Try to avoid surgery if you can, but I have my worries based on what you've said so far. A discectomy will still be considered a "possible instrumented case," which means that once they're in they'll test the stability of your joint. If it is unstable, they will have to fuse the vertebrae. If it is stable, then all they have to do is shave off the bulging part.
Definitely inquire about the facet fusion as a possible procedure before you go under the knife. Request a doctor that knows how to do it "minimally invasively." Since you actually want to get back in the gym, you want to have a little dissection as possible. With a MI facet fusion there is virtually no dissection.
On an instrumented case you are fully opened up and they use a big tool called a cob to literally scrape your muscle away from the spine so they can get full access to it. It's necessary if you are so unstable you require a PLIF, but you would need to have more than 3mm of instability for that to take precedence over a facet fusion. Recovery on that one sucks!
|