It really depends upon your pain generators. You do have central stenosis but this is in the face of a degenerative spondylolisthesis at L4-5 and a significant degenerative disc at L5-S1. Maybe if you only had stenotic lower back pain and no instability of L4-5 could you “get away with” an L4-5 decompression but that would be doubtful. I assume from your history and imaging, you would probably benefit from a fusion but without direct knowledge of your studies, that is conjecture.
Dr. Corenman
PLEASE REMEMBER, THIS FORUM IS MEANT TO PROVIDE GENERAL INFORMATION ON SPINE ANATOMY, CONDITIONS AND TREATMENTS. TO GET AN ACCURATE DIAGNOSIS, YOU MUST VISIT A QUALIFIED PROFESSIONAL IN PERSON.
Donald Corenman, MD, DC is a highly-regarded spine surgeon, considered an expert in the area of neck and back pain. Trained as both a Medical Doctor and Doctor of Chiropractic, Dr. Corenman earned academic appointments as Clinical Assistant Professor and Assistant Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, and his research on spine surgery and rehabilitation has resulted in the publication of multiple peer-reviewed articles and two books.
