Harison and Dave, Thank you for your replies. I am going to try to talk to the surgeon tuesday and get a few answers. A neighbor of mine had a disc replaced at L5-S1 and a discectomy at L4-5 in 3/2000. The surgeon he had did the ADL for the back and the discectomy without cutting thru bone. He is trying to encourge me to have the discectomy, as he told he's had no problems. His surgeon is in the same group as the one I saw last Monday. But his opinion is that there are differences between surgeons and in the case of his, he explained that the man spent two years in Germany training for the procedures.
I'm also trying to see if I can get into a clinical trial as another doctor in the group (Dom Coric- thanks Harrison!) is some way invovled. Getting to talk with all these guys in another matter, all I can do is leave messages with their secrateries and hope it gets thru. Thanks agian, Tierney
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1/11/2010 slipped at work
1/15 doctor visit,prescribed steriod pack, no results
1/26 Chiro treatments (8 weeks) no lasting results, $500
4/1 MRI taken, revealed herniated disc at L5/S1, $1000
4/16 first epideral shot, some relief after a few days, lasted 1 week: $3500
5/10 second epideral, no relief at all: $3500
5/24 frst visit to nerosurgeron, recommends discectomy, cost ~ $20,000--workers comp should pay,so far denied due to no witnesses. So far out of pocket-no secondary insurance
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