Steve, when I was totally confused, another member here talked me into contacting Dr. Bitan in NYC. He is very well respected, one of the top in the country, and convinced me after a three hour consult to try hybrids, ADRs plus fusions in my neck and lumbar. (Two levels in my neck, three in my lumbar)
He explained that the fusion will take care of the very damaged section of my spinal cord that has a lot of edema, and then the ADR next to it will give protection to the adjoining discs, along with the movement needed.
I was exactly like you...very afraid of fusion, but decided to trust this man. My cervical levels are critical, so I have to trust someone, fast. No one has sent me bad reports about this doctor, and I got a wonderful feeling after meeting him in person. He mentioned doing a number of revisions, so he may well look at your MRIs when you explain things. He only charged me for the visit, not to look at the images. AND he called me back immediately, when he saw that I had a big problem. I'm waiting for an answer from my insurance this week regarding surgery.
He will at least give you an honest opinion, and is much closer than Germany at this point. But I know he is going away at the first of the month, so you should do this soon, if you are interested.
Just a thought, and wishing you the best. PM for more details if you like.
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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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