The bone spurs are impinging on moms spinal cord...doing nothing will leave her not just in pain..but finally paralyzed.

So.. now I want to understand the risks. Mom has afib, arrhythmia, and a non-operable hole between the chambers of her heart. All of this seems to be well controlled.

I did some research and discovered that a study done of 80+ year olds with this surgery had no impact on mortality rates at 5 year post-op, .but found pain abatement near 90% at 6 weeks post op.

But, of course...this was without this complication of heart trouble too.

Mom clearly understands the issue now. I feel I need to proceed with scheduling the appointments leading up to surgery...just wish I knew more about the risk of doing it..I understand the risk of not doing it. Mom is clear that the risk of paralysis is not a risk she wants to take. She has had this surgery before..about 8 years ago. Starting about 2 years ago she was back on daily narcotic painkillers. Now it has reach the point of needing it again.