Best of luck to you Sgt Bob! I hope the surgery does fix everything for you.

One thing I suggest... document, document and document some more. Ask for copies of everything you can...especially from those civilian docs. If you ever have to make a VA claim it is sooooo important to have a full and complete record. My husband learned the hard way when an MRI and a consult with a civilian doc, never made it into his medical records. He missed out on an additional 10% in his rating because he didn't have all documentation for that one claim.