[Maria]

Kes,
Again I'd say contact Mark Mintzer if you've not already. He can really give you so much info and maybe some other people to contact, etc.

Sooner may prevent some of the adjacent structure changes that would either be a reason that one couldn't or wouldn't still be a candidate for ADR is a reason for sooner. My OSS who back in my ADR seeking days pretty much steered me away from ADRs changed his tune after he started doing them and now basically I'm so far gone (tho lumbar wise) there's nothing left to do but fusion vs. ADRs that I was looking at back in the early 2000's. By the time I got to 2006 I had gone from being a candidate for a 2 level ADR (at least here in the states) to being a candidate for ADR at L4 and fusion at L5S1. I am fusion phobic pretty much so went with none of it.

A lot of people hop on it as soon as they get their diagnosis if their symptoms have challenged their lifestyle, quality of life and career and then there are those of us that wait for various reasons.. sometimes too long for the "options" to still be in place. It's a very individual decision however for whatever reason (including insurance coverage/cost etc).

Good luck.

Sometimes with spine surgeries you may gain something and also lose something or perhaps have something else pop up to deal with.

Good luck getting some more info. Contact Mark. He's helped so many of us!

Maria