I paid for the phone consultation (About $400) and got a call from him at exactly the time we specified. We started talking about my scans, my symptoms, prior treatments, etc. He said I might have an extra vertebrae that he needs to confirm with an X-Ray, but this is only to adjust the surgical technique. He also said my L5 disc is a little small and might be the reason why my L4/L5 disc failed.
After that we dove into his prior experience, which is tremendously exhaustive. He said he switched over to the M6 simply because it's an amazing disc that works! He said he has no monetary interest in it, and he has had tremendous success with it.
I asked about durability of the M6, so we talked about the mechanics of the M6 and the testing it went through. He said it is built to last a lifetime and went on to explain how they did the testing: they actually simulated a body environment, temperature, liquids, everything, and then did 100 million ultra flexions (meaning more flexion with more force than the body will ever do) and the disc only showed minimum wear and tear. he says our body does 2 or 3 a day so it should, theoretically, last a lifetime.. but he said they haven't been installed in a lifetime so he can't guarantee anything. Regardless, he said he switched to the M6 because it's superior, and he's had amazing results.
We also talked about the Ranier CA disc. He said he doesn't really trust the technology because he's worried about bonding to the vertebrae and the walls of the rubber disc that have been show to crack or tear sometimes.
He recommended that I stay in the UK for at least a week after surgery. But I said I have no problems staying more than a week, and he was very happy about it because he's very serious about post-operative care and screening.
I asked about core-strengthening exercises before surgery in order to be better off after surgery. He said I had very good muscles around there already so it wasn't necessary, and regardless he said I could hurt myself further and compress the disc too much right now, so he said no.
He also explained that chemicals coming out of my disc might be a cause for pain. When I walk around too much they get squeezed and secrete chemicals that cause irritation on the nerves. This actually explains the two different kinds of pains that I have, the jolts down my leg when I sit, and the numbing pain when I stand for too long.
Other than that, it was just a matter of deciding what to do. He recommended the surgery and said it would help me. He told I should think it over, but I said I knew I was going to get surgery eventually so I'm going for it.
I'm scheduled for surgery late October or Early November!
