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Posted by Cush
In Reply to: Stenosis / Back Surgery - What type of physician to use... neurosurgeons vs. orthopedic surgeons posted by ohaya
>He looked at the MRIs, and said that a "channel" (sorry, I'm not
>technical) was closed off almost completely.
>
>He said that a steroid shot might provide some temporary relief) but he
>didn't think physical therapy would help.
That part is certainly right, but that is because most PT
for this condition is wrong. Get the right kind of PT (see
www.vax-d.net for an example of the right kind).
>He said that I could either
>leave it alone, or have surgery done to remove a disk(?)?
>
This is what they almost always say, so long as you are not
showing signs of nerve *damage* (loss of bladder/bowel
control, etc.) They know that most likely, in a year or
two, you will be in saying you cannot take the pain any
longer and to give you the surgery.
>Anyway, I'm looking for thoughts about this.
>
>I'm not really thrilled about the idea of surgery, but he said that he
>had done "1000s" of these operations, and that the surgery was helpful
>in about 85% of his cases.
>
They are very generous to themselves in defining "helpful."
The more realistic figures are that it is helps in 50% of
the cases, 25% are no better at all (or have different
problems post-surgery that are just as problematic), and 25%
are worse off.
What they don't tell you is that for at least 10% (almost
half of the 25% that are worse off), the surgery turns into
a nightmare that the patient wishes they'd never gotten.
There are an incredible number of these "nightmare" stories
posted on the Net, and many have put up web pages about it.
>Also, BTW, one of the things that I'm puzzled about is that I've seen
>posts in this NG indicating that "neurosurgeons" rather
>than "orthopedic surgeons" deal with this kind of problem? Am I seeing
>the wrong kind of doctor?
>
No, they both do these surgeries, probably more orthos just
because there are more orthos than neuros. If you are
going to get surgery, the important thing is to get the
right PERSON. "Ortho" or "Neuro" is irrelevant here, except
in rare cases.
>Any thoughts/cautions, etc. would be greatly appreciated...
>
I'd start researching my options THOROUGHLY, and my Bad
Backs page is a good place to start. All the information
you'll need is on the net, you just need to find it.
Don't forget that surgery is a business. As with any
business, the purveyors will usually sell it to you whether
it is your best option or not. I'd look very seriously at
the VAX-D option if I were you. You can always get the
surgery later, but it does not work the other way around.
>
>P.S. I'm a 52-year old male.
>
Hey, if we round off, so am I. :)
Cush
http://pages.prodigy.net/cushman4/index.htm . . . G/CS for
OA
http://pages.prodigy.net/cushman4/badback.htm . . .Bad Backs
Page (170 Links)
http://www.iso-trac.com . . . Traction for bad lumbar discs
http://pages.prodigy.net/cushman4/tips.htm . . . Tips for
Newbies to ASA
