Sorry to hear about your condition. There is some progress in the US on
replacing discs with artificial discs, but the FDA has not yet approved it.
It is apparently being done in Europe though. This would eliminate the
need to fuse your vertebrae.

My Dad had to have surgery on his neck vertibrea and they replaced one of
them that they couldn't reconstruct with pins with a cadaver vertebrea. He
has recovered pretty well but was having similar symptoms. He was getting
numbness and tingling in his arm and fingers that persisted after the surgery
but slowly went away. A good surgeon can do a lot to help you so I'm glad
you found a very competent one.

Bill

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