My 3 mo X ray - Discs tilted all over the place

[steve55]

Yea, I really dont see anything wrong with the strong opinions here thus far, certainly nothing was posted in this thread that deserves banning anyone over. I guess there are some accusations that Mark and this forum are biased to the point of pushing things or certain doctors on people, and I guess I can see how that will upset some people (who are friends of Mark) here who are offended by such an accusation towards him. I personally havent experienced anything like this from Mark. But I think the doctors he promotes seem to be the world's best in my opinion. Dr Regan for example, .....My local orthopedic surgeon said "I would go to Dr regan if I had have surgery for myself, he is one of the best in the country". He said that without mark's help, ok, LOL. He also said Dr B was one of the world's best with ADR, and of course, Dr B trains the docs here in the US and has done more of them than any doctor in the world, and my humana references Dr B more than any other doctor in the references section under their clinical policy bulletins covering ADR. Gee, I wonder why? Maybe cause Humana has determined that he is one of the best and foremost experts in this area of study? The TX back institute that Mark lists here is one of the pioneer's in ADR technology and they have extremely high succes rates. I think mark is on the ball with his preferred surgeon list, but he doesnt shove it down anyone's throat. So why shouldnt he promote who he honestly thinks is the best? Mark has always preceded his opinions and recommendations with "Im not a doctor or a medical expert, but I think..." or he says " In my opinion, I think ...blah blah blah. " He has never PUSHED any opinion or pressured anything on me. Though, as some say, he doesnt think too highly of Stenum. LOL. Oh well. Hey, everyone has the right to their opinions and Mark has his, others have theirs.Who cares. Lets not ban anyone if at all possible. Banning is for when one member attacks and insults another.

Anyways, I can tell you that this forum had ZERO to do with me CHoosing Dr B. ADR support is where I did most of my research. What made me decide on Dr B was only 1 thing, and that was from reading tons of success stories by people at ADR support after using Dr B. I could have just as easily chosen Stenum but there were too many stories(true or not) floating around about some disasters (yes, every surgeon has a few), and really, I did not see many patients at ADR support who posted about success at stenum. But Dr B's name was attached to every single success story I found over there. I had already made up my mind about Dr B being the surgeon I wanted before ever talking to mark or coming to this site.Actually, I think I got along with mark so well cause he and I felt the same about Dr B. I had already decided on him before coming here.

I also never felt Mark gave me a "hard sell" for any of his services. In my book, he is a laid back guy. I feel he does what he does because its a passion he has to help others. That's my impression, others obviously have different opinions. One thing for sure, he has connections and can make things happen. This much I have benefited from, and he has alot of knowledge and experience and advice that is extremely insightful.

Now, on to the most recent development. You guys wont believe today's developmements! Around 1 pm I get a call from the Wisconsin doctor's people with an update about the cost of my surgery with Dr B and Dr Sullivan as assitant. I was told that the old quote was based on a simple revison of an ADR. The new quote is corrected to account for ADR removal and conversion to fusion. For some reason , the Wisconsin doctor was thinking I only needed to fix the ADR. So, the new quote is $45,000. I was to pay $6K, then 30%. But , since the 70% paid by insurance was reimbursed at medicare rates, I would end up paying alot more of that 70% also. I was probably looking at $25K out of pocket. I said "No thanks". Then 40 minutes later I get a call back again saying that Dr Sullivan has spoken to Sytheses since then and found out that Syntheses is paying for EVERYTHING!! They will pay my deductible, airfare, EVERYTHING. WOnt cost me a penny. Now, I have yet to get this in writing, so Im not holding my breath just yet, but this is what I was told. When I initially heard this, the popular phrase from the movie godfather came to mind, ....."We're going to make you an offer you cant refuse". LOL. FREE is indeed very hard to refuse. And Dr B is clearly one of the world's best and Dr Sullivan aint no slouch either, I checked him out. So, I think Ill be in good hands with 2 docs. Given how 40 minutes later my surgery suddenly became free, I figured there is a high probability that this ADR removal is a training case for Dr Sullivan, and maybe he doesnt want it to slip away. The way this came down certainly makes it look that way, and I know most surgeons have no or little experience under their belt at participating in a cervical, or lumbar ADR removal as there are so few candidates who need it done. I dont know if thats the case, and I really dont care if it is. Im just escatic that its Free!! As long as Dr B is captain of the ship, I dont mind if it is the case that Dr Sullivan is particpating in a observation or training sort of way. Im still getting a 2nd opinion from another local surgeon here in Dallas this Friday, and since DrRegan is out of town, Im going to fly out to Los Angeles to see Dr Delamarter this Wednesday to get his opinion also. I just want some peace of mind that removal of C6/7 to fusion is the consensus and that Dr B isnt just on a one track mind. I was assured by Dr Sullivan's people that Dr Sullivan will provide a unbias opinion seperate from Dr B as to what is needed. Dont get me wrong, its not that I dont trust Dr B, but even the best in the world can be wrong at times, in fact, no matter who you are and how expert a doctor is, no one is 100% perfect all the time in diagnosis and recommendation. If anything, I can provide these 2nd opinions , if they differ, to dr B and Sullivan so they can take them into account in their prognosis and reccomendation as to what all I might need done. I wish and hope that the 2nd opinions agree with Dr B and dont agree with Dr Migniucci here in dallas who says I need all 3 ADR's removed and a corpedectemy done, which is big time stuff. Dr Mignucci is so certain I need more than just a C6/7 revision, he said he would not do surgery with that being the only thing done. This strong opinion really spooked me hence my desire for 2nd opinions. Lastly, it concerns me a little that Dr B hasnt acknowledged that he top ADR C4/5 isnt moving at all. Dr Mackenzie and Dr Mignucci both said it seems stuck in one position. You can see in my x rays in al the different flex positions(me looking up and down) that the darn thing doesnt ever move. One side is open and the other side is always closed. Even Mark seemed to observe the same thing and didnt have much to say about it. Both docs have admitted that it is slanted but they didnt use the word subsided. Im not sure if they think that top disc was like that from day 1 after surgery or if they think my vertebrae there has a natural slant and Dr B just worked it in with my natural slant as it was. I think Dr B told me that that was the case when we met at the airport. But he seemed hesitant to admit it wasnt functioning /moving as they are supposed to. So, now I wonder, will that top disc just act as a fusion then? Ill see what the 2nd opinions say about that and discuss such concerns once again with Dr B and Dr SUllivan. Anyways, Dr B did the initial surgery, and from what I can see, every doctor respects him as one of the world's best. So, I am confident in having him and Dr Sullivan handle this. So, I am set for a surgery date in Lacrosse Wisconsin of 9/22.

[dshobbies]

Steve,

Well that's more like it, if indeed your surgery proves to be 'free'. The 22nd is less than 3 weeks away. I'm sorry that your one level revision might now include more but if it has to be done, then it has to be done. Whatever happens, I so wish you luck, an easy recovery and a pain free life.

Dale

[fuzzy]

I also wish you the best with whatever happens. Please continue to share your story.

[Kathy]

Steve, That's great news! Free is my favorite 4 letter word. Hopefully, your other opinions will agree with Dr. B and make your decision easier. However, I don't really know why they would leave a non-functioning disc in there. Maybe they can explain better to you the reasoning for that. Or, if you insisted that you wanted it out, maybe they would go ahead and do it during the surgery (thus killing 2 birds with one stone) and just include it in the 'freee'. It could also be something where it is a malfunction in the disc and they don't want to 'admit' it. Either way, just so happy you are closer to getting the surgery you need.

I haven't been on here in a long time and haven't had time to catch up on this full post, so forgive me if these are redunant questions. Are you in any pain, or still pain free? Was there a certain reason they wanted to just remove 1 disc? Just curious. Talk soon. Kathy

[steve55]

Well, the Nuerosurgeon I saw today (who has limited ADR experience but is well known and also listed in Dallas D magazine as one of the top neurosurgeons in Dallas) says that He Strongly disagrees with Dr Mignucci's opinion of removing all 3 ADR's and doing a corpedectemy. He said that doing that is a unecessary worse case reccomendation and 3 level fusions are rarely reccommended. He also disagrees with Dr Mignucci's belief that my vertebrae (between C5/6 & C6/7) is too thin to hold ADR's. He does say I have some degree of osteoarthritis but its not too bad and it should be fine to hold teh ADR's. He also said 7 months is still not long enough to say I wont improve by waiting, but also didnt disagree with getting that C6/7 fixed for now with surgery. He said just revise the obvious subsiding tilted C6/7 ADR or remove it and fuse. Regarding my concern with the frozen top ADR , he says even if the top ADR isnt functioining, its perfectly fine as it will act the same as a fusion would.

And to answer Kathy;s question, yes Im in pain, level 2 in the day, level 5 many evenings. Its a dull deep type pain in my C6/7 area, not to mention 40% numb fingers in my right hand and that creepy sensation I sometimes get that my hands and arms are trying to go numb on me also. But Im wayyyy better now than pre surgery.

[Bill1961]

Steve it's great to hear your getting so many opinions and you have a date coming up. How do you digest all these varying opinions and make the best decision for yourself? This would have me spinning. I guess you really won't know until you wake up after surgery.

Are you still getting opinions from Dr. Reagan and Delmarter?

It is nice to hear Dr. Bertagnoli, Dr. Sullivan and Synthes will be providing everything at no cost to you. My guess it's a good opportunity for all of them. Sullivan for training, Bertagnoli for doing the right thing, and Synthes for fixing defective ADR's (if that's the case).

I did read about one case with a woman who had a defective Pro Disc C similar to yours. She described it as if it had a hinge on one side and the other was stuck open. According to her post it came right out. She had the fusion and is doing great. I believe she was in New Mexico.

I hope everything works out for you and will continue to follow your "adventure".

[trkdoc714]

That's terrific news Steve! I hope the next few weeks speed by and you finally get the relief you deserve from this surgery.

Bob