[QUOTE=Teatime;873431]Hi all! I've long had spine and joint problems so I'm not new to surgery but I am interested in knowing folks' opinions/preferences! About 20 years ago, I had a cervical diskectomy with fusion and it was done by a neurosurgeon. About 11 years ago, I had a laminectomy at L5-S1 and it was also done by a neurosurgeon.

My biggest problems that led to those surgeries were neurological. Numbness and tingling, loss of feeling, loss of motor skill in leg and arm, etc. So it made perfect sense to have a neurosurgeon do the work!

I've been struggling with back pain for about 3 years now and it's unrelenting. The neurosurgeon who did my laminectomy told me I'd likely need to have the disk space fused and worked on within 5 years. It's been 11 years so I've done pretty well! But an MRI showed absolutely no cushion left and my vertebrae are grating bone on bone. It needs to be fixed.

I'm having no neuro symptoms. It's strictly back pain. I've consulted an orthopedic spine specialist and he's recommended fusion and back stabilization that he says will resolve the problems for good. I've responded well to the previous surgeries so I think it will go well. My internist is wondering whether I should go to a neurosurgeon instead.

What do y'all think? I have surgery scheduled for May 22 but I still have plenty of time to consider everything.[/QUOTE

I would opt for the Orthopedic Spine Specialist (Assuming he did not go to medical school in Afghanistan!). You have seen neurologists/neurosurgeons and you still have problems that were not addressed because presumably because of their area of expertise. I think you can ask to have a neurologist attending when you have the surgery so in that way you could perhaps have both. Also you might see a neurologist now (Maybe a different one) before your May procedure. Hope all goes well. Sometimes the expertise of the surgeon makes all the difference. Make sure you have the most highly qualified physician you can.