[Juli]

I hate to harp on this, as I have mentioned it in a few other posts, but even at the spine symposium, multiple doctors indicated that fusion can still be a good solution for certain patients. If I just needed L5/S1 fixed I would have gone with the fusion unless I had a very experienced doctor and my insurance would pay for it. I would not consider a doctor with 6 surgeries under his belt experienced. ADR is a complicated surgery and I would rather have the fusion than ADR with someone who may not be the sharpest tool in the shed in that arena. I would consider someone with closer to 100 surgeries to be fairly experienced.

One level, particularly L5/S1 which has no lower adjacent levels, is probably the best bet for fusion. On another note, my original doctor didn't want me to have either one. He and my primary care physician both said back surgery is a mixed bag, 1/3rd show marked improvement, 1/3rd end up worse than before and 1/3rd show no change. I think a lot of people seek surgery without trying a lot of other things first, and that skews the numbers. But people who clearly have spinal issues for years and have tried it all only for it to continue to degenerate and nno longer have good quality of life, clearly need something done.

Good luck on your continued quest!