[zenmunk]

I share your concerns about the longevity of the M6, LauraB. But that extends to pretty much all ADRs for varying reasons. The following two threads address the M6-L:

http://www.adrsupport.org/forums/f51...ng-data-11634/


http://www.adrsupport.org/forums/f51...-million-5198/

The general consensus on those threads is the testing data which Spinal Kinetics have released is insufficient, and it's unclear how it correlates to robustness and longevity in the human spine over long periods of time. Forum members (some of whom are engineers) find this incomplete data troubling. Some flat out predict M6 failure between 10 and 20 years. An important caveat to this is the forum members are also anxious spine patients without access to the full data and perhaps an inability to correctly interpret that data if they had it. Their logic or mathematical analyses are compromised by lack of crucial information and plain fear. Spinal Kinetics may have more data which would help patients understand longevity better, but, if so, who knows if they'll ever release it? Probably not. Also, it's reasonable to assume that not every M6 is made equal. There are unpredictable variables which could make one M6 weaker than another.

It would be wonderful if we had more incontrovertible scientific/testing data upon which to rely when making our ADR decisions, but ultimately it comes down to an act of faith. Follow your gut and hope for the best. Good luck.

____

TPatti - Hope you're having a smooth recovery. Can you tell me how much time passed between sending your diagnostic images/reports to Dr. Bierstedt and having the phone consultation? And, from that consultation to surgery day? Thanks.