[johnb]

The surgeons don't keep the coffers full by running tests. It's really a testament to the problems with some (hopefully a minority) in the spinal industry. Let's do a little simple math for the sake of argument. Take 5 hypothetical surgical candidates who report low back pain and disc disease on MRI. Minimal testing will probably equate to all these folks recieving a surgical recommendation. Certainly not all, but many a surgeon will move quickly to operate. More extensive testing might reveal that 2 or 3 of the 5 might not be great candidates for whatever invasive/expensive surgery being served up. Those surgeons who put profit above the patients health will have all 5 on the operating table. Then take the probability that a certain % of patients will require more surgery after initially surgery and that sums up what is going on with some of the industry. More resources need to be put toward diagnosing pain generators instead of all the RD that goes into coming up with another variation of spinal hardware. The spinal industry's effort to maximize profits can conflict with what is best for the patient. My own experience is indicative of this.