Kathy, thanks so much for adding to this. How long has your cousin had the spacer? There are quite a few varieties of them, but the DIAM is the only one that is completely made of silicone, and thus no metal to stiffen the joint. Or at least that is the concept.
My husband and I are waffling. If we go to Germany, we will wipe out ALL of our funds, because of the cost of four levels. If I go to the other surgeon, it is 1/4 the cost of the other surgery. That is a LOT of money to sink into one, with nothing left in the basket for a backup plan.
The other positive note to the DIAM spacer is that the surgeon trained both in Germany and in Toronto among other places. I am only five hours from Toronto, and the surgeon has colleagues who can work with me after I come home, apparently. Unfortunately, it will be about a year's wait to see them ahead of time, to get their opinion. I have emailed them, with no response, but that does not surprise me. Almost all doctors I have met here are that way.
The exciting news is that my alternate doctor that I wanted for an opinion emailed me late last night and asked me to call him on Thursday morning for an appointment date!!!! This may help make the decision a lot easier. If he 'sees' a lot of arthritis, then perhaps the DIAM is the better choice. Or not.....it was so much easier when I thought I only had one option.
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DDD
Herniated discs C4/5 & 5/6, L3/4, L4/5, L5/S1
Severe compression of spinal cord in two levels
All conventional therapy exhausted, including spinal injections, PT, massage, etc.
In appeal with Gov't Insurance for Out-of-country coverage for ADR hybrid surgery of above discs.
Recently discovered that I am severely allergic to all common metals used in surgical hardware except for Titanium.
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