[Maria]

I was told that pretty much along the way ( a number of years) before my L5S1 area auto fused. In the MRI reports it always mentioned disc desiccation and the degree thereof .. anyway I didn't have other things going on that would have been a real reason for me have surgery other than pain which it seemed lessened at that disc level when the auto fusion was taking place. Again from point of injury (back in '81) to point of feeling better at that level and being told I was auto fusing '05/06... many years passed that I was in pretty severe pain at that level.

I think based on what we experience and relate to the surgeon(subjective) plus what the clinical findings are re diagnostics like MRI, discogram, myelogram, and such(objective) surgeons can make recommendations however unless there is a absolute reason for surgery such as neurodeficits, cauda equine, loss of use of extremity, severe stenosis, fragmented disc that are breaking away... I don't know that there is any urgency or even necessity for surgery unless we are doing it mostly to try to get rid of pain and that can be a very slippery slope as it may work or may not and may bring about more pain as one surgically alters the natural and is introducing foreign materials into the body.

In my estimation the surgeon is making a prediction of what will happen based on statistics and yet the outcome may or may not be what the surgeon states. While the spine will follow a natural progression with or without surgery (and that is for discs to dry out or desiccate) and other natural changes from wear, tear and aging the only way to know what will happen without surgery is to not have it and the only way to know what will happen with surgery is to have it and even that isn't predictable because not everyone responds the same way to the surgery that is performed. There are good outcomes, less good outcomes, poor outcomes and terrible outcomes and then there is the aging response accompanied by the materials (foreign) in the body that may or may not cause more problems as one ages either in the short term or the longer term.

The spine seems less forgiving as other parts of the body for this type of thing is what I gather from people that have numerous spine surgeries especially fusion. I have always said spine surgery is a crapshoot and I still believe it although I do think there are masters of spine surgery that have a better chance of being able to "fix" things or make them better. In my case I stuck with my two failed discectomies and let my body do it's thing from there. I've not been displeased with that decision the last 8 years. More spine surgery may still be in my future .. never say never is what I learned with regard to just about anything ... That's just my take on it at least which might be worth nothing in anybody's case but my own.