I just go off the phone with Dr. Bouchard's assistant. Surgery is scheduled for beginning of May
I could have done the surgery a month earlier, but I would have had to return to Canada from California a month early. This means that I got into surgery 6 months after getting the surgery go ahead. Not really all that bad.
As far as the actual surgery is concerned, Dr. B is recommending the M6 but will have further discussion as we get closer to the surgery date. While the M6 is not yet approved in Canada, he has special permission to use it and with great success. From quizzing his assistant, Dr. B has been doing ADR since 2003. He has done well over 100 ADRs using the M6 alone.
The assistant did caution against going to Europe (Germany etc.) for the surgery as they have had several patients who have had significant complications requiring revisions. They have had incidences of patients receiving ADR surgery who apparently did not have sufficient bone density. Lack of follow up care from the original surgeon once back in your home country also seems to also be an issue.
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2011 - onset of lower back pain during hot yoga
2011 - 2013 Treated with massages, chiro and physio - pain getting progressively worse
2013 - Xrays normal
Dec 2013 - MRI showed moderate DDD @ L5/S1 - modic type 1 endplate changes - remaining disks well preserved
Jun 2014 - became patient at Caleo clinic
Jan 2015 - first consult with surgeon
May 3, 2016 - L5/S1 - M6 - ADR in Canada (Calgary, Alberta)