@meg8 Welcome to Connect. I am a cervical spine surgery patient. Your surgeon makes a very good point. If you have some instability in your cervical spine, the vertebrae may shift and contact the spinal cord. You may already have pressure there, and it may also be creating the symptoms in your legs. All of the signals that the brain sends to the body are traveling through the cervical spine, and damage there can affect anything below that level. With spine issues both in cervical and lumbar, your surgeon may not be able to separate where symptoms are coming from, or both areas could be creating overlapping symptoms.

If you want the opinion of a neurosurgeon, why not get one? I don't give much value to patient reviews of doctors because there can be reasons for patients to be dissatisfied that have nothing to do with a surgeon's qualifications or skill. I had 6 opinions from both ortho and neuro spine surgeons, but that was because 5 of them missed the correct diagnosis. I had pain all over my body that was created by cervical spinal cord compression. I had surgery with a neuro who also had done a fellowship in orthopedic spine deformity. I always research the background and training of a surgeon I wanted to consult. Sometimes you can find ratings from Medicare if that surgeon has performed enough surgeries in a year on Medicare patients. Your personal physician may be able to help you select a spine surgeon. Both orthopedic spine surgeons and neurosurgeons operate on the spine.

Lumbar spine surgery is usually a more difficult recovery because that part of the spine is bearing most of your body weight. Get the best surgeon you can because you can't undo a surgery once it's done. Are you looking for a surgeon for another opinion?

Jennifer