Disc Replacement?

[Jrod]

I had a prodisc L placed between L4/L5 and L5/S1 fused. ALIF (from the front), minimal hardware, nothing from the back. Wore a brace for 3 months, then slowly resumed activity. 2+ years now out, an inch taller, good ROM and zero pain. Yes, finding the right doc is key. I had to wait until Medicare to get the doc I wanted. Gunwant Mallik MD. One of the best in central OH, probably in the country. Referred several to him and their outcomes all exceeded expectations.

Is this a neurosurgeon?

 

[Bigtex]

Keep us informed

 

[Jrod]

Well, after much searching and reviews, I found a neurosurgeon with zero negative reviews out of 400+ reviews.
I scheduled an appointment with him to get his opinion as I would feel more comfortable with a neuro spine surgeon. Not that there aren’t great orthopedic surgeons, but when it comes to the spine and nerves, the patients who’ve used nuero’s are the ones that said they are glad they went that route.
I’ve also heard more negative than positive stories about back surgery. My mother had 2 or three surgeries that never helped. They ended up putting in a spinal stimulator to disrupt the nerve signals. It seemed like they ain’t know what else to do so they put that in as a “Hail Mary”. Don’t work of course. Having gone through all of that with her and seeing the agony she was in made me 100x more hesitant.
I go next Wednesday for the consultation so, I’ll just have to wait and hope for the best.

 

[Bigtex]

I hear you @Jrod. My father had spine surgery when he was in his late 70's. Back then they only went in from the abdomen. He was still in such pain that he because bed ridden and died a few years afterwards. So I am not looking forward to even thinking about this.

I did find a surgeon here maybe his office can make a suggestion if you are not happy with the one you are going to see

Make A Life Without Pain | West Houston Spine Center

Dr. West has traveled the world for education and training so that he can offer patients that most up-to-date, least invasive procedures that are proven to relieve painful conditions of the spine. Back to work, Back to play, Back to Life.

www.houstonneurosurgeryandspine.com

 

[Jrod]

I hear you @Jrod. My father had spine surgery when he was in his late 70's. Back then they only went in from the abdomen. He was still in such pain that he because bed ridden and died a few years afterwards. So I am not looking forward to even thinking about this.

I did find a surgeon here maybe his office can make a suggestion if you are not happy with the one you are going to see

Make A Life Without Pain | West Houston Spine Center

Dr. West has traveled the world for education and training so that he can offer patients that most up-to-date, least invasive procedures that are proven to relieve painful conditions of the spine. Back to work, Back to play, Back to Life.

www.houstonneurosurgeryandspine.com

Oh, sorry to hear that brother!
Thank you for this! I appreciate you!

 

[Glycomann]

Well, after much searching and reviews, I found a neurosurgeon with zero negative reviews out of 400+ reviews.
I scheduled an appointment with him to get his opinion as I would feel more comfortable with a neuro spine surgeon. Not that there aren’t great orthopedic surgeons, but when it comes to the spine and nerves, the patients who’ve used nuero’s are the ones that said they are glad they went that route.
I’ve also heard more negative than positive stories about back surgery. My mother had 2 or three surgeries that never helped. They ended up putting in a spinal stimulator to disrupt the nerve signals. It seemed like they ain’t know what else to do so they put that in as a “Hail Mary”. Don’t work of course. Having gone through all of that with her and seeing the agony she was in made me 100x more hesitant.
I go next Wednesday for the consultation so, I’ll just have to wait and hope for the best.

Smart man.

 

[Jrod]

Smart man.

 

[Jrod]

Smart man.

fingers crossed

 

[Jrod]

I had my neuro appointment today and because of the slope of my L5-S1, they have to go in from the front and the back. He said it would be a very long recovery. But he also said that since I have been functioning for this long without any loss of sensation or drop foot or anything else, he recommended me do the neck first as that is the one that is giving me the MOST pain and inability to get comfortable. He said that recovery is much faster and and hopefully relieve all the pain in the cervical spine.
He also said that because there’s almost no disk left, more than likely there wouldn’t be a difference between fusion or artificial disk.
Just the thought of going through with that scares the hell out of me.
I forgot to ask him how that would affect my range of motion like turning my head up, down, side to side etc.
Need updated MRI’s first and then go back to see him.

 

[orion7]

I was in a similar spot and had also turned down fusion more than once because the long-term outcomes scared me. In my case, I had a disc that had essentially failed and injections were the only thing keeping things manageable. When I started looking into artificial disc replacement, I booked a consultation with Dr. Saqib Siddiqui to get clarity before committing to anything.
He went through my MRI level by level and explained why ADR can work well in some cases, but also why L5/S1 can be tricky depending on stability, facet joints, and bone quality. What helped most was that he didn’t oversell surgery. He explained what could realistically improve, what wouldn’t, and how to avoid making things worse in the meantime. That consult helped me make a more informed decision instead of guessing or relying on fear of fusion alone.

 

[prime]

I have neuropathy in my soles and my gastrocnemius as melted away on both calves from my l5/s1 slowly compressing over the years from a 43 year old back injury. Do you think disc replacement would help? I've tried to stay away from fusion. Pretty sure my calves are done.

 

[jipped genes]

I have a L5-S1 fusion from the 90s. The main thing is to do PT for the rest of your life and keep that area strong. I did not for years and had pain for a decade saying it did not work. I would go and do PT and it would get better, I would stop and it would get worse. With my diminished cognitive capacity I finally figured it out. I am 95% now. I do not squat or deadlift heavy anymore but I can still do just about every thing else. I spend 10 minutes each day with my routine. I do not know if PT would have helped me to begin with as the disc was all but gone and I had horrible pain and numb legs so prob not. But i will keep up my routine and over 30 years later I am still going strong with very few back probs.

I say that to say this. Your back is like your car. If you maintain it impeccably it will probably last you forever even if the power windows and the AC break it will still get you from A to B reliably.