Cynlite, I couldn't agree with you more on the issue of pain. While I know there is no such thing as a guarantee, I would like to think that if I'm going under the knife, there is a reasonable chance that I will get some degree of relief. I also respect Dr. Bierstedt for his honesty on his disclaimer that ADR might not help my symptoms. I don't necessarily agree with his assessment that I should get ADR anyway (M6 at 2 levels) to prevent further degeneration.
It might be of interest to note that Dr. Bertagnoli gave me a recommendation that I only need just one level, C5/C6, done. It wasn't quite clear what device he would use, but he also made mention of removing the hardware in my neck from my previous fusion. To me that sounds reasonable, because the titanium plate really doesn't do anything once the fusion has taken place. It's just a foreign body that is generally left inside most people, because it doesn't make sense to do surgery solely for the purpose of removing it.
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Car Accident 2002 - Small Herniated Disc C3/C4
1998 Larger Herniation and Cervical Fusion C3/C4
2005 Herniation C4/C5 - 40 epidural steroid injections from Oct 2005, - Oct, 2007
2008 - Foraminotomy at C6/C7 on left side
Feb, 2010 - Cervical Fusion C4/C5
Dec, 2010 - Lumbar Fusion L3/L5
2013 - Bulge on C5/C6; herniation C6/C7 right side
Mar 26, 2013 - Foraminotomy at C6/C7 on right side
May 5, 2015 - ADR with Dr Blumenthal of TBI for C5/C6 using Mobi-C
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