Kirk:
It does sound like we are in precisely the same quandry. I decided to get the surgery and called last week to schedule it. The scheduler was out of the office so I'm waiting for a return call today.
It is a dreadfully difficult decision to make. I think my neurologist was so insistent that I see a neurosurgeon immediately because he had a patient in my condition who fell and became a quad. I think this would have a big effect on future recommendations by the neurologist, but it is not a definitive scientific reason. The neurosurgeon says that I need surgery very soon, but again, he is a carpenter. An old friend who is a neorologist concurs that the surgery is the only solution, but he does not seem to think that the risks in the meantime are as significant, but he has not seen the MRI.
I did look at the MRI of a quad on the net over the weekend, and the degree to which the cord was being compressed was not a lot different than my own MRI.
My father had the operation when he was about 57 and he's eighty now. He was very happy with the results. His only symptoms were areas of numbness. His cause was not a herniated disc but a bone spur.

Almost all the information I have found on the net, analyzes the problem from the point of view of pain. For patients without pain, and few symptoms, like us, there doesn't seem to be a lot of advice available.
I think it's a no-brainer for neurologists and neurosurgeons because surgery is an everyday event for them. I believe they would do the surgery if they were in our shoes. It's been extremely rare for me so I am looking for more data and information than they are.

Even though I have made the decision for surgery, I am still reading a lot and thinking the issue thru.

By the way, there does seem to be widespread agreement that fusions do put additional stress on nearby discs. There are clinical trials going on right now for artificial discs. I did read one article about a patient with a single level fusion which caused an herniation at the disc above. They removed the fusion and installed two artificial discs. Patient was doing well when the article was written.

How does the fact that you were once paralyzed play into your decisionmaking process?

Given the difficulty we are having in making decisions, I think spinal neurosurgeons would be out of business were it not for pain, just like religions would be out of business were it not for death.

Kerry

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1977 300d 70k--sold 08
1985 300TD 185k+
1984 307d 126k--sold 8/03
1985 409d 65k--sold 06
1984 300SD 315k--daughter's car
1979 300SD 122k--sold 2/11
1999 Fuso FG Expedition Camper
1993 GMC Sierra 6.5 TD 4x4
1982 Bluebird Wanderlodge CAT 3208--Sold 2/13