Hey everyone... sorry I've been mostly gone over the last couple of months. It's been grueling, but I'm back and will be back for most of July... I hope to catch up and address all of the posts I have missed.
I have large osteophytes at c5-6-7. 3 years ago, Bertagnoli cautioned that if they get too big, I'll lose the option to do ADR. Because of the shape of the tools, they can't get far down the backside of the vertebral body to get to the osteophyte without compromising the endplate. I'll try to add some pictures... but I'll finish the post first.
When asked if I should do ADR now because if I wait, I may lose the option, he replied, "no". Since my symptoms don't justify doing surgery yet, I should not have 'preemptive' surgery, but I should do at least a yearly MRI and watch the situation, so if it looks like it's going bad... I can react quicker. My last MRI was March 2006 and it hadn't noticeably from a year prior. I am due for another MRI and have just been too busy... but hope to get one this summer. We'll see.
So, I think that in some configurations, osteophytes will continue to grow... I've seen them continue to progress... first they look like bracket funghi on a tree stump. They may turn a corner and progress towards it's partner across the disc space. Then they'll bridge the gap and will look more like a fusion than a fungus. I've seen this a lot with so-called 'claw osteophytes' on the anterior side of the disc.
In my case, they don't seem to be growing (at this time)... ask me after my next MRI.
Mark
|