Laser Spine Surgery

Hello Marie.
Had I went for the fusion, there would have been 4 titanium cages with rods and screws. It would be done with iliac crest bonegraft with the possible use of demineralixed bone matrix.Along with that he was going to due a posterior lumbar decompression and anything else that needed to be done while he was in there.I can't erase the 40yrs. of smoking.He said the fusion might not take place and I would need another surgery the next year.So it very well could have taken 2yrs. and not work in the end.NO THANKS.
As far as Bonati goes, I wish I knew what they had planned. I won't know until I get there and they do their two days of tests. That is one of the parts that I don't like. I live 1,200 miles away and I couldn't afford to go for two day of tests and come home and think about it and then schedule my surgeries.
They looked at my MRI's and said I would need at least three surgeries. Even though I rented a condo for three weeks and paid for plane tickets, if I don't like what I hear, I will leave.
I was hoping that I would hear from somone who has been there recently. I read about JoeBob and Innovator. It sounds like they did good. I have an awful lot wrong with my back. I'm hoping that they start with L4/5, then L3/4 and L2/3.
After reading all of my surgeons reports and six MRI's, I think they are the worst areas.
I choose Bonati over LSI because they wanted to MRI films, not the reports. I sent the reports to LSI and they called and said, "Come on down. We'll fix you right up." I've talked to people who have been there and they were happy. It just seems like a back factory to me. 400 procedures a month. One person told me that you go in at 7:00 am for surgery and just wait for your turn. He waited five hours. I hope Bonati isn't so bad.
I won't be rushing home to work. I've been on disability for six years. The past six months, my back gets to the point around 3:00 pm that I can't stand or sit. I eat my dinner laying on my dining room floor.
Well, I went pretty long with this. Thank you.

Jerseyboy,

I had 2 surgeries at Bonati back in August. Feel free to ask me any questions you may have.

Best wishes and God bless,
Carrianne

Let me say that I believe you have studied your spine problem well. And you are basing your decisions on your own sound judgment. I particularly liked your thinking that if you didn't like what was said to Bonati that in spite of all of the costs you would pack up and fly back home if you didn't like what you were hearing. This tells me that as bad as the pain you are experiencing is, you will not be allowing the pain nor emotions influence your decision. This is good!

Carrianne's offer to be a source of information for you is truly an example of what good hearted and compassionate people we have on this Forum. She will be a great help in various ways for you.
Now, having said that permit me to add, your hope in getting to talk to Joebob is understandable. I don't know if Joebob is posting on other Forums on other spinal websites but Joebob is an example of having a great "attitude" in approaching his spinal surgery. In fact, I believe Joebob's experience has energized a lot of people to consider the laser institutes. I also believe Joebob should have gotten an incentive pay for all of his advertising of his experience with laser surgery, but I don't think he got anything. Frankly, when I read....almost a year ago....when Joebob went for his surgery, his commentary on what his spinal problem was, I don't think it compares to what you are describing as your problems and surgical advice. The one thing we all have or had in common is "screamming, exhausting and emotional pain from our spinal problems which have brought all of us to this table of decision making.....what type of surgery or no surgery should we have.
Joebob did not post a lot on this Forum, but if you google Laser Surgery, you will find there is an old Forum on Spine Health.com (that particular thread is now defunct) which was still available when I last looked where Joebob was communicating lots of information to everyone who was following Laser Surgery at that time. Hope you can find it.

Otherwise, good luck and I hope there is a pain free future ahead for you.
God Bless.

Marie B.

Carrianne thank you for your offer, I'm going to take you up on it.My appointment at Bonati is 9 am feb 11. They told me there would be 2 days of tests medical clearence on the 3rd. day, surgery on the 4th day and post op and start therapy on the 5th day. rest over the weekend, therapy mon.&tues. surgery wed. and start all over. Is that how it went for you? Was there alot of waiting involved, thats what I read.What was wrong with your back and what they do for you? how was the surgery? How long? How did you feel afterward? How bad was the pain? Did it help your pain right away did you notice the difference? How was the therapy, They told me to bring a bathing suit. Did they give you excersises to do at home? Did you go to therapy after you got home? How bad was the pain when you left and how long did it last.How restricted are you now in the things that you do every day? I know this is an awful lot of questions but in case you can't tell I'm a total nervous wreck.
Thank you for any help that you can give me.

Jerseyboy

Thank you so much for answering my questions. It's been a big help hearing from someone who has had surgery at Bonati. Now at least I know a bit more of what to expect. I'm sorry to hear that you had a problem with your second surgery. I think I read somewhere on this site that that can happen with open back surgery too. It sounds like you had a lot done in two surgeries. I guess they do all they can when they make the incision. YOu're lucky that you live close by and you can take a break between surgeries.
That's one of my worries. My surgeries are scheduled six days apart. I won't know what to expect until they do the test. What type of test did they do on you? Is it just x-rays and MRI's or did they do something else?
When you say that your recovery has been slow, do you mean from the surgery itself or the way that your pain has been subsiding? Does the surgery site itself take a long time to heal?
I will be flying back three days after my last surgery. But if they can take away some of this pain in my leg, I don't think a few holes in my back will be too bad.
I've been living with this pain for many years now and if they can just get rid of 60% or 70% of it, I'll be happy.
As far as their charges go, they gave me a price for the first surgery and each additional one. They said that everything was included. I hope that doesn't change when I get there.
They contacted my wife's insurance company and they said they would accept what they pay. I sure hope that I don't have any problems with this. They gave it to me in writing, but I also to agree to pay in full, if the insurance company doesn't.
Carrie, I too have read all of the articles, bad and good, and there are some good ones. I think we all take a chance no matter which way we do it, and this is the way I'm doing it.
Thank you for all your help. I hope I'm not bothering you too much.

I guess that you can tell by my post that I don't do this very often.

Thanks again Jerseyboy

Jerseyboy,

I'm glad to offer my experiences to you and hope that it helps you in some way.

When I say recovery hasn't been as quick as I'd like I mean my back and leg pain. Don't get me wrong, I've come a very long way from where I was. I just have a ways to go still which will take time. The surgery site itself healed very quickly. I have two 1-inch scars and that's about it. They were swollen at first, but ice helps a whole lot.

As far as the tests go, they did x-rays, MRIs, nerve conduction, and a medical clearance before the surgeries.

I do realize how blessed I am to be so close (1 hr. drive from Tampa). Even more blessed that my husband's uncle lives right down the street so we were able to stay with him which definitely helped us financially.

I had the same uneasiness about the charges, as far as balance billing goes, but they held very true to their word. As long as my insur. paid something, Bonati wrote off the rest. There were only 3 charges that BCBS wouldn't pay for which was then turned over to me. And I must say that Bonati was extremely helpful in reducing the cost by 50% if I could pay in full. That saved me a few hundred dollars so we were very pleased.

Please, if you have any other questions, don't hesitate to ask. You're not bothering me at all! I'd love to help in any way I can.

Take care and God bless,
Carrianne

I can't express how much your posts have helped. I can't thank you enough. I have two more days before I leave and I am really getting more nervous by the minute.
I went back to some of your posts after you had your surgery and saw that you were able to do a lot of walking. That's great. EVerything that I read about laser surgery seems to say that walking is very important. I haven't been able to walk 100 yards in the past seven years. I hope that I will be able to now. I'm looking forward to it.
The thing that really scares me is that I have so much wrong with my back. I have severe stenosis at four levels. The way that the pain is in my left hip and leg makes me think that L4/L5 is where they should start, but that will be up to them.
Carrie, I forgot to ask you, did they give you any kind of steroid injections? I hope not, because like a lot of people have said, if they do, how would you know what's making you feel better?
I am so glad that I found this site. It really is quite helpful. Again, thanks so much.
Jersey Boy

Hello Jerseyboy,

You have done your research well. I hope and pray that your surgeries in March go well and likwise your recoveries.

My thoughts and prayers will be with you on the 11th.

RichT

Hello Rich T

Thank you very much. This site is great I'm so glad that I found it, it has been a great help to me , especialy Carrianne. I will be leaving for Fl tomorrow, my first appointment with Bonati mon. 9:00 am. Surgery scheduled for thurs. I should be able to post sometime after it as my daughter will be down for a couple of days and she has a laptop. Thanks again everyone.

Jerseyboy

Somehow I lost the spinehealth address "Laser Surgery II" Would you mind giving it to me again so I can contact isis188. Appreciate your help.
Will fill you in on my surgery at LSI at a later date
Mare

Hello Mare,

I hope your surgery went well.

I'll send the link sometime today by PM.

The ole back is giving me a problem.

Thoughts and prayers to you.

RichT

Does anyone have the link for the other forum on Laser Spine Surgery II
I tried looking for it but am having no luck....lost track of isis188 and some of the others on that forum.
Mare

Hello Mare,

I will send you a PM.

RichT

Jerseyboy,

All our thoughts and prayers are with you today as you complete all your tests. Ask as many questions as you can think of, especially about having L4/L5 done first. If it's in your head, it's worth asking!

I had an epidural steroid injection after my first surgery, but not my second because of the dura leak.

Best wishes to you and God's blessings!!!
Carrianne

Hi Everybody, I'm 12 and one half weeks post op. Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery: Incision 3"; Laminectomy L4&L5, Foraminotomies left and right L 4 & L5 & S1. Decourtment of Facet joints L4 &L5.
Removal of one and one half inches of overgrown ligamentum Flavum L4 and portion of L5. Fusion Insitu L4&L5 with use of protein matter for encouraging bone growth and resisting scar tissue. There were other areas of small disc herniations and very mild stenosis in the Thoracic region that were not causing me pain nor held any threats for the future as seen in my MRI

Saw my surgeon this morning. Prayed all the way to Cleveland Clinic because here in Ohio, we just had a couple of days of snow dumping and freezing temperatures.
What was an hour and 15 min. trip took almost two hours because of the slow traffic and slippery roads going into the city.

Dr. McClain showed me my final X-rays that were taken this AM prior to seeing him. "He said, "Spine is now in good alignment, everything is in its place, decompression is complete and fusion insitu is adhering very well, and he was as happy as I was. We both had big smiles on our faces.
I told him that I had been saying how grateful I was that he had been the doctor I had chosen and that I had told everyone that I wanted to give him a hug for
helping me become pain free. And you know what? He held out his arms and I gave him a big hug and he hugged me too, saying "It was your positive attitude that you were going to cooperate by obeying all of the restrictions and followed through with your desire that you did not want to be on drugs for the rest of your life that made you feel as well as you do today."

He said he would release me under certain conditions...."no skiing, ice skating or bob sledding....no parachute jumping, rodeo riding or gymnastics and definitely no lifting any weight over 25 lbs for someone who is 5ft tall and weighing in at 110."... plus an ounce or two and age....(two years younger then Rich T).

I hope my type spinal surgery and providing all with my information and experiences of this frightening and scarey type surgery has helped others make their decision to proceed with spinal surgery a little more easy. I have said on more then one occasion as I was recouperating that I am glad I made this decision to have the surgery that I needed at this time.

If there is anything that I wish for all who post on the spinal Forums, is that they find a truly good doctor, have successful surgery and live a pain free, drug absent future.

Good Luck and God Bless all of you!

Marie B.

Hello Marie,

Your prayers helped for a safe drive to the clinic. So GREAT to know that your recovery is going so very well.

Marie, thanks so very much for all you have shared with us. From the details of your surgery. To the hugs with your surgeon, to your doctor's commending you on following his advice to a "T", to your thoughts of wisdom.

Without a doubt you made the right decision for yourself. And as your doc indicated, YOU were a major player in your success. Marie, you are a SUPERB example for all of us to look up to.

WHY is it that it seems all the SUPER spine docs practice away from Wash. DC!!!? You have a super doc in Cleveland, and Fran has her super doc in Boston. All I want is a doc who will take the time to "hear" my 2-3 pages of questions and EXPLAIN things to me.

And God's continued blessing to and for you.

RichT