@annie1 Annie, Instability is usually described as listhesis which means a vertebrae is slipping past another one because the integrity of the spinal disc is not good enough to prevent that movement. If it slips forward they say anterolisthesis and if it slips backward, retrolisthesis. If you have stenosis that has already narrowed the spinal canal with spinal cord contact, and slipping happens, that will put more pressure on the spinal cord. Imagine that like a string of beads, and the string is your spinal cord. If you pull beads away from the string in different directions, you can see what happens when the string gets taught.

It makes sense to postpone surgery until you get all the answers you need. Your surgeon should be agreeable to waiting for you to solve other issues. My mom has severe osteoporosis and has had a spontaneous spine compression fracture. That healed itself, but put a curve into her back. She was not a candidate for a bone cement procedure because of the severe osteoporosis. That cement may be harder than her bone and possibly cause issues. After you get information from your bone doctor and when you start consulting spine surgeons again, I wonder if there is another way to do the laminotomy, but also add some bone as a bridge over the hole they will make. If there is a way to add bone that fuses to existing bone, there will not be hardware or screws. Issues with spine hardware and osteoporosis would create pressure from hardware and screws on the bone. I don't know if this is a workable solution, but something to ask. Your bone doctor may also want to try to build more bone strength before any spine repairs.

Keep me posted.
Jennifer