Deginerative Disc Disease - Disc Fusion or Replacement?

robxbcs · Newbie Joined: 06 Mar 2006 Posts: 1

I have been diagnosed with DDD and I'm weighing my options. Has anyone had either a disc fusion or replacement? What kinds of results did you have? How much did the surgery cost? What were your recovery, rehabilitation times and your overall experience? Your insight is greatly appreciated.

Thank You,

Robert

Jannie · Gold Member Joined: 03 Mar 2006 Posts: 424

Hi! I haven’t had the surgery myself but my brother did and I don’t know hoe helpful I can be but still I decided to write you a line or two.

The point of my feedback is to tell you that my brother was very satisfied that he had the surgery done and that he would make the same decision again if he had to.

He suffered from great pain, which would subside occasionally, while taking pain meds but there were moments when the pain was debilitating and moments when we would find him sleeping on the floor because it was the only position that suited him.

He also found acupuncture helpful but also only temporary and in the end he decided to go with the spinal fusion. We were very skeptic about the whole procedure but he thought it was the only solution as nothing else gave him permanent relief.

He was in a hospital for 7 days and went for rehab in a spa after that. I know that he had to use “the walker” (or whatever it is called) and crunches at the beginning but he was walking straight away, not a lot but he was able to walk down the hallway. He did a lot of small exercises.

He was a bit groggy the first two days but I reckon that is because of the anesthesia. Once that was out of his body, he regain his energy and had a very positive attitude and did everything his doctor instructed. He even quit smoking for 3 months, which was really amazing.
I think that his positive attitude and a desire to beat that chronic pain was what actually led to his quick recovery.

Unfortunately, I have never asked about the price, so I can’t help you with that. I think that his insurance paid for something but I don’t think that they paid for the whole thing. Maybe that depends on the disability of the disease. I guess you will have to talk about this with your insurance company and with the clinic where you will be performed a surgery.

Deginerative Disc Disease - Disc Fusion or Replacement?

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