C5-C6 Herniation, Pulled out of surgery last minute

[maladham]

Here's my story.

I've been suffering from a badly herniated c5-c6 disc which is causing a severe foraminal stenosis on the right. I have been looking for the right surgeon/ADR solution since the beginning of the year. I finally landed with a surgeon here in NYC who has a track record with Mobi-C at the Hospital of Special Surgery. I was scheduled for surgery on June 7th. I checked in to the hospital, did the pre-op, had the IV installed, and when the paperwork came, I was surprised to read that I was scheduled for a "ProDisc" procedure. My family has already flown into town, so it was a very, very difficult decision to make to walk out. But I ended up doing it. I couldn't make that decision in a matter of a few minutes.

I don't have anything against the ProDisc, I just did not do the research on it and had already set my mind on the Mobi-C.

My surgeon explained that apparently my insurance insisted on the ProDisc. But I was annoyed at how my surgeon didn't seem to care, and the office did not notify me, although him and I had 5 different appointments/phone calls with him discussing the Mobi-C. Apparently, "many patients don't care".

I'm glad I found this forum. I'm trying to find the top EU and US doctors and re-considering where I should get the procedure.

In EU, my plan is to consult with: Clavel, Zeegers, Bierstedt, and Bertagnolis.

Can anyone help me with some top doctors to consult with in the US? any in California? So far, the only institute that comes up repeatedly is Texas Back Institute. If there's a link to a discussion forum on this, I would appreciate it.

I'm glad this community exists! And thanks to all for reading this.

[Harrison]

Wow, what a stressful experience that must have been! But you have to be ready and have the right solution by the right doctor. You did the right thing -- you have to be ready.

There are plenty of doctors here in the U.S. you can consult with on ADR. More soon.

[Cynlite]

Good decision! Being blindsided like that is awful though. Sorry you had to go through that terrible experience.

Bertagnoli uses only Pro Disc so you should count him out IMO. There are many reasons to go with the Mobi-C or M6-C over it. It is not self restraining, has a higher post surgery HO rate and large keel footprint. I've talked a lot about the discs and surgeons in my two threads as I figured out my surgery plans. In my analysis, I found a lot of cervical patients in the US still in pain and having revision surgery to fusion with that disc. I never considered it an option because I believe we have better choices now and I wanted better odds in my favor.

In the US I personally think Dr. Blumenthal at TBI is your best choice. I needed to go with a titanium device because of metal sensitivities so staying in the US was not an option for me. Again, I posted about all this in my threads.

I just had surgery three weeks ago and after long consideration and sending my package to doctors Zeegers, Clavel, Bierstedt, Pettine, Blumenthal and several in my state, I chose Dr. Clavel. He has the highest success rate of all the surgeons based on our limited population in the post surgery forum and my analysis of the data. Do your own research and talk to the surgeons in person or over Skype. The surgeon's ability to perfectly place the disc is as important as the type of disc and some argue even more important. I've seen X-rays of the M6-C badly positioned and a terrible surgical outcome reported by the patient. As Harrison said, you need to be ready for surgery and I had to get to a place of truly trusting my surgeon which I did. Of course I was nervous but, I expected a great outcome and so far I've had one. I had three cervical discs replaced by Dr. Clavel (a surgery I could not have had done in the U.S.) after having four what were considered minimally invasive neck surgeries between 2007 - 2010 trying to avoid fusion. Unfortunately, the prior surgeries caused an even quicker degeneration of my spine. X-ray pictures both pre and post surgery are in my post surgery thread. Best of luck to you!

[Throttlejockey]

Sorry to hear about what you went through, but you made the RIGHT CALL!