Flan48 - I sent you a PM
Met with the PA and the Doc today. Lots of more explaining and learning on my part. They do not hesitate to spend a more than appropriate amount of time with my wife and me.
Took an x-ray which showed the spondolythesis to be stable and not flexing.
My disc is in pretty bad shape, really squeezing the heck out of my nerve root(s).
So, this leaves me with three choices.
1. More cortisone injections. The last one was difficult to do and resulted in negative consequences because of the extreme stenosis (narrowing) and they were not ableto place the needle into the L-4 so that the cortisone penetrated to the L-5 root or something like that. SO, I would need another injection at the L-5. The results may not be significant, and, in any event, would have to be redone periodically. My thought about this is that there might be significant chances of the uncontrollable pain, although they promised another doc and that I would be knocked out. Likely no more than a 50% improvement, if that. I only got about 25% improvvement from the last shot on Monday, and it does not seem to be "holding." I can barely walk around the block without intolerable pain starting.
2. A clean out - trimmming the disc, etc., which would likely relieve the problem for some unknown period of time, but they are quite sure that down the road sometime I would need a fusion. My concern is that I am 70 years old - and some folks think that, even at 70, you are too old for much of anything to be done. I don't know what my health will be in 5 or 10 years. or even, given changing medical laws and standards, whether or not they would do a fusion on someone 75 or 80 years old, if I needed it in 5-10 years. An in and out operation - sort of day surgery.
3. "Minimally invasive surgery" - in my case, that means two short incisions on each side of the spine, no muscles cut, two short rods placed externally to the spine. each uniting the C4-C5 and, upon fusing, removable. Takes about 1.5 hours. They feel this would permananently solve this situation. I would be in the hospital 1 - 2 nights then home, where recovery would be a gradual thing VERY dependent upon my recovery skills, health, etc. - 6 months to 1 year until totally normal. If I wanted, or they bothered me, they could remove the rods and supports after the fusion was complete.
I have learned there are many different types of fusions done by surgeons.
So, there it is, at least right now. My current options and the potential results.
Thanks for all the input.
Last edited by DnvrFox; 09-01-10 at 05:02 PM.