[RedLava]

Hello,

This is my first post to this forum so I'm not sure how it will be taken and I sure don't want to create anxiety for anyone with an existing ADR but I have some questions/concerns regarding ADR. I had an extruded disc at C6/C7 and moderate bulging C5/C6 diagnosed on MRI in December 2016. I was recommended by the first neurosurgeon I saw for C5-C7 fusion but cancelled the surgery as symptoms improved and eventually went away by March 2017. After some return of symptoms in July, my new MRI showed improvement of the C6/C7 when compared to the totally blown status it had last MRI so I'm not in a rush to get surgery and my symptoms aren't wrecking my life. I am having some return symptoms after a few months of left arm stingers, pins and needles and mostly left scapular pain but it's much better than last December when I was having severe left tricep weakness, numb fingertips and extreme pain.

Anyways, I saw my new (2nd opinion) neurosurgeon again today for some input, he recommended a 2nd epidural injection after the first one I got in August but I also asked him about surgical options in case this thing doesn't continue to improve for me. He suggested disc replacement (Mobi-C) for both levels might be an option for me. He's done 8 or 9 two-level mobi-c installs just this year. I asked him about the lifespan of the disc and he said it couldn't be known for sure but that based on hip/knee prosthetics he felt probably 15-20 years. This is a huge concern for me at age 39 because 20 years isn't that long and that sounds optimistic to even say 20 years seeing as the hip/knee people are usually elderly and don't move all that much anyway. I'm very very active. He said if it "wears out" that it could then be converted to a fusion. I asked him what that entails and it didn't sound promising, sounded more like they would just fuse the thing into the bones without removing it or at least not the metal plates since that'd probably take some serious chiseling and they would be hard to remove safely. Considering he's in his 60's I doubt he'd be the guy I'd be coming back to if the core wore out and flattened so what does he care right? (I'm being pessimistic here)

This guy came highly recommended and has a good history, yet seemed to not really have a long-term answer on how well this would go for me even if the short term results (5-10 years) might be great. Is there anyone here who has an ADR that's more than 10 or 15 years strong that is still doing great? Has anyone been told that they can expect the prosthesis to last their lifetime? I'm just really skeptical based on the hip/knee replacements since they're made out of some of the same materials, even if they do have to handle a heck of a lot more load than a cervical disc because I'm hoping to be able to do sports/running/lifting etc. with this thing. I worry that if I'm going to ultimately choose between ADR and ACDF it would be based more on long-term results and the hope of not needing another surgery. I'd almost rather take my chances with an ACDF than end up with a "messy fusion" being necessary in 15-20 years with an ADR. Any thoughts from the people in this community?

Once again I realize most of you have or are contemplating ADR so I'm not trying to create a sense of anxiety about it. I've seen the short term results and they look amazing. I just want to make sure this would be a good long-term decision when compared to ACDF, which also seems to have at best a pretty mediocre long-term track record.