[jessedo]

Hi everyone....I have been avoiding a surgical option for my lower back problems but this past year has been very difficult. When I was younger I could recover from "an event" with rest/ice/pills, etc... but I can't any longer. I have had too many missed vacations, work days and other family events because I couldn't stand or walk. I feel fragile and at any moment something could go wrong and I will be laid up again.

I saw two surgeons over the last week and both told me that a Micro-disectomy would not alleviate all my pain and that fusion was not a good solution for me due to the multi-level degeneration I have.

One surgeon did not have another solution because he does not believe that an Anterior approach to ADR is a good solution and said his practice is waiting on advancements in smaller appliances that can be inserted from different approaches.

The second surgeon is an advocate of ADR and even suggested trying to get insurance to cover a two-level replacement. He is an experienced Neurosurgeon who has performed many ADR procedures in Texas and Atlanta.

I am leaning towards a single-level ADR for L4-S1 and a Micro-Disectomy for L4-5 during the same time. The surgeon said he would perform both by completing the ADR and "flipping me" to perform the Disectomy. I am not considering doing anything for the L3-4 at this time.

Has anyone had both of these procedures during the same surgery?
Any thoughts on this approach?

Thanks for listening.