Surgery to remove a slipped disc and class one?
I have searched exhaustively for any similar posts on this subject but couldn't find anything relevant.
I'd value any medically educated opinions on the following matter.
A friend of mine, aged 20, male, has had back trouble for about a year now. For those of you in England who criticise the NHS, bear in mind the dire health service that we have in Ireland. He applied for a public appointment to see a consultant and was given a date, December 2005 . He obviously couldnt wait that long so decided to go private, and got an appointment for November this year. In the meantime, the disc slipped. He was rushed to hospital by ambulance and a slipped disc diagnosed. Anyone who has experienced one will know that this is a very painful condition.
One benefit of the emergency hospital admission was that he was moved to the top of the waiting list for an MRI scan. The results of this were one slipped disc which must be removed, another disc which is damaged and the surgeon will inspect during surgery, and a third disc whose position relative to the spinal cord also warrants inspection during surgery.
The consultant has said that from a disc removal the recovery period will be about 3months.
I was wondering is there any aeromedical examiner that would read this and know precisely whether having had a disc removed precludes class one certification, or any professional aviator that has had a similar procedure could offer advice based on their experiences.
Any information gratefully appreciated.