Thank you for your quick reply. I will bring these points up at my pre-op appointment this week. I do not have neck pain per se, (although I randomly wake up with a kink in my neck) it is more contained around my shoulder blades, shoulder, upper back, and my right arm/hand is numb. The only loss in range of motion I have right now is in my shoulder. I can lift it up but it hurts like a pinched nerve.
The dr did mention that he spoke with his colleague about my case and it seems like they have different preferences (my dr is younger, the other is much older). My doctor would rather not fuse if he doesn’t need to. But after reading your reply, I think it is important to clean the areas pinching the nerves because I think that is where a lot of my pain is coming from. But I am not the doctor, so I can only give my input and trust that he’ll do the best thing for me. I’m not one to jump in head first, I like to gather as much info as I can to make sure I’m doing the right thing and am prepared. I live with chronic pain, so my pain scale is subjective. I don’t really know what is connected to what issue. From my understanding , spinal surgery is to keep the problem from progressing. I don’t have high hopes for the pain to disappear, but it would be a dream come true. Thank you again for your insight.
