<human>: Provide a brief overview of the text.

I have posted before about back problems, needless to say surgery has been suggested by more than one doctor. My pain has been greatly reduced by weight loss and seeing a chiropractor (and the occasional pain killer) but i have degenerative disk disease (I was only 18 when diagnosed, 24 now) So it's only going to get worse. I have mild scoliosis in my upper spine which is not a source of pain atm. I'm in constant pain in different levels from my lower back from 3 herniated disks. Spinal stenosis also makes me very stiff. Since seeing the chiropractor my sciatic pain is much improved, if not gone. I still get the occasional tingly or numbness in my legs, but no shooting pain. 

I REALLY want to hear from people who have had any kind of surgery on their spine to fix herniation, sciatica, stenosis, or scoliosis. I've also been seeing commercials about the laser spine institute in Philadelphia where they only need a small incision and the downtime is much smaller. 

My concern is that spinal surgery has been a hit or miss type of thing when fixing these kinds of conditions. I know a lot of people and have heard of a lot of people who got surgery done (some had rods inserted, or disks ground down etc) Some come back and are great and live a normal life. Some people lose a lot of motion, can't bend over, are still in pain, if not more than they were in before, etc. I'm also interested in the laser surgery since it seems to eliminate some of these problems, especially with scarring which causes stiffness. 

So basically ANY experience you or a friend or loved one has had, good or bad would be appreciated. I'm in a position where i can put surgery off for a while, but I'd like to be informed. Also, I've never been to a hospital for anything other than a mild anxiety attack, so surgery is scary. Thanks and sorry for the long post!
<bot>: If you or a loved one or friend etc got spinal surgery, did it work? I'm interested in the good and the bad, details are apreciated.