Rolling the Dice and Getting a Fusion Maybe

[ADR seeker]

Originally Posted by joejoe

I had a double level fusion L1/2, 2/3 and a double level disc replacement 3/4, and 4/5. Cedar sinai. Dr Rick Delamarter. They do do them in the United States. So far so good, Im recovering nicely.

For every good US surgeon there are 50 hacks.

There are ball and socket ADR available in the US but they over rotate. The good ADRs are motion limiting.

Let's hope that your recovery continues and it is long lived. Cedar Sinai is a non profit hospital so they will be more inclined to fix you right the first time.

Here is their mission statement.

Our Mission

Cedars-Sinai Health System, a nonprofit, independent healthcare organization, is committed to:

Leadership and excellence in delivering quality healthcare services.
Expanding the horizons of medical knowledge through biomedical research.
Educating and training physicians and other healthcare professionals
Striving to improve the health status of our community

Quality patient care is our priority. Providing excellent clinical and service quality, offering compassionate care, and supporting research and medical education are essential to our mission. This mission is founded in the ethical and cultural precepts of the Judaic tradition, which inspires devotion to the art and science of healing, and to the care we give to our patients and staff.

Here is the mission statement of most US hospitals.

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

Here is their philosophy, visions and values.

Our Vision

Cedars-Sinai Health System will enhance its position as the leading healthcare provider in the Los Angeles area and rank highly among the nation's most respected, admired and trusted healthcare organizations. In fulfilling this role, Cedars-Sinai will:

Attract and enhance relationships with the most well-qualified, accomplished and respected physicians, scientists, nurses, other healthcare professionals and staff
Demonstrate excellent clinical quality, service quality and value
Foster a culture of superb clinical and operational performance, as well as responsive and compassionate care
Provide distinguished programs and services of excellence that build upon a tradition of clinical innovation, biomedical research, medical education and community service

Remain at the forefront of advances in medicine and science through a strong, ongoing commitment to biomedical research and medical education
Provide superior capabilities, facilities and technology for the full continuum of healthcare services
Attract patients from regional, national and international markets by providing services directly, as well as through arrangements with other healthcare organizations that meet Cedars-Sinai Health System's standards of quality and service

Our Values

In the pursuit of this Vision, the actions of leadership, staff and other physicians will be guided by the following values:

Integrity
Excellence
Teamwork and Collaboration
Respect
Compassion
Innovation
Stewardship
Diversity

[Maria]

Having written a few for medical facilities I think they should be written by patients instead otherwise it's just a bunch of hollow words.

[mmglobal]

If you would like, before you do the fusion, talk to me about ADR options in the US. Call the number on the GPN website... business hours California time.

Mark

[cherylstewart67]

i would not do fusion unless it was the last option. unless the spinal cord was at high risk. fusion can and most likely will lead to more surgery donw the road. i wish i could go back; i would have had adr if i had known about it.

[dshobbies]

Too often, the choice of fusing is based on factors not related to the best medical decision but more of finances, bad advise and ignorance. You simply cannot help someone who is unwilling to help themselves and we've said enough about the greedy world of health care.

When faced with only two choices, pain or fusing, and you know no better, which one would anyone take?

[jsewell]

NOt everyone is eligible for ADR. My bone density being too low eliminated that possibility for me. So i choose fusion over pain for sure.
judy

[Maria]

And this is for anybody~ if you don't feel comfortable about the procedure, the surgeon, the explanation or non explanation of the surgery and/or the consent form .. say something and get things cleared up before you sign the consent for surgery and/or are wheeled into the Operating room under anesthesia.

We do make the choice to actually have the surgery unless emergency circumstances prevail and we do sign the consent forms so really try to do whatever choosing to do with the full knowledge that other than a horrific and detectable mistake on the surgeons part or someone involved in the surgical process we are going to have to live with the results.

Results may be great, good, mediocre, not so good, pretty bad and plain old horrific.

No guarantees. Do your homework prior to surgery and go into it knowing the best choice was made given everything involved.

[mmglobal]

Originally Posted by ADR seeker

There are ball and socket ADR available in the US but they over rotate. The good ADRs are motion limiting.

It is amazing how effective marketing in this field is. The makers of the metal on metal prostheses try to make us believe that the poly core prostheses are inferior (and vice versa.) The makers of the keeled prostheses try to make us believe that no-keel is a problem. The makers of the prostheses with less motion try to make us believe that more motion is bad, and the makers of the more mobile prostheses try to make us believe that the opposite is true.

If you are a good candidate and you get a good job done, you stand a very good chance of success. The prosthesis is much less important than other factors, like quality of diagnosis, technically excellent carpentry, etc... If you are a poor candidate or you get a poor implantation, you chance of success is dramatically reduced, no matter which prosthesis you choose.

All of the differences from one device to the next come with advantages and disadvantages. It is difficult to know how much weight to assign to each feature.

All I know is that my lumbar spine is still 1,000 times better than I ever thought it would be. I have known for years that if I were to get lumbar ADR today, it would not be Charite'. However, if I had to choose between Charite' and fusion, I would still take the Charite'. Choose ADR or no ADR based on the merits of motion preservation. Time will lead us to more optimum designs. However, as it stands now, the difference between devices in the current crop of ADR's is sooooo much less important than other factors. IMHO, we will see failed spine surgeries with more optimum designs as often as with less optimum designs, because they fail because of poor indications and technically poor implantations.

Mark

[james]

"Back pain is big business. Fixing it quick and easy is bad for business."

Medical fields are an obvious case of conflict of interest. We don't talk about this because we are used to it and because whoever is in Medial field is damn powerful. Why on earth a doctor would be interested in curing you. Regardless of his outcome, he gets his money. Some do a better job, get a reputation and get more patients, but that is not a big motivation because there are enough patients for doctors.

I'm an engineers. If my work is not reviews do I deliver.

[ADR seeker]

Update:

I saw a surgeon. He was rude and dismissive and I was being a good boy. My wife was there are she saw it the same way. This quack told me something not other surgeon told me. He said that my spinal canal is congenitally too small and that is why the disks are giving me such a hard time. He offered ESI epidural steroid injection even after I told him I can't have anymore cortisone. I was ODed on it. Got a big muscle injection of it after a DXR 9000 machine malfunctioned and over pulled, separated at the magnetic clasp and caused my head to slam down on the table. I was also given steroid inhalers for sinus which I found out is really cervicogenic in nature, while at the same time I was given cortisone suppositories for hemorrhoids caused by all the Knox NutraJoint I was eating.

The over dose of cortisone cause panic attacks, vertigo and tinitus. Cortisone is a bad drug for a lot of people. It can to irreversible damage and it can take up to 18 month to leave your body.

You would think by now there would be a safe alternative to cortisone.

My only hope is new generation ADR. I am selling off stuff now but it won't be enough. I will end up a med head. That is my future. Thank you FDA and greedy American health care industry. I hope all you FDA crooks and doctors get cancer.

[mmglobal]

If the pedicles are shorter than normal, the spinal canal will be smaller than normal. In patients with smaller than normal spinal canals, issues causing stenosis that may be asymptomatic in others, can be highly symptomatic. It is not uncommon to have this issue go unmentioned by several doctors before it is highlighted by one. This is especially true if the condition is borderline.

Mark