Hi Hibiki,

So what's the score thus far? From your post, it appears you had 1 cutter almost seven years ago in favor of surgery, and several more medical professionals since who have advised against it; is that right?

As Dirty Harry might ask... "Do you feel lucky?" which isn't really too far off.

The thing is, while all surgeries involve inherrent risks, unlike an appendectomy or many other procedures, there's nothing "routine" about spine surgery; there are too many variables; probably more than with any other type of surgery. Back surgery is also the only kind of surgery (or procedure) I know of that fails so often they have a name for it:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Failed_back_syndrome

Let's be clear - there are successful back surgeries, but the risks (statistics) of being the same - or worse - following surgery are high enough that it should only be considered as an absolute last resort after all other therapies have proven ineffective, and even then only after getting multiple opinions. Surgery cannot be "undone" though many people have had to endure multiple procedures due to initial failure, mistakes, and deteriorating conditions. Surgery is also no guarantee of fixing pain; the physical defects may be corrected, but damage to nerves and other factors can leave pain unaffected or worse.

There are a LOT of options to try before getting to surgery, and even then a Pain Pump or Spinal Cord Stimulator may be preferable to other procedures. A lot also depends on the exact procedure (and associated variables) being considered (e.g. Surgery on the cervical spine may be more risky than lower down due to the greater number of nerves branching out from the neck. That's just one example.)

I have (what my doctor said was) severe problems at the top (cervical) and bottom (lumbar) areas - discs so badly deteriorated I have bone on bone. My specialist - an orthopedic surgeon at a spine center at a large medical center (with a whole department of surgeons with whom to consult) - advised against surgery for me as being too great a risk.

Things may change in the future; my condition may deteriorate to a point where surgery becomes the last resort, or techniques and technology may someday improve to the point that the risk is greatly lessened, but until something like that happens, I'm not sorry I took my doctor's advice. Surgery isn't going to go away; it'll be there tomorrow even if my discs aren't!

Doc