Hi, Jennifer. I have not had disc replacement, but a good friend has -- 10 years ago. She had two badly disintegrated discs midway down her neck, and after study and consultation, decided against vertebral fusions. She chose instead to replace the damaged discs with artificial discs, but could not find an American surgeon to install more than one when she needed two. So she went to Germany, paid for by her insurance company. The operation was sensitive -- entry from the front along her airpipe and past the nerves that served her voice (crucial to her, a professional singer). The operation also was a success -- phenomenally. She was home in the US in two weeks, and back in the church choir after another three weeks. A month later, she was back on the golf course, fully recovered, energetic, and painless. She'll have her 60th birthday this month.