It's possible to play tennis or golf after a lumbar fusion, although, I'll be perfectly honest, occasionally patients don't have that much relief from their pain. Fusing lumbar vertebrae can put stress on lower vertebrae which can increase their degeneration and cause symptoms years later which can require further surgery. In your case, however, you have a potential ticking time bomb, so to speak, in the form of the degeneration of your L4-L5 disc space "contrast posteriorly into the epidural space" and "there is an annulus tear at the level of the neural foramen". Frequently annulus tears heal without surgery; however, in your case, it certainly sounds like you've already attempted to find relief through non-surgical modalities. Therefore, a minimally invasive 360 fusion is appropriate for your degenerative disc disease ("degeneration of the disc space with extension of contrast posteriorly into the epidural space. . . . L5-S1 - diffuse desiccation of disc. . . . at the level of the neural foramina. Left neural foramina moderately narrowed") Surgical distraction and grafting can decompress your foramen.

Spine-health: "Since previous studies demonstrated that posterior lateral bone grafting was not necessary for a successful spine fusion surgery, efforts have been made to perform a 270-degree fusion with anterior lumbar interbody fusion and minimally invasive, percutaneous posterior instrumentation. The hope is that this will allow for a 270-degree spine fusion without the complications potentially associated with open procedures." http://www.spine-health.com/topics/surg/miniupdate/miniupdate01.html

In general, the majority of patients who undergo surgery report a positive response.

The anterior part of a 360 degree fusion is performed first. A one and a half to four inch abdominal incision (depending upon your body size) will be made to the left and beneath your navel.

After the anterior fusion is completed you will be turned over and then the posterior lumbar fusion will be performed. A 3 to 6 inch incision (depending upon your body size) will be made vertically over your back. Long thin strips of bone-graft will be removed from your pelvis and then placed across the vertebrae above and below the disc and metal screws and plates will be attached to the vertebrae above and below to eliminate motion and facilitate rapid healing.

Here is a link to a good movie showing a typical 360 degree Lumbar Spine Fusion procedure: http://www.osteotech.com/proclsfvid.htm

I recommend that you send your original question again and express that you would like a second opinion so that another expert on the JustAnswer! site will see your question and respond.

Good luck.

Dr. Hanson