All:
I've had constant back pain for as long as I can remember. Tried just about everything- acupuncture, various types of massage, PT, chiropractic adjustments (partially successful), traction, spinal injections, all to no avail. Met with a surgeon last week who offered to fuse 3 of my vertebra together- I'm not sure what their names are, but you can see from the pic which ones have fuched discs;
I've heard bad things about surgery, but most seems to centre around the damage done by gaining access. This guy claims that is not an issue because he does it 'keyhole' (not his words). I'm only 43 and have constant back pain & frequently 'throw my back out' sometimes with disastrous results (couldn't walk once, massive pain, walking about shaped like a question mark, etc).
Proposal is to fuse the 3 discs with some hardware, add synthetic discs & cadaver bone so it all grows together.
Thoughts?
Thanks in advance.
Paul.