[NJ Gene]

Hi All,

Thank you all for your recommendations. Yesterday at this time I was all set to go to Germany for ADR. However, I decided to wait until I saw my orthopedic surgeon who performed my last fusion. He explained to me that the bulge I have at C5/C6 which is directly below the fusion is just that, a bulge. Most adults have this somewhere in their spine as they age, even if they never had surgery. He agreed that I needed some surgical intervention at C6/C7. He recommended another foraminotomy. By doing this, it's possible that I'll never need future surgery again. However, he assured me that it does not prevent me from getting ADR in the future at that level. He also told me that if I were adamant on getting ADR, he knew a colleague in the Baltimore area who does it. To me it seems like a no brainer. This is covered by insurance and will take of my symptoms, possibly for good. If I ultimately need ADR, it's still a possibility for the future. It might even be at a point in time where insurance will cover it in the U.S. Meanwhile, Kelli at Dr. Bierstedt's office is trying to scare me by saying that in a foraminotomy, they are totally messing with the structure of the spine. She even had a video for me to look at. This video was of the lumbar spine not the surgical spine. All I know is I come from a family of doctors, and I already had one foraminotomy in the neck. Not a big deal. Perhaps in the lumbar region, it's a bigger deal because it bears more weight. I hope to have this procedure done in about 2 to 3 weeks. It will be scheduled early next week for the soonest possible date that the surgeon and hospital can get me in.