Prodisc

[zfontana]

I think ADR is a pipe dream! Even if it works most of the time its short lived! If it fails you will be in worst pain forever. My 2 cents!

[Gil Denis]

Dam if you do damed if you dont only time will tell technology is getting better, and that is what they said about knees???

Gil

[jsewell]

As far as technology goes, my knees aren't too bad, but let me tell you my hip replacement was awesome. Best surgery going , just as long as you get a hip surgeon to do it.
judy

[Maria]

I don't know what to think re more surgery for anything tho I do think the spine is the hardest predicable surgerical endeavor I've been thru re knee, foot, spine, and other body parts. It's like maybe it will work and maybe it won't. That'd be Ok tho getting worse is really tough to deal with. That's what happened w/my 2nd spine surgery and kept me for going for a 3rd UNLESS I absolutely couldn't stand it anymore.

Good luck to anyone about to undergo any level of spine surgery or any surgery for that matter (even plastic surgery)!

[nomorepain]

Pipe dream? some are success stories some are not, just like fusion some never take & some fail, there are no guarantees, surgery is risky business. I'm having my 10th year anniversary post op, i was in the trials, i'm doing pretty darn good so it is possible. The surgery was rough, i will admit this, my recovery was long, but I had my problem for a very long time. I'm still 75%better than I was before the prodiscs, i have some other medical issues now, but my prodisc surgery is still holding strong. I have spoken to others where the situation isn't good and the ADR surgery made things worse, this can happen with any surgery, as far as a pipe dream, not really, it just gives us spineys another choice, besides fusion

[zfontana]

[quote=nomorepain;16785]Pipe dream? some are success stories some are not, just like fusion some never take & some fail, there are no guarantees, surgery is risky business. I'm having my 10th year anniversary post op, i was in the trials, i'm doing pretty darn good so it is possible. The surgery was rough, i will admit this, my recovery was long, but I had my problem for a very long time. I'm still 75%better than I was before the prodiscs, i have some other medical issues now, but my prodisc surgery is still holding strong. I have spoken to others where the situation isn't good and the ADR surgery made things worse, this can happen with any surgery, as far as a pipe dream, not really, it just gives us spineys another choice, besides fusion[/QUOTNNNNNNN

[mmglobal]

I am also 10 years post-op this year. The ADR surgery was the best thing I have ever done. I have been saying since I was 6 months out.... "If I go bad tomorrow, it was worth it!!!"

I know literally hundreds of ADR patients. Yes... there are horrible failures as there are for all spine surgeries, but for the most part; the stories are good.

Mark

[zfontana]

It's been eight months and 10 days since my fusion over the pro-disc. As of lately I've been making some progress. I've been bed ridden for a year and a half since my pro-disc surgery. I found I can sit and eat dinner without to much pain. I couldn't walk a half mile after the prodisc but after the fusion over the pro-disc surgery I can walk about a mile a day. I still have pain when sleeping but I can tolerate sleeping good 6 to 8 hours a night. Prior to surgery I would be up for days from the pain until I was so exhausted I passed out and most mornings I wake up crying in pain. I feel stable once again, presurgery I would lose my balance quite often which was very scary. My surgeon could not promise me a number on the pain reduction but his goal was to make me stable without removing the pro-disc but he will if im still not stable. So far my progress has been fair. It's nice to walk without agony. It's amazing that I can finally sit up what seems like no big deal was almost impossible. I know I'll never be the same as if I just would've had a fusion off the get go. But so far I regained back some of the things I took for granted. I had my x-ray images and Dr. seems to be happy with his work. I hope I still keep improving within the next year. I'm hoping that I fuse and if I do fuse properly or as well as can be expected with this type of procedure. I would imagine I'll even get better after joints stop moving. I'm just hoping there's no complications like bone growing over a nerves. My orthopedic surgeon was highly recommended and very creative. He also on our first meeting was stunned that a doctor would put a pro-disc in with the level of facet joint disease that I had. Prior to my pro-disc surgery I was never informed that I had moderate facet joint disease, not by my orthopedic surgeon or the MRI report. The sad part is I never would've risked getting a pro-disc with moderate facet joint disease. Regardless if my joints were not the culprit, I just would not chance it. I would imagine I'll have back pain the rest my life but going from a 10 hopefully after it's fused to a five or six I could live with. For now I will just have to enjoy the little improvements that have been made.

[jsewell]

I am happy for you with the improvement you have had. I hope it keeps getting better. I too, will always have back pain , just as you said trying to keep the level as low as possible is the plan
Judy

[Maria]

I hope everyone gets better! I didn't have a 3rd spine surgery and I'm happy about that. I don't have any idea how much better I could have been tho I am very happy with how much better I am from where I was post failed discectomy in 1992 thru about 2005! I am still on a low dose opioid pain medication daily tho that's really it... otherwise I can walk and walk and walk tho I have posterior tibial tendonitis in both feet so that limits me and I'm not good at sitting tho better than I used to be most definately.

I thought I was autofused at L5S1 tho after seeing my OSS and having recent xrays he said my facets are autofused at that level and hence the reduction of pain~ whatever~ I'll take it!!!!

I started on this spine journey back nearly 30 years ago. Life hasn't been easy tho it's improved and I am thankful for that. I still have flare ups tho few and far between (esp. with my new tatami platform bedding).

For those that had ADR and improved as much as they did I'm still wow-ed and for those that had fusion and improved I'm wow-ed too... for those that have had failed surgeries and/or continuing difficulties I just hope that better days are coming.

Best spiney wishes for all! Maria

[runner]

Zfontana, and others,

Zfontana, sorry that you had a surgeon who put in an ADR when it was directly contraindicated.

IMHO, I think anyone who is going to have major spine surgery needs to really know what they are getting into. They should know the contraindications for the surgery they are having and have reasonable expectations for the outcome.
They should know the possible complications for their surgery.
This is what informed consent is about.

Surgery should never be taken lightly and I believe there are no "minor" operations. There are no guarantees with any surgery. Doctors are not perfect and they can make mistakes. They do.

I am living the pipe dream I guess. March is my anniversary month for my surgery. It has been five years since I got a ProDisc at L4/5. The recovery was tough but I do not regret having surgery. It took me out of the awful pain cycle I was in.

I fought hard to get the surgery I knew was the best one for me and my surgeon thought it was the best, too. One orthopedic surgeon I saw, wanted to do fusion. I asked him what were the chances of success, he told me about 65 percent. Those are not great odds.

I am forever grateful that I ended up with my surgeon after getting several opinions about what to do with my back.

I hope everyone gets as good of a recovery as me or even a better one.

Cheers,

Runner

[over10yrs]

there are good and bad outcomes in all surgeries. don't count out artificial discs as a temporary fix, i've gone almost 11yrs and they are still in great shape, how do I know, no more pain and no more back problems. you definetly need to be aware of the procedure before you and educate yourself and be involved in your care, but don't count it out, it's another option, sometimes we are asked to take a risk, i know i did, i'm was in the trials, we are here today talking about these things because of those who took the risk.