@judithelaine I am a spine surgery patient too. It sounds like you did not have a good experience with spine surgery, but that doesn't happen to everyone. I can understand your frustration. My family doctor advised me to get several opinions before undergoing spine surgery because once it's done, it can't be undone. Lumbar spine surgery is a more difficult recovery than cervical which is what I had. With lumbar, you are trying to recover while that part of the spine has to bear most of your body weight. With cervical, it's just about 12 lbs because that is the weight of your head.

There are other considerations in the decision as to what happens if you don't do surgery and allow a spine condition to progress. Would a patient become disabled or wheelchair bound? As patients, we are all different with different health problems that may add to the success or failure of a surgery. Surgeons can also make mistakes, hardware can become loosened or broken, screws can be set at an incorrect angle that causes then to pull out from pressure. Bone quality can degrade and stop holding hardware securely. It's a choice we have to make between what are the consequences of having surgery or not and what expectations will we have for the future. Sometimes that is influenced by what hardware or material is used, and will we be allergic to it? Sometimes we make our best guess with guidance from our doctors.

Spine surgeons also do revisions and correct issues caused by prior surgery. I don't know if that is something that would help you or if you would consider it. The best we can do as patients is learn everything we can about our problems and if there is a good solution to address it. I know that sounds like simple thinking, but for me that also comes with lots of educated questions for my surgeon and my own data about the progression of my symptoms. We have to advocate for ourselves and not just blindly trust a surgeon to do something. The surgeon needs to earn your trust by having the trust of his peers, be recognized as a leader in his field, be able to explain in language that you understand, have a track record of success with the procedure he is suggesting for you, and be completely honest about the possibilities of a good result or the risk of a poor outcome, and to tell you why you would be a good or a poor candidate for the procedure. If the surgeon also has a record of academic awards throughout his career, that would tell me he or she has worked hard to excel at their field. There are gifted surgeons and some that are not and the patient has to do their best to try to find a good one.

Are you able to say more about what has happened with your spine condition since your surgery? If there was a surgical solution to your current condition, would you be interesting in consulting with a new surgeon?