Bill, I put "less than 1%" in quotes and said "type of problems" to make it clear that I'm not quoting any statistic. It really is not aimed at ADR... I'm just trying to illustrate my point that the harsh realities of spine surgeries really exist. 80% chance of success is not a slam dunk... neither is 90% (and I don't believe that any spine surgery comes with 90% chance of success.)
When I went to arbitration for the car accident that wrecked my spine, I was put into a 2% category and the defense that it's not really possible to be one of the 2% was very effective. Many of the types of problems that are supposed be so rare that we don't take the risks seriously, don't seem all that rare.
I agree that ADR success may be overstated, while in some circles, fusion success is understated. I learned very early in the process not to trust the numbers and I still don't trust them. Anyone who has worked with me knows that I believe that spine surgery should be avoided if possible and that I am frequently trying to clarify the harsh realities. There is no magic bullet.
In your case, "surgical expertise or dumb luck" may not be an either/or question. It may be the case that your bounce back from fusion would have been equally quick or quicker with ADR and that your bounce back from ADR would have been even worse if you had fusion. It's not necessarily that surgical expertise or luck are involved... it may be that the situation was completely different and that an optimum recovery was not possible from your ADR surgery regardless of what was done. I'm not suggesting that I know the answer and I also understand that it may be the case that you are right.
Having said all that, I'll still chose motion over fusion (if I'm a good candidate for motion preservation.) I believe that some patients who really need fusion avoid it way too long because of the fear created in the patient community. Fusion does not guarantee adjacent segment disease, just as ADR does not guarantee against it.
I've seen many presentations on failed spine surgery and specifically failed ADR. There is a frequent belief that a large percentage of the failed ADR cases would have failed with fusion as well, because the problem lies elsewhere, not in the treated discs. I also believe that many of the failed fusion cases would also have failed with ADR for the same reasons.
Do I believe that the insurance companies are dragging their feet because they have our best interest at heart. Absolutely not! I still don't understand why some insurance company bureaucrat gets to override the FDA and your doctor and deny access to FDA approved technology.
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