@kdj I saw your other comment that you are looking at C1 through C6 fusion. That is a big surgery and you will loose a lot of normal ability to move. No surgeon really can give you a guarantee to lessen your pain with surgery. I had a C5/C6 fusion and my surgeon couldn't promise that to me either, but surgery did reduce my pain a lot which was caused by spinal cord compression. What did help me was to work with a physical therapist who loosened up my overly tight neck and chest muscles and got me into better spine alignment. This helped me before and after surgery and I had a great recovery. You may want some more opinions and get an explanation of why you need this extensive surgery. Ask if you have other options that could retain some ability to move. What can happen over time is when spinal discs collapse, the spine can start to fuse itself which may not be as good as if a surgeon does a fusion and it may not be in a good alignment. Ask about that too, and what your future would be if you don't have surgery. I know it's a tough choice and we are all different in what our issues are and what kind of procedure can help. Sometimes surgery makes a patient worse. There are many things to consider when making a decision like this. There are surgeons who are eager to do surgery and I avoided those. The surgery needs to be in your best interest only. It's a big business for surgeons who own their own surgical centers for profit. You have to make sure, your doctor puts your needs first, and not theirs.