Hello everyone,
I'm new here. I wanted to start this thread to provide my experience both pre and post op, and to also (hopefully) gain some needed feedback from some of you who might have had a disc replacement or know someone who has. I'm 31 years old and have been living with neck pain due to a car accident 13 years ago. I probably should have had this taken care of a long time ago but due to finances and the fact that the pain was bearable I decided to forego treatment, not knowing of course the damage caused and possible risks of not having surgery were.
I have insurance now and am leaning heavily towards having a 2 level ADR at C4-5 & C5-6. The reason I am opting for the disc replacement is because I am young and afraid that a fusion would wear out my discs forcing me to have another fusion followed shortly after another and another until I am completely fused and unable to bend by 60.
I've found a neurologist that I feel very comfortable with at Methodist in Houston. He has suggested we use the LDR disc replacement, as it's the only disc approved for 2 level replacement (or so I am led to believe anyhow). However, my Dad is the type of person that no matter how good a thing looks there is something better out there and he has to find it. So he contacted a group on the internet that is the 2nd largest purchaser of the Bryan disc, has 20,000 surgeries under his belt - yadda yadda... Everything they say over the phone sounds good, minimal incision/blood loss, recovery time is about 1 month, up and walking within 8 hours of the surgery. I'm the type of person though that feels "if it's too good to be true, it probably isn't", and I'm afraid this is one of those situations. So I keep going back and forth in my mind between the two, trying to make up my mind which is the best. My gut tells me to stick with the guy I feel comfortable with, regardless of how appealing the other seems.
So, my question to the community here is; Does anyone know if either the LDR or Bryan is faulty? I read one user on here already that had to have a Bryan disc removed because he developed Facet Joint Arthrosis from the hypermobility of the Bryan disc. My neurologist in Houston said that he has concerns about the Bryan disc because of the polyurethane outer shell, he believes that it would crack and break apart over time. So, I have heard a few negative things already about the Bryan disc which further pushes me towards the doctor I like, but I know very little and can find very little info on the LDR disc replacement. Does anyone know about this product? I'll continue my research and post any interesting findings here in case there are others currently or in the future considering these options as well. Thank you for reading everyone. Best wishes to all here.
I'm new here. I wanted to start this thread to provide my experience both pre and post op, and to also (hopefully) gain some needed feedback from some of you who might have had a disc replacement or know someone who has. I'm 31 years old and have been living with neck pain due to a car accident 13 years ago. I probably should have had this taken care of a long time ago but due to finances and the fact that the pain was bearable I decided to forego treatment, not knowing of course the damage caused and possible risks of not having surgery were.
I have insurance now and am leaning heavily towards having a 2 level ADR at C4-5 & C5-6. The reason I am opting for the disc replacement is because I am young and afraid that a fusion would wear out my discs forcing me to have another fusion followed shortly after another and another until I am completely fused and unable to bend by 60.
I've found a neurologist that I feel very comfortable with at Methodist in Houston. He has suggested we use the LDR disc replacement, as it's the only disc approved for 2 level replacement (or so I am led to believe anyhow). However, my Dad is the type of person that no matter how good a thing looks there is something better out there and he has to find it. So he contacted a group on the internet that is the 2nd largest purchaser of the Bryan disc, has 20,000 surgeries under his belt - yadda yadda... Everything they say over the phone sounds good, minimal incision/blood loss, recovery time is about 1 month, up and walking within 8 hours of the surgery. I'm the type of person though that feels "if it's too good to be true, it probably isn't", and I'm afraid this is one of those situations. So I keep going back and forth in my mind between the two, trying to make up my mind which is the best. My gut tells me to stick with the guy I feel comfortable with, regardless of how appealing the other seems.
So, my question to the community here is; Does anyone know if either the LDR or Bryan is faulty? I read one user on here already that had to have a Bryan disc removed because he developed Facet Joint Arthrosis from the hypermobility of the Bryan disc. My neurologist in Houston said that he has concerns about the Bryan disc because of the polyurethane outer shell, he believes that it would crack and break apart over time. So, I have heard a few negative things already about the Bryan disc which further pushes me towards the doctor I like, but I know very little and can find very little info on the LDR disc replacement. Does anyone know about this product? I'll continue my research and post any interesting findings here in case there are others currently or in the future considering these options as well. Thank you for reading everyone. Best wishes to all here.
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