@lewin Hello, and welcome to Connect. When I came to Mayo, I had already been turned down by 5 spine surgeons elsewhere. At Mayo Rochester, I saw Dr. Jeremy Fogelson who did a single level cervical fusion without hardware. I elected to stay in a neck brace for 3 months until the fusion process began. That was worth it and the time went by faster than I thought it would.

Dr. Fogelson is a spine deformity expert, and he teaches other surgeons not just at Mayo, but at spine conferences. He does both cervical fusion and disc replacement. Here is his profile and my patient story (and another)
https://www.mayoclinic.org/biographies/fogelson-jeremy-l-m-d/bio-20055624
https://sharing.mayoclinic.org/2019/01/09/using-the-art-of-medicine-to-overcome-fear-of-surgery/
https://sharing.mayoclinic.org/2017/07/26/spinal-surgery-saves-teen-swimmers-mobility/
If you did want to seek an appointment at Mayo for any of their campuses, please use this link to register, and someone from Mayo will contact you. It will walk you through a few simple steps and ask what you main concern is. Dr. Fogelson practices at Rochester.
http://mayocl.in/1mtmR63