Lower Lumbar Fusion Surgery This was the best thing I have ever done. I suffered with chronic back pain for over 20 years. Being in the Army, they didn’t really do anything for me except prescribe Motrin. I was diagnosed with Degenerative Disc Disease in 1997, and still nothing was done. I retired from the Army in 2004 and moved to Houston in 2009. My PCP (primary care physician) recommended Dr. Richard Francis for my back troubles and after a series of exams I underwent Lower Lumbar Fusion Surgery. I am now pain-free for the first time in decades. Dr. Francis and his staff are very caring and I highly recommend him as a spine specialist and surgeon.