@victoriah Fusions were done without hardware and patients wore neck braces before the plates were invented. It heals better with a bone graft instead of implants according to my surgeon. During my surgery, the bone disc was very stable. The surgeon tugged on it in the operating room and it was tight. The surfaces were prepared and were rough from grinding while they were spread apart, and when that was released, the bone disc spacer was held tightly. My job as a patient was not to bend or twist my neck until the fusion process began and that took about 3 months. The plates provide the surgeon some peace of mind because they hold everything just as he prepared it.

Laser spine surgery is limited in what it can do, and some procedures can give only temporary relief. I there is a problem inside the central spinal canal, a laser cannot get in there. If a disk has herniated outside of the spine, sometimes the extruded portion can be trimmed off leaving the disc in place. That may be something a laser can do. In that situation, the disc can herniate again. Sometimes a disc collapses and can't be saved as was my case when it collapsed 50%. If the surgeon needs to access the spinal canal, they can do that by removing the damaged disc, and then putting something in its place like a milled donor bone disc or a spacer cage. Sometimes the surgeon needs to see the entire area in the operation. Minimally invasive surgery might have the surgeon operating through a tube inserted into a small incision. It would be a good idea to also get another opinion from a traditional surgeon who doesn't use lasers. Get as many opinions as you need to make an informed decision.
Minimally invasive surgery sounds better, but it isn't right for every situation.

Do you have a description from an MRI that describes the problems with your spine?