DKCDKC
Platinum Member
My wife has had horrible osteo arthritis and went through various meds, TENS units, injections and such. Each worked for a while, but the pain returned. Then we looked into surgery. Some surgeons only do the heavy hardware of bars and screws - proven, but very invasive and old school. Others do these newer techniques with small metal inserts to brace and fuse vertebrae. Some use an even newer technique of plastic wedges and screws - much less invasive.
My wife, an RN, chose the wedges and has had seven vertebrae fused in two surgeries by an outstanding spine surgeon, the last two months ago. Almost no pain. Uses a cane on rough ground, but can get on and operate my John Deere easily. Not too shabby.
Check out the surgeons in your area and talk to the best in each category, asking about successes, duration of the procedure (a few hours for one or two vertebrae), later flexibility, incision size (wife's incisions were about an inch in the side) and cost/insurance. You may be surprised.
Check different hospitals too. There are ongoing fights between spinal surgeons, neurosurgeons and orthopedic surgeons for the lucrative spine business. All have positives and negatives, and some hospitals have only one kind of surgeon allowed to work on spines.
As with artificial joints, most people who have these new kinds of back fusion operations seem to come out only regretting they did not do it earlier.
My wife, an RN, chose the wedges and has had seven vertebrae fused in two surgeries by an outstanding spine surgeon, the last two months ago. Almost no pain. Uses a cane on rough ground, but can get on and operate my John Deere easily. Not too shabby.
Check out the surgeons in your area and talk to the best in each category, asking about successes, duration of the procedure (a few hours for one or two vertebrae), later flexibility, incision size (wife's incisions were about an inch in the side) and cost/insurance. You may be surprised.
Check different hospitals too. There are ongoing fights between spinal surgeons, neurosurgeons and orthopedic surgeons for the lucrative spine business. All have positives and negatives, and some hospitals have only one kind of surgeon allowed to work on spines.
As with artificial joints, most people who have these new kinds of back fusion operations seem to come out only regretting they did not do it earlier.
