I have had lower back pain throughout the lower back, right buttock, weakness and "funny-bone"feeling in right leg, numbness and burning in out 3 toes of right foot for 4-5 year, was sent to neurosurgeon-got x-ray, MRI, PT, 3 epidural steroid injections and now recommended to have spinal fusion surgery for L4-L5 and L5-S1. My concern is that surgeon is planning to do posterior fusion of facet joints using rod, screws and BMP (bone morphogenic protein) AND on another day, an anterior approach to replace discs with cages and bone material, though my discs inthose areas don't show drastic deterioration-his explanation is that total stability is needed for pain/arthritic deterioration relief-both facet joints and vertebrae should be fused at same time. Any experience with this? Similar advice/experience? I am going for a second opinion at large university tertiary care facility before going for surgery.View Thread