Mark, you think you're confused & missing something ~ imagine how I now feel!! It's only because I'm going to see the new NS on Tuesday that my GP printed the letters from my surgeon off for me to take along with my GP referral that I found this info, it's all there in black & white & is really so contradictory as he's said that my 05 MRI shows this End Stage Facet Arthrosis, that I need stabilsation & I'm a candidate for either ADR or fusion but due to the conditions most likely fusion
There are only a couple of follow up letters, one to say he carried out ADR on me at L5/S1 without complication though they had problems sorting out my pain control (tell me something I don't know!) & that I had been discharged. The next letter saying I'd had my 3 month xray, the disc still looked good & I was progressing well. That last letter is almost total bull as even though I was then in PT Rehab with a Spine Therapist, the radiographer reported exaggerated lumber lordosis (which he omitted to tell me) but also, I wasn't & am still not, progressing well!! As for the disc, I have had someone look at all of my post-op xrays, they feel that my disc has actually slipped 2mm, I haven't been able to contact my surgeon about this (or anything else) so will ask the NS on Tuesday what his opinion is on that.
My GP will agree with me & also tell anyone that wants to know that I am now in far worse shape than I ever was pre-op
So, I'm now beginning to go with my PT who calls my surgeon a maverick egomaniac
My surgeon is known of at the hospitals I deal with as he did a lot of his training up this way.
All in all I feel that doing an ADR on me was just another notch on the surgeons number of discs he'd implanted without regard to whether it really was right!?! I feel that one way or another a disc was going to be squeezed into my spine even though it obviously wasn't the correct procedure! It was explained to me about a possible anterior fusion & I was happy that should it be that a fusion would be better then to go ahead.
With the way my spine is regressing, I can honestly say I just want the darn thing taken out but admit that I'm scared of what I expect will be a bigger op.
Thanks for your reply
If you want any further info either here or privately then please feel free to PM me.
All the best