@jlssurplus My surgery was 4 hours long. My recovery seems to be going well so far. My back pain is better each week and I have had no trouble walking and moving around. I think the fact that my husband and I walk our golden retriever all year long helped me have the strength to come back quickly. The physical therapist that came to the house after I was discharged from the hospital was really impressed by how well I was doing. I won't kid you this was not an easy surgery and there have been a few glitches along the way. I will have a better idea of how my spine is healing next week after I go for my 6 week checkup. I was on the fence for a long time too, in fact I postponed this surgery twice. I know how hard it is to make the decision to go ahead. I am glad the worst is behind me. The thing that swayed me was the extent of nerve compression I had and the surgeon found even more than he expected to find so I am now glad I did it. Best of luck to you in making your decision, there are a lot of things to consider. I had an excellent surgeon and I was not at all worried about his abilities and that helped a lot.