I also have herniation at that level, not a serious as yours though. I have been fighting it for 8 yrs now and in alot of research there are several names that keep coming up in the thoracic spine discussion. I am personally scheduling surgury with Dr. Fessler, min invasive. Good luck and I had severe leg pain when I initially hurt thoracic and I could almost trace the nerve sensation from thoracic area down to leg.
PS. I only list these names to possibly save you some time finding thoracic doctors, you have to do your reasearch on each. I have personally only consulted with 3 on the list.
Dr. Fessler
Doctor Reviews and Doctor Ratings | Compare & Find Doctors | Vitals › Neurological Surgeons › IL › Chicago
Dr. Dickman
www.bnaneuro.net/Pages/Docs/DrDickman.html
Dr. Perin
spineneurosurgery.com/about_us/n_perin/curriculum.../index.html
Dr. John J. Regan
Dr. John J. Regan, A Fellowship-Trained Spine Surgeon
Dr. Kim
Daniel H. Kim, M.D., FACS - Department of Neurosurgery - Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas
Dr. Kozak
Fondren Orthopedic Group