Hi all,
I apologize in advance if I ever talk above anyone's head - I myself am a physician and unfortunately having to be a patient way too much lately. See the gist of my situation in my signature... probably misdiagnosed for a while, right now unable to work due to combination of pain and employer's unwillingness to let me work w/ my restrictions.
Have many dr friends and saw an ortho spine last week at Hopkins... he recommended fusion vs ADR depending on result of facet joint injections. my pain dr is one of the few in the country doing biacuplasties and I'm in the process of scheduling that.
Wondering if anyone out there has had one? Being medically savvy I'm a little leery of having an unproven procedure, but for discogenic pain either fusion or ADR is at best 70% efficacious and obviously has significantly more risk. Biacuplasty is FDA approved but very very few insurances cover it. I have very good insurance which does cover ADR (Aetna), but they consider biacuplasty "investigational", as the randomized control trials are just starting. The initial studies are pretty promising and there were no significant adverse outcomes.
As mentioned in my title, I'm only 32 and don't want to start down the road of back surgery just yet. Used to be very active and now am just above a couch potato
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US non-spine MD - laid up no more!!!
had recurrent annular tear L5/S1, failed everything
M6L done 10/19/11 w/ Dr Clavel
getting back to my old self more and more every week!
laidupdoc@gmail.com if my PM box is full
The content herein represents my professional thought and opinions in a general sense only; they do not constitute professional advice or services. if you need medical advice, please consult a licensed physician.