Hello Chaps, Many thanks your all your kind wishes, thoughts, opinions and ideas, which I greatly appreciate! I was initially thinking of going private either here in the UK (with the possibility of seeing Mr Lam) or travelling abroad because I was not expecting to be offered a good deal (so to speak) on the NHS! However, now that I have seen the NHS surgeon who will do my op.(being a Mr Andrew Hilton working out of the County Hospital in Dorchester, Dorset)I feel very comfortable with his thoughts on my surgery. I still require the Discogram but he is definitely going to do a bone-fusion on L5/S1 because basically there is nothing left and then, (depending on the outcome of the Discogram) he will leave the L4/L5 alone if it is not a pain generator or he will do an implant using a "Maverick". This is the implant of his choice as it is all metal. He feels as yet, there is not enough information to ascertain how the body can support an implant that contains a polyethylene core. Being that I am 40 years old and just under 5 ft tall he believes this is the best implant for me. I am confident in his abilities as he has trained in London. The outcome for/of my op. has been "our" decision collectively, which I liked as I felt as much in charge of making/taking this opinion regarding my op! I know that surgeons have their preferences but having really studied all the implant information that I could find (as we all have done for our own peace of mind) I accept the "Maverick" is a good one for me. My husband says I'll be the Bionic Woman as her surname is/was "Summers" as is mine!
Sending my good wishes and prayers to you all. Finding this amazing website has helped me find a lot of encouragement and it's all to the members, of which I count my blessings to be one of!
Tracy. xxx