I'm a little confused here. The original post/question was over 2-1/2 years ago, as was the last time that person was active on this site. Their decision & outcome is probably (hopefully?) long past.

That said, any kind of spinal surgery is so speculative. I'm very glad that most of the respondents here had good results from their surgeries, but on other forums, I have seen clear majorities of people who weren't so fortunate, and wish they had never had their procedures done. Some have gone through multiple follow-up surgeries over many years to correct earlier ones with no relief.

There is, and I spose will always be, the "What if..." conundrum. If you do get surgery, and it turns out badly, you may always wonder, "What if I hadn't?" and if you don't get surgery, you may always wonder, "What if I had?"...

I don't say this to scare anyone, but to urge anyone considering surgery, especially on the spine, to garner as much information possible, both pro & con, (especially success statistics & ratios) and make the best informed decision they can. Surgery should always be a last resort, subject to second (or more) opinions - it can't be "undone."

In my own case, I was in so much pain I was very willing to consider surgery. But my own surgeon advised against it (encouraging multiple opinions, and some were willing to risk it, always disclaiming, "no guarantees") because statistically, the number of people who were better off after that particular procedure was LESS than the number of people who were the same or worse. I didn't like those odds.

Instead, he advised pain management and natural healing. In time, the vertebrae (c5-c7) would fuse on their own, without the risk of doing more damage and causing more pain. Do I wonder, "What if...?" Sometimes. But I also wonder how much worse I could/might be if I had rushed into the "quick fix". I am still in a lot of pain, but some healing has occured, and as time has passed, other changes - some good - some not-so-good, but I honestly can't say, all things considered, that I regret my negative decision. One day, techniques may improve, and with them, the success ratios.

Relating personal experiences is good; I'm not so sure about making recommendations in cases like this - every case is so different, and as in this case, the numbers may be skewed. I would, again, urge each patient to ask and determine those kinds of risks for themselves.

Doc