed by his professionalism and demeanor and the time that he took to go over all my issues (3 hours) that I made up my mind immediately after seeing two other surgeons (Wong and Prusmack) that Dr. Pettine's was the surgeon for me based on my beliefs and what is best for me . I have never, ever in my entire life received such a thorough physical and the staff was awesome.

In regards to the stem cell institute, I have never ever received such wonderful care like the Institute when they performed my stem cell IV for chronic pain. As soon as I walked in the door Candice was there to greet me and my daughter. Meghan had all my paperwork ready and even went over to Dr. Pettine's office and ran off copies of my medical records for my appeal with Tricare and handed me a letter that Dr. Pettine wrote for more documentation.
Dr. Colburn was scheduled to perform the IV stem cell procedure and I was pleasantly surprised when Dr. Pettine came in and did it with Dr. Colburn by his side. They even allowed my daughter to come in since she had just received her BSN and passed the state boards. The whole experience from checking in to checking out was easy and everyone I dealt with that morning was professional and thorough. The Institute has even called me several times to check in with me. After only one month, I can definitely notice that it is working. When friends come over to me see me they can't believe the difference. Before they could see the pain all over my face and now I am able to function and even laugh and smile again. It was well worth every penny that I paid and they did give me a wonderful discount, much less that my friend who had stem cells in her knee the month before. They are even trying to get a grant for veterans so they won't have to pay. Hopefully they'll get it and pay it forward to other veterans.

I do agree with you 100 percent after doing research from here and other sites that I should consider fusion over the ADR on the Lumbar. I am getting a second opinion from Dr. Rittlerlang before I schedule the surgery and I am pretty sure that even my new appeal through an outside agency from Tricare and my request through the VA won't pay for the ADR on the Lumbar. My appeal will hopefully get approved for a multi-level ADR in the Cervical. Today I have an appointment at the VA to discuss with my provider the request. We will see what she says.

I guess it is all dependent upon the patient and their experience. Mine has been nothing but great with Dr. Pettine and the Spine Institute and from the sound of your post it seems like you had a different experience. I am sorry that you didn't have the same experience as I. I believe every patient should be treated the same.

Just for the record, I only said Dr. Pettine had an ego, and also said it was well deserved.

The staff's at all 3 locations co-owned by Pettine and Donner have been nothing short of fantastic.

You didn't read my post at all. I am feeling great, would do one level all over again, (probably not 3) and I am extremely happy with Dr. Donner and staff.
Dr. Pettine saw me 1 time, was dismissive and I never went back to him again.

Keep an open mind, visit as many surgical options as you can to complete your knowledge base and make the best decision you can. We all here have walked your walk and only hope to share our experience/knowledge so that it may in fact help someone else who is in pain.

Mike