The Minuteman procedure was performed on my L4, L5 on 4/26/2023. It has been the most excruciating post-op pain I’ve ever experienced! To top it off, the spine surgeon did not have a pre-op consultation with me to explain any of it. I had been getting spinal injections every 6-8 weeks that worked very well. This doctor suggested tiny spacers and showed me with his thumb and index finger a thickness of about 1/16” to 1/8” . He said I wouldn’t have to keep coming back for injections, but since I have DDD, it may need to be done again on future discs. He did not have my informed consent and I’m not finding anything in the fine print. There was no restrictions in the packet of information that I was sent home with, I was just instructed to walk and scheduled for a 2 week post-op appointment where he basically handed me another pain med prescription. After about 6 weeks I called his office and asked if I should still be in so much pain. They said that I had not come in for a 6 week post-op which was never scheduled and I had no idea that I was supposed to. Went in very next day and the doctor was very defensive when I asked why he did this and his reply was at least he didn’t perform the “big” surgery. He told me to get a new MRI and CT for him to give me his opinion. I did the very next day and have still not heard from him to this day. The radiologist report said that my spine is fractured vertically where the screw is. I am basically disabled now and seeing another spine doctor next month. I want this torture device removed if at all possible.
I have osteoporosis and his own PA said that people with osteoporosis are not good candidates because of thin bones. (The doctor had not came into the exam room yet.) Her eyes became big as saucers when I told her I have osteoporosis and they have my medical history on file.
Please think long and hard before getting the minuteman. I wish I would have had a choice.