You are very welcome Diane. I hope everything comes out for the best.
GaryZ

Your dr. doesn't address the already fused area because it can no longer
cause
further damage. At least that is what my Neurosurgeon tells me.
But because the spine no longer flexes normally, the joints above
and below the fusion take a beating (so to speak.)
As to how long you can wait to address the situation is up to you and your
doc.
Nerves don't readily heal if at all. The more damage they sustain, the more
pain
you have to live with. Also nerves affect muscles. The more damaged they are
the more muscle control (?) you lose. I had to have my ulnar relocated
because
my elbow joint was crushing it. The surgery could only prevent further
damage.
My left arm from my shoulder to my two little fingers are in near constant
pain.
Neurologist recommended surgery because the muscles were being affected in
that arm.
I have the same problem in my right arm but to a lesser extent. I suspect
that one will
have to be done in the fall as it is starting to affect my ability to write
and bring food
to my mouth (hand shakes.) I only notice this when my elbow is bent and
putting pressure on the nerve.

GaryZ

Even reading other reports it's hard to say. Multiple spinal fractures
were missed in me, even though they were clear on the films. When they
were picked up on a later film we thought that they were recent changes
when in fact they had happened a 6-12 months ago.

I think you should be concerned with how much worse it's likely to get
rather than what's the potential obsolute worst case scenario.

I cannot possibly answer that and neither can anyone else here. Only
your surgeon or other similarly qualified medical professional with full
access to all your films and reports could begin to speculate on that.