[Bill1961]

I don't feel Michelle is being unreasonable in her remarks. She is expressing her opinion on a situation with an adverse outcome that touches many of us.

When we think of medical care it's not only pre-op, but it's post-op as well. Granted all surgeons can have some number of poor outcomes, but the real test in their character is what they do for the patient when things don't go as planned.

As I do my research in ADR I'm finding one consistent message. Every Dr. who has done some large number of ADR's is the "best" by some group. Maybe it's true, maybe not.

The patients who show support for a particular Dr. typically have had a satisfactory outcome. They rarely ask themselves "did I get the optimal outcome?". The ones who have less than desired outcomes can become critical and that's completely understandable. Some # of them are the victims of their own genetics, some are the fault of the surgeon.

In this particular case could it be genetics? Or could it be the surgeon who brought a patient from a 2 disk procedure to a 3 disk procedure? Maybe with out an appreciation for additional risks. No one really knows.

Many of us are in pain or recovering from pain. We all have strong feelings because of our situation. Maybe to our fault we grasp to easily what we feel is a fix. When in reality where playing a game of chance? That game is very attractive when we are in endless pain and suffering for years.

Someone once told me "only do what's symptomatic. Never take on any additional surgery that can not be confirmed by your symptoms first, then imaging and additional testing.

This same person also told me "You can not replace what god gave us so easily".

I would like to touch on Michelle's comment about Pro Spine in a new post.