I would certainly advise a second opinion if you have been offered surgery for degenerative disc disease in either your cervical or lumbar spine.
Degenerative disc disease is one of the most common diagnoses given to patients. Patients may also see a description of this on a CAT scan, x-ray or MRI report. Degenerative disc disease is a misnomer as it is not truly a disease process. More often than not, degenerative disc disease is part of the normal aging phenomenon. However, some young patients may have one disc which is abnormally degenerative which could be causing pain and could require treatment. Although surgery is a last resort, on rare cases surgery may be indicated. I would certainly advise a second opinion if you have been offered surgery for degenerative disc disease in either your cervical or lumbar spine.