[Jim M2]

I just told Dr. Regan's office I want to move forward with surgery.

Yesterday I spoke with Dr. Regan for a forth opinion on how to handle my situation. I remembered hearing him at a GPN seminar 10 years ago. Also Mark recommended that I should see Dr. Regan for an expert opinion. In the end I decided he is the best doctor for the surgery.

For my symptoms Dr. Regan was able to find good correlation to the imaging. The right facet is at end stage of degeneration. The ADR core is deformed. It is pinched in the back and not floating. What I thought was L4-5 discogenic pain is not discogenic pain. It is almost certainly compression and positional compression (i.e. sitting/standing) that loads up the L5S1 facets. Things are further aggravated by cysting and bone growth. As the discussion went on Dr. Regan kept returning to the MRI and pointing out pathologies and how he deals with them. I was very impressed. Mark was with me and made key observations and clarifications. I thank Mark from the bottom of my heart for finding the right doctor and keeping the dialog moving. After the excellent outcome I wouldn't dream of doing it alone. It's such scary decision and there are many risks but now everything has fallen into place.

I had despair, now I have hope.

Thank you Mark!