--though I'm sorry for what brought you to us.

Yes, with flattening of the spinal cord--in fact, any compression of the cord itself, a spinal orthopedic/neurological consult is indicated; continued pressure on the cord can cause many problems.

Do you live in an area with major hospitals? This is the kind of thing you'll want to get imaged very precisely and possibly get multiple opinions on before any procedure begins.

You should also stop over at our Spinal Disorders forum, if you haven't already, and share there; some good people can likely give you some concrete suggestions:

http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/forum22.html