I'm probably a good example of a person that did a massive amount of pre-op tests for this surgery. I tried logging into my insurance portal, but the historical claim tab is currently down, so I can't locate the codes at this time. I have an unknown bone disease with full blown -4 Z score osteoporosis. I was re-diagnosed at 30 years old. Below is the blood-work I did to diagnose my bone disease. (If you all wanted an example of what the results look like.) Some of my results were abnormal, but nothing really out of the ordinary for someone with osteoporsis as bad as i have.
I am 8 months post op of doing almost 9 cm and it didn't appear to impact my rate of regeneration. I had one of the the doctors say my bones appeared to be weak from my initial frame surgery, but so far, I have performed as well, if not better, than the healthy patients with no pre-existing conditions. I will add that most patients are deficient in vitamin D3 and it takes a long time to get D3 blood levels back up to par from deficiency. I suspect it's why some patients have terrible regeneration. So getting your supplements and nutrition straightened out are probably crucial for this surgery. Though with every random case I've seen, there still doesn't appear to be a clear pattern of what your regeneration will be like, even with healthy bones and good supplementation/working out.
My takeaway -- Getting your blood levels checked is a good thing, but having a pre-existing condition even as bad as osteoporosis is no guarantee that your regen will be bad. I've seen so many random cases of regeneration rates, and there does not appear to be a clear pattern. I've seen people with perfect health + nutrition + regiment workout schedules with terrible regeneration. And I've also seen those that ate next to nothing nutritious and hardly worked out with incredible regeneration. A popular theory most of us held is this surgery is 80-90% genetics. The blood-work may help determine if you have the genetics, but again, no guarantees.
Cons: If you can't insure the blood-work, the tests can easily run into over 1k+ or more. It was like 5 vials of blood they took from my arm, so it's not just a single test. The most important test is to get your D3 levels checked, but I'm not a doctor, so please verify this.
https://www.scribd.com/document/372943217/Bone-Disease-Bloodwork-Late-2016Proof (7 months post-op) x-ray: https://imgur.com/a/uh1VCPre-op Tests I've done 6 months pre-op:1. Spine MRI
2. Paley full 3d bone survey scan
3. Random X-rays
4. Bone DEXA density scan of spine + hip
5. Full blood panel