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Old 07-11-2016, 10:24 PM
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Cynlite Cynlite is offline
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Great info Harrison and thanks for gathering that data for everyone!

TBI still leads the charge in the U.S. as expected. They have some of the best surgeons with the most experience in the U.S. and best prices IMO for ADR. The three level cost for cervical is pretty comparable to Europe. The difference with Dr. Clavel is that he includes physical therapy plus, two nights in a first class hospital, one week hotel is covered, plus one year health insurance on the surgery. My care was more concierge and I was watched for three weeks. The insurance is specific to the surgery not new disc levels and requires one to go back to Spain at their own cost to the same surgeon who did the surgery if there is a complication. So, it's hard to do an apples to apples comparison but, they are pretty darn close. If a person's insurance covers them in the U.S. then the surgery would certainly be less expensive. I think a three level Mobi-C in the U.S. would be less than a 3 level M6-C in the end in Spain without all the other things I mentioned at TBI. All the other surgeons and hospitals in the U.S. are all over the place on what they charge. Then the question comes down to the disc. There are lots of opinions out there about what is the best disc. I've learned my lesson to stay out of that debate here.

The last piece of the puzzle is does a person leave their state or country to get surgery? IMO, the surgeon makes all the difference to the outcome. If you leave your state or country, you are somewhat locked into going back to the same surgeon if things don't go well for you but, not always. There are surgeons in many cities that will be happy to remove an ADR and fuse. That would not be my choice but, it is still an option. If staying in the U.S., I still agree that TBI is one of the best options with the best probability of a good outcome. It's not as big a deal to travel back to them if there are complications. The odds of complications are less with them too IMO compared to other U.S. surgeons. My opinions are all subjective of course. Also, can they do a three level ADR in one surgery in the U.S.? I thought we were limited to a two level Mobi-C for cervical.

There is one surgeon in New York that has caught my attention for cervical patients but, I'll wait until I have more info. to share on him.
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2006: epidural shots did nothing; 2 surgeons recommended 2 level fusion, I declined.
2007 - 2010 4 foraminotomy and cord decompression cervical surgeries and 2 endoscopic discectomy T7-T8 surgeries; total 6 with Dr. Jho (Pittsburgh,PA) My C6/C7 autofused around 2009.
2013 - 2015: epidurals 3 times (again did nothing) and 4 Radiofrequency ablation (or RFA) procedures.
2016 more RFAs, hit the 10 year mark of this insanity and pain, 3 level M6-C ADR with Dr. Clavel May 19, 2016