Originally Posted by MandoMan (Post 2052954)

Fifty years ago I was an operating room technician (scrub nurse) and scrubbed on various spinal surgeries with perhaps a dozen surgeons, both orthopedic surgeons and neurosurgeons—both of whom are allowed to do spinal surgery. On that basis, watching them all at work, I decided that if I ever needed spine surgery, I would go to a neurosurgeon for a surgery that was primarily about carefully freeing a trapped nerve from a disc, like a laminectomy, and go to an orthopedic surgeon for a surgery that was based on fixating the spine, like a fusion. Neurosurgeons excelled at using operating microscopes and tiny instruments, while orthopedic surgeons were better with the carpentry tools like chisels and screwdrivers. Also, a surgeon who performs that surgery many times a year with excellent results is crucial to success.

While I have your eyes: hands. I scrubbed on dozens and dozens of hand surgeries, mostly with two board certified hand surgeons, but also orthopedic surgeons and neurosurgeons. If at all possible, insist on a board certified hand surgeon for any hand problem. Neurosurgeons can do a fine job on a carpal tunnel release, and orthopedic surgeons can do okay pinning together a broken bone, but hand surgeons do both, and much more. Where an orthopedic surgeon is like a general carpenter framing a house, a hand surgeon is like a finish carpenter who does the fine work on cabinets and does a perfect job. With something like a severed finger, hand surgeons know how to sew together under a microscope digital nerves or digital arteries that are only a millimeter thick. Orthopedic surgeons don’t usually have that sort of training unless they have specialized in hands and been well-trained.

Originally Posted by Dukester (Post 2052879)

Assuming you have a recent MRI you well need the disk. See a couple of Neurosurgeons so you can compare what they recommend.
I have had 3 spinal surgeries. My spouse one, just this past week.
Depending what they see in your MRI, you likely will be told that Physical Therapy will likely be tired first, secondly a pain management program or both, will be done doing various shots, then surgery when PT and pain management no longer is effective.
This is serious business. My last surgery was a lumbar fusion (March, 2021 and I still have pain); prior to that was a laminectomy (7 years ago).
I am playing golf 3 times a week had to move up to the green tees and have difficulty putting a tee in the ground and don’t always play all 18 holes.
Laminectomy was spinal stenosis correction with knowledge I would eventually need a fusion due to potential disk rupture. When the disks finally failed (7 years later) within a week I was using a walker to see my neurosurgeon.
I used a surgeon out of Ocala and personally would not recommend him, not for him put rather his PA and staff. I saw 3 nureo’s all recommended lumbar fusion as the only recourse. My wife used Dr Oliver and she had a cyst that caused the disk failure.
If I had it to do over again I probably would have opted to go to Mayo in Jacksonville.
Good luck to you. But get multiple opinions from Neurosurgeons, never a Orthopetic surgeon.

Originally Posted by cyrilwood (Post 2052632)

Can you recommend a Dr?