[Mary1989]

Originally posted by Grizz:
Hey Mary,

I am 52 and had a Maverick disk implanted 1-12-2007. I also have a 20 year old daughter and will speak to you just as I would to her. First of all, be patient and make sure you make the right decision. Two level ADR just hasn't been done too often in the US, but if both disks are bad at your age and you want to remain active you should research getting both of them replaced.

My current surgeon was on the team that got ADR approved by the FDA, and he currently teaches the procedure. He has never talked about doing both levels, simply because my L5-S1 level is barely degenerate and only slightly herniated. For the most part, it's healthy and I could go another ten years on it without anything bad happening. Just because of that, he's very reluctant to do surgery on both levels.

ADR surgery is a major operation and leaves scare tissue which can make future operations in the same area much more difficult and dangerous.

Yes, my surgeon was very up front with me about that. That's definitely one of the major cons I see to ADR, but at the same time, some fusion surgeries require an anterior approach. I'm not sure if I had fusion whether or not they would use that approach, but it's definitely something I need to know.

I would expect that you will see many posts to your questions and if there is a two level clinical trial going on in the US maybe someone could direct you to it.

I would definitely appreciate that information if anyone has it.

A good person for you to speak with would be Sue Hart. She has had both Charite and Maverick disks implanted, has daughters about your age, and has alot of professional experiance with horses. She was working with Stenum Hospital when I had my ADR done and I'm sure you could reach her through stenumhospital.com.

That sounds great, thank you for providing me with that information. I'll be sure to look her up.

The best advice I can give you is to keep a positive attitude, do your research, and don't jump at the first idea you hear. If you do it won't be long until you will have your "normal life back".

I have definitely done copious amounts of research, including watching both surgeries on ORLive.com. This is certainly the very last resort, and we have reached it. There is no other treatment option now, and I have whittled my surgical options to these. I can only pray that I'm making the right decision and seek the help of people who have been through this.

Thank you very much for your reply, I found it really helpful.