Summary
A patient from Louisiana was within two weeks of a scheduled cervical disc fusion in Shreveport when he began researching alternatives and discovered Deuk Spine Institute on YouTube. Concerned that fusion would limit his active lifestyle as a scuba diver and motocross racer, he traveled to Melbourne, Florida, where Dr. Ara Deukmedjian performed the Deuk Laser Disc Repair® on two cervical discs through a four-millimeter incision. Less than 24 hours after surgery, the constant tingling and numbness radiating down his arm had completely resolved, he had taken no pain medication, and he was looking forward to enjoying the Space Coast — with his full active lifestyle ahead of him.
Transcript
Dr. Ara Deukmedjian: I’m Dr. Ara Deukmedjian, CEO and founder of Deuk Spine Institute and Deuk Joint Institute. I’m here with our patient from —
Patient: Louisiana.
Dr. Ara Deukmedjian: That’s right. I had to have him say it — it sounds better when he says it. Why did you come all the way to Florida to the Deuk Spine Institute?
Patient: Well, about three months ago I was scheduled for a cervical disc fusion in Shreveport, Louisiana. Had done all the pre-op stuff, was scheduled within two weeks to do the surgery, got to work and started doing some research. The more I read about what they were going to do with the fusion — people having trouble with it down the road, above and below the fusion — I decided there had to be a better option. So that’s when I found Dr. Deuk and his team and started watching some of his videos. Pretty impressive.
Dr. Ara Deukmedjian: And you’re a YouTube guy — you were telling me — so you found us on YouTube. What did you think?
Patient: Well, our first impression was — any doctor that will put his livelihood live on YouTube, showing all of his surgeries, putting it out there, believes in what he’s doing. Not many doctors would do that.
Dr. Ara Deukmedjian: Not just because of that, but because — you know — afraid of complications. Which, praise God, we haven’t had a complication. We’ve been doing it now for 17 years. I want people to know there’s a safer, better way to take care of their problem other than metal fusion and stimulators. That’s really the message there.
Patient: You got that message loud and clear.
Dr. Ara Deukmedjian: You did.
Patient: My surgery was less than 24 hours ago. So far, the tingling and numbing going down my arm is non-existent. It’s gone — where it was there constantly, all the time before. So hopefully this continues on.
Dr. Ara Deukmedjian: Oh, it’s going to continue on. Our results are permanent with the laser surgery. And you can see your tiny little incision right there — it’s four millimeters. You can see we went in with a little tube into your disc. I was able to get both discs fixed. You had a lot of herniations in there. Something a lot of people don’t understand — they think that a herniation is one piece, but it’s about 30 pieces on average. And you had about 30 pieces in your disc. They were hard to get to, but we got it done. And I was very happy with the end results. We got all the pressure off the nerves and we fixed the tear in the back of the disc. Less than 24 hours — here you are — you’re doing fantastic. Now, what did your wife think about you coming down here to Florida? Was she supportive?
Patient: She was. This problem had been going on for many years. Started out on my right side years ago and had some stuff fixing that, but she knew the problem I was having. I’m very active — I’m a scuba diver, a motocross racer, I do a lot of active sports. And she said, we’ve got to get this fixed. I’m too active still to actually quit all this. I don’t want to quit. So this fusion just seemed like it was going to limit my options on doing things. So that’s why we came down here. She was very supportive and we decided to sign up and come on down.
Dr. Ara Deukmedjian: What do you have to say to your insurance company? What do you want them to do?
Patient: I sure hope they pay, because I know they would have paid on the fusion, but why they would not pay on this I don’t know — because the results are immediate.
Dr. Ara Deukmedjian: And no narcotics?
Patient: No. Haven’t taken a pain pill, haven’t taken anything — nothing. Slept like a baby last night.
Dr. Ara Deukmedjian: That’s right. And after fusions, a lot of patients end up in pain management — getting shots, getting pills. They can’t talk. Their esophagus is all torn up from them pushing it out of the way.
Patient: And I have none of that.
Dr. Ara Deukmedjian: Yeah, our patients don’t go to pain management because they don’t need it. Anything else you want to say to your fans out there?
Patient: If you are considering having some type of neck or back surgery, I think you ought to look at Dr. Deuk and his group, because they have a great facility down here — very accommodating. They’ll help you with travel, whatever you need. We flew down Sunday, today’s Wednesday, and we’re going to stay till Sunday and enjoy a little bit of the Space Coast — hopefully get to see a rocket launch here on Friday morning.
Dr. Ara Deukmedjian: That’s right. You can see the rocket launches from here and feel them. All right, sir — it’s a pleasure.
Patient: Thank you, sir. My pleasure.
Dr. Ara Deukmedjian: You have a great day. Let’s get you guys out of here — you’ve got better things to do than sit in a doctor’s office.
Patient: Exactly.
The Better Way: Deuk Laser Disc Repair®
his patient traveled from Louisiana to Deuk Spine Institute after canceling a scheduled cervical disc fusion to treat two cervical herniated discs that were causing constant tingling and numbness radiating down his arm — a condition known as cervical radiculopathy. Dr. Ara Deukmedjian performed the Deuk Laser Disc Repair® (DLDR) through a four-millimeter incision, removing approximately 30 fragments of herniated disc material from both levels and sealing the posterior annular tears — with no fusion, no metal hardware, no narcotics, and no hospital stay required.