I don't fully trust Dr. de Bisschop's answers to my questions and I certainly don't trust his statistics. It is difficult even to get a straight answer about how severe and how long the post-operative restrictions are. His answers have ranged from being careful for two years to avoiding carrying heavy objects for one month.
On the French forum, there is a guy who had surgery with him a month ago named POLISERE - he is someone who had surgery before and is a re-op. It's kind of hard to figure out how he's doing because he mostly makes jokes and talks about how great some rehab center near Aubagne is
![Smile :)](./images/smilies/icon_e_smile.gif)
But he doesn't seem to be doing too badly in terms of post-operative symptoms.
I am still on the fence in regards to this surgery. On the one hand, I have no real confidence in its success. On the other hand, it does seem relatively non-invasive, and it does not cut any ligament or other structure really, and it's a small incision. If the French forum is not full of people who have been magically cured by de Bisschop, I have also seen no sign of people saying they have been harmed by him. If there is even a 15% or 20% chance of improving the symptoms I would do it -- as long as the chances of making them worse are close to 0%, and I could be working within 1 month and more or less back to my normal state of activity about 2 to 3 months afterwards. It is my uncertainty about the post-operative period and the lack of good information that gives me pause.
I have to decide somewhat soon because there is a "window of opportunity" between two jobs that I have in August, and if I don't do it now I will likely have to wait several years.