@rstark I also had 6 spine surgery consultations. The first 5 misunderstood the diagnosis because they didn't recognize unusual symptoms for what they thought they knew. The 6th and only correct diagnosis was at Mayo where I had my surgery. It is easy for doctors to miss things, and surgeons sometimes cherry pick their cases so they can boost their performance success statistics. Get as many opinions as you need because you need to be able to make an informed choice. I also read research papers, clinic trials, and looked up manufacturer's websites for spine hardware. I kind of decided I didn't want hardware, so that was a question I began to ask. My surgery was a single level fusion with only a donor bone disc and no hardware. That was a good choice for me because my body reacts to foreign materials like metals. Surgeons should expect and address patient questions. If they won't, do you really want them operating on you?