Sciatic pain following laminectomy/discectomy

[WestHighland]

Hi there,
I've posted before about my situation, but have a specific question for everyone about sciatic leg pain.
I had a discectomy/laminectomy in August 2009, and was diagnosed with an annular tear in January 2010. I have a lot of sciatic twinges in my thigh area and at the back of my left knee, and numbness/pins and needles in my left foot.
My surgeon is suggesting that if the pain doesn't go away by August 2010, I should consider an artificial disc, which I'm not at all keen on. Does anyone have any advice about whether I should just wait it out, or try any other procedures?
A lot of the procedures recommended on this site - nerve fusion etc - aren't available in the UK unfortunately, so I'm left with the choice of continued sciatic pain; more steriod epidurals (which don't help - I've already had two); or the artificial disc (or bone fusion).
Thanks all.
WH