New to group and need advice please

[Grover771]

Hi Lisa,
Sorry you're here, but wanted to say welcome! I'm fairly new too and have found the people here so welcoming and supportive.

I don't know anything about the PEEK spacer, but I have no doubt that you'll find help here.

We are all members of a club that no one wanted to join.

Hang in there!

[Lillyth]

Originally Posted by Grover771

Hi Lisa,
We are all members of a club that no one wanted to join.

Ain't it the truth!

And Lisa, it will all be just fine. You were stopped from making a huge mistake, and this place is a great place to look for resources and support. There are so many great members here who are living their lives again!

And do remember. It is completely normal to be scared. We all go through it. It is just part of the process, and is not even necessarily a bad thing. I know it's not pleasant, but it does keep us from rushing headlong into things.

And, if all else fails, you can start reciting parts of Dune.

[TPatti]

Claudia is correct, her Doctor and the others mentioned here will review your images and information sheet that you fill out and offer a recommendation. The next step of scheduling a phone or skype consultation usually cost between $200-$300

[Lisa K]

From what I've been told, the PEEK can b done at 2 levels and is held in by something similar to a titanium screw, put in downward, through the spacer & into vertebrae. There is no need for a metal plate on the outside. The PEEK cages will fuse to the vertebrae. I love this idea. Have any of you heard of this?
Or know of anyone that has had this done? Is there someone I can email or possibly call? Do you have any advice about this? Or websites I should read? My computer has been AWFUL!!!

Also, I'm so surprised by all the people who go oversees. May I ask why?

My computer is not playing friendly with me right now. I appreciate the private emails & will try to respond this weekend while at a friends.

I look forward to any & all responses.
Thank you so much y'all!!
Lisa K

[simeoni]

Hi,

I live in Finland where public healthcare uses peek spacers for fusion. The procedure is quite easy for the surgeon as there are no screws. They take out the disc, possibly drill some bone spurs off and break the cartilage on both vertebrae so they bleed. This promotes bone growth. The spacer is usually kept in place by serration and titanium spikes.

From the studies I have read, this procedure is considered quite successful especially for single level cases. Some subsidence is possible (10-40 %), but it does not have clinical consequences (statistically) at least in short term. Subsidence might result in kyphosis of the treated segments, which could theoretically cause problems down the road. I have also understood from the studies that adjacent level problems don`t occur as often with stand alone spacers as they do with the older traditional fusion methods.

Just google for peek stand alone spacer studies and you will find some info.

I had a single level problem that could have been dealt with a peek spacer. However, for several reasons I chose ADR a couple of years ago. I figure I would have been well off with peek also. It just terrified me to do something so irreversible at such young age (and the fact that I could not know who would perform my surgery in Finland and what would be his track record).

To my understanding, this is probably the most used method (at least among young uncomplicated cases) in Europe. It is however fairly new, so really long term consequences are still uncertain (as they are in adr). But once the level is fused, there are less variables to go wrong at the treated levels.

Fusion stops the motion which is both good and bad. Good: It stabilizes the segment and gives the nerves, ligaments facets etc. a better environment to get pain free at the treated level. Bad: It may cause mechanical problems in the adjacent segments. Our cases are all different and there is no universal answer what to prefer.

[Lillyth]

Originally Posted by Lisa K

From what I've been told, the PEEK can b done at 2 levels and is held in by something similar to a titanium screw, put in downward, through the spacer & into vertebrae. There is no need for a metal plate on the outside. The PEEK cages will fuse to the vertebrae. I love this idea. Have any of you heard of this?
Or know of anyone that has had this done? Is there someone I can email or possibly call? Do you have any advice about this? Or websites I should read? My computer has been AWFUL!!!

Also, I'm so surprised by all the people who go oversees. May I ask why?

My computer is not playing friendly with me right now. I appreciate the private emails & will try to respond this weekend while at a friends.

I look forward to any & all responses.
Thank you so much y'all!!
Lisa K

Most of us have more than one level, and that cannot be covered by insurance in the US. We go overseas because the surgeons are better and more experienced and it is cheaper than paying out of pocket here. Even the Texas Back Institute, which has a great reputation, charges 78k for three levels, which is what I am paying in Barcelona for SIX levels.

[Lillyth]

BTW, which auto-immune disorders? I am also auto-immune gal.