-- Last Updated: Jan-27-13 9:07 AM EST --
that all your problems will be solved if you just have this surgery the doctor is suggesting. My personal experience is that surgery sometimes is not all you hope it will be and it is difficult to know for sure in advance. Personally, I will not have orthopedic type surgery again unless my symptoms have progressed to the point that I am not able to function and persisted for a long period of time. I understand that they used to do back surgery all the time but when they did some peer reviewed studies in recent years they came to the conclusion that patients who elected to have surgery and patients who elected NOT to have surgery ended up at about the same place symptom wise 7 or 8 years out.