Thanks everyone for the responses on costs. I really appreciate the advice as well. My current plan is to call the in-network docs and see if they do L-spine disc replacement & how many they have done. If that turns no results, then start checking out of network. If I find a yes, I'll send a letter as recommended here.
There sure seems to be a lot of variability in costs.
One of the first things I need to do is to get the radiologist who read the MRI and the recent plain films to quantify the degree of facet dz. The neuro-surgeon that I saw 2 weeks ago got plain films to check on stability of the vertebra. All were stable, however the reading on these was facet dz at L4-5 as well as L5-S1. I'm going to call tomorrow and see if I can't get a re-read.
The check for clinical trials is negative so far but still looking.
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Suffered thru every non-surgical cure known without relief.
Pain management '06 to April '10,
Had minimally invasive PLIF with internal fixation on 12/28/09 for isthmic spondylolisthesis of L5-S1 (TDR contra-indicated) DDD at L3-4 & L4-5, All L-Spine doing well. Episodes of no pain at all. After being relatively pain free for 4 months, C-Spine gave up. MRI due 11-1
Last edited by Jack; 10-22-2009 at 10:01 PM.
Reason: more info
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