[OsteoRach]

hi there,

first off, sorry you are still suffering pain.

all spinal surgery is major surgery however from my readings the proposition of removing an adr is life threatening (given possible scar tissues from the original anterior surgery adhering to your aorta or inferior vena cava - disturb the scar tissue and you may have massive haemorrhage - a lateral approach to the spinal segment is now being performed by some surgeons when adr revision with removal of adr is required). some surgeons, and patients, have had to take the risk of anterior revision surgery given the quality of life / risk of progression of signs/symptoms if no surgery was performed, outweighed the risks of doing the surgery. given this however, it is my understanding that if possible, surgeons will posteriorly fuse the segment and leave the adr in place as there is less risk and if there is no inherent problem with leaving the adr in place then why subject the patient to the possble risks.

afew questions you may have already considered:
with regard to the adr / diagnosis. have the drs adequately explored the adjacent levels to ensure they are not causing your pain? what were your myelogram / discogram results? if the diagnostic facet block was accurate and it did not alleviate the symptoms, what are your doctors proposing is the pain source given that you no longer have a disc at that level (if it is predominate back pain that you are considering further surgery for)?

Rachel