Should You Get Spinal Fusion Surgery For a Back Injury

[maxcrucial]

My workers compensation claim was made in the State of: ohio
my workers comp doc wants to do a fusion of my lower back.
my wc doc says when he dose a fusion that the disc above and below will wear out faster than normal and will require another surgery down the road.
mco tells me sure but must quit smoking for 2 months up front first.
im not getting any money from any where and cant work.
so i was thinking of applying for social secruity and i know it takes 6 months or so .
then i was thinking about workers comp total disability......
what should i do? any advice would be appreciated!

---------- Post added at 11:41 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:26 PM ----------

i already used up tt payments and have been back to work but my back will no longer let me do anything

[.SH]

apply for ssdi
do not count on being found permanently totally disabled for your work injury.

[Ob3135]

Why arent you getting compensation? Your not off work?

Also, DONT, DONT let them fuse your back the disc above and below will blow out down the road and you will be stuck with it.

My work comp doc said the same thing but I had my regular doc refer me to a spine specialist who recommended "Artificial Disc Replacement" and then I went to dee a neuro surgeon who the spine doc referred me to. Then the Neuro surgeon agreed. So I had them submit that proposal to Work Comp. They first said no, then I called them up and said "heres the deal, you are not gonna give me a fusion then leave me high and dry to be stuck down the road with more surgeries on my own" She said "Well our doc said Fusion" then I said "Well I'll get a lawyer and fight you for years and keep the case open and fight to the bitter end for Disc Replacement" then she got all pissy and started saying "Sir I have nothing more to say if you have an attorney, I cant speak to you anymore", hard nosing me, acting like she was never gonna speak to me again, I just kept at her and finally said, look I said "I will get one, I didnt say I did have one" and "If you think it's not common sense that I would want to get representation if you force me into a bad surgery then your wrong, I'm saying we need to work this out to avoid that"....

So, that was about closing time and we hung up. Next morning the Neuro surgeon called and said "you've been approved, lets do it this week" so that was it.

So I'm tryig to imply I had to get very defensive about my future health and stand up for my self. No one else is going to fight for your intrest if you dont. Dont yell, and dont curse, but just stand your ground and let them know that you are well aware of your right to get an attorney if thats what it takes...

Now I have had my Disc Replacement surgery... DO NOT SETTLE FOR Fusion... Just DONT! I'll send you a email if you want with a bunch of info to help you out in learning what to say and what to know about it all...

[thanksAHnold!]

Hi Ob3135....
Just curious as I had a conversation with a neurosurgeon last week about ADR. He said I am too young (50) as the ADRs only have a life of 5 to 10 years. I know of someone who just had a replacement, but he is in his 80s so that kind of made sense to me. Did your doctor tell you how long the replacement discs are supposed to last?

Good for you, standing firm, by the way!

[ladyvol]

I was told the same thing about ADR, not lasting a lifetime and not profected, think hip replacements 10 years ago and the recall problems. I was told I would need a fusion by one surgeon, and another surgeon said, we could do the fusion but it would be such a quality of life changer, as far as motion. I should say here, mine will be (he said, I will have another back surgery within 5-10 yrs either way) a multi-level fusion. Mainly I wanted to be able to stand and walk, basically, that is about all I can do, no lifting or bending, but lots less pain than before. Fusion will cause problems down the road for other parts of the back, however, so will most other major back surgeries, according to the spine expert I talked too. I decided that I will hope for medical advances down the road, and maybe ADR are the answer now. They were not being approved when I had surgery and were just being done in a few places as well. I guess my advice, is educate yourself as much as you can, know all the options and what could happen. Decide what you can live with, and ask tons of questions to your doctors, and demand a second opinion, or two.