ADR surgery with Dr Zeegers

[scabral]

Hello Fellow Spine Crusaders!

I was hoping to get some support and advice from this forum. I have suffered from lower back pain for close to six years now. I loved living an active lifestyle and being fit. Over the years this has reduced to the point where I am not able to do any of the things that I enjoyed and it has lead to depression, which I am sure a lot of people out there can appreciate.

I've been diagnosed with a disc bulge at the L5/S1 level with an annular tear. I tried conservative treatments over the years and none of it has made a difference. It has helped with the pain sometimes, however only temporarily. I'm looking for a more permanent solution rather than just pain management so that I can return to the life I used to have.

I'm Australian and the approach here is against surgery, but doesn't really offer any comparable solutions. I've been told from a neurosurgeon here that apart from pain management that there isn't much I can do and that I have to accept I cannot return to my previous life of being fit and active. At 39 years of age that it a very daunting prospect.

I've been in talks with Dr Zeeger about ADR and was wondering what other people's experiences were. I am getting to the point where I have had to stop work and life is looking rather bleak.

If anyone out there can offer any advice or support... it would truly be a godsend.

Thank you.

[Maria]

I was hoping someone would respond to your post by now as there are several persons here at least personally familiar with Dr.Zeeger's work however I guess they have not checked out the forum lately..

Sorry to read that you have the problems you do and are pretty much limited in your own country as to what to do however thankfully there are options if you're a qualified candidate that afford to go outside of your country.

You may want to go to the Surgical or Surgery part of the forum if you haven't already and peruse what's been written there.

Mark (mmglobal) is a really good person to talk to you (actually talk with) if you can either Skype or have a phone conversation with him. He's the creator of iSpine so there's a "contact us" area to the far right up above that you can reach him at and I would definitely do that. I'm sure other people might reply as well in time.

Wishing you the best and quite understand your feelings and thoughts~ take care and hope to hear from you again here. Maria

[scabral]

Maria,

Thank you so much for the response. I, too, was hoping for a response by now, but I am very thankful for your information nonetheless.

I will contact Mark ASAP and go from there.

Thanks again for all your help! It means a lot!

Cheers.

[Maria]

I have been checking daily to see if anyone replied to your original post ..
Mark had lumbar surgery with Dr.Zeegers back around 01/02 I think and has a good rapport with him personally as well as a number of other spine surgeons so he would be a really great source of information and assistance.

Good luck in your spine endeavors and please if you feel so inclined keep us posted!

Maria

[scabral]

Thanks Maria. I've reached out to Mark and I'm still awaiting a response. Thank you again for all your help.

[Maria]

I hope Mark answers soon.. I'm sure you'll really be glad you reached out to him! Take care!

Maria

[Gktm300]

I am in the exact same situation as you. I have gotten overweight due to inactivity. As soon as I am able I will get TDR surgery. I hear excellent reviews about Zeegers he in my top 5 but I am terrified to fly after being an A&P mechanic LOL. You must remember only the hurting patients n unsuccessful patients frequent these sites. Usually once someone is well they abandon this behavior, wouldn't you? I have been researching this for almost a year n here's what I come up with.

Dr Bertagnoli Bergen Germany

Dr Zeggers Germany

Dr Cleval Barcelona Spain

Dr James J Yue Yale Hosp conn.

Because of my fears n also insurance wise thus far I have given most of my efforts regarding to Yue. He has done hundreds but the Europeans doctors have done thousands. I just hate to be in Europe n face problems. While I believe this surgery is good I do believe the European will operate even if you have minor contradictions while Dr Yue will not. Yue told me to loose weight. Quit smoking thus far just from n email exchange, I will mail him my MRI this Monday (12/28/2015). Good lunch n God bless you I wish you the best !

[scabral]

Thank you for the well wishes GKTM300. I hope you are doing well! I was on the verge of being accepted into a Stem Cell trial, but unfortunately found out that my disc was too far gone. That was my last effort to find an alternative option other than surgery.

I've come to acceptance now that it's something that I must do and that even if I get 10 years of pain free life that is very valuable. I can only make decision based on what is available to me now. It's been six years. I cannot live my life on Naproxen at high doses that can cause kidney and liver problems... not to mention the constant stomach upset feeling.

I've had talks with the doctor running the clinical trial and he is the best Spine Surgeon in L.A and the procedure will be taking place at Cedars.. one of the best hospitals in the world. So, I feel I am in the best of hands. I am just waiting now on approvals from INS to see how much it will be out of pocket for me.

How are you progressing?

[Jim M2]

Hi scabral,

I had Dr. Zeegers implant an L5S1 Charite in 2003. A year ago I had it extracted and converted to a fusion. Dr. Zeegers is one of the top surgeons for sure but in my situation it didn't turn out so well. One surgeon here thought Dr. Zeegers picked a Charite that was too large and it over distracted the disc space. The result was high pressure on the facets. I don't know if this is a correct assessment but it's one surgeon's opinion.

Pre-Charite my situation was similar to yours. My pain increased significantly after the Charite. At the time removal was considered dangerous. There were not many surgeons practiced in the art of removing the Charite.

Currently my situation is similar to yours with respect to the types of activities I can do. So now after 14 years I am more or less back where I started.

Again, Dr. Zeegers is an excellent doctor. Every excellent doctor has outcome like mine.

Best of luck to you.