Surgery scheduled

[Sunshine]

Congratulations on scheduling your surgery. It is truly a big step. I wish you the best of luck. It has not been that long since my surgery, and I definitely am not pain free and out of the woods yet (far from it) ...but I have to say that so far, my hybrid surgery was the best decision that I could have ever made. (I believe you said that this is going to be a hybrid, right?) I hope it works out for you as well.
Sending you all my best.

~Andrea

[Jim M2]

Maria, Do you hava any thoughts on this easing of your pain? Are your discs the primary pain generators and they're giving up the ghost now? Are you fusing naturally? The doctors have always told us the pain would ease after many years passed. I suspect I would have been better off without surgery. Of course I'll never know for sure.

I hope this good trend keeps up!

[ans]

I asked why not let autofusion naturally occur but I was told by one surgeon (Lauryssen or Regan) that it's not so hot. Naturally I forget why.

Good luck Maria in this uber-adult decision.

ans

[mmglobal]

In many situations, 'mostly fused' does not address the pain generators. That is why most surgeons are doing 360 fusions now. You can get good fusion of the posterior column with a posteriolateral fusion, but the anterior column still moves some. The autofusion process takes a very long time and may still allow some movement... and pain.

Mark