Summary
A patient who had been living with debilitating sacroiliac joint pain since 2016 endured two spinal fusions, two SI joint fusions with multiple large screws, and an estimated 40 to 50 ablations and injections over nearly a decade — none of which provided lasting relief. Her pain forced her to lie down regularly throughout the day, made travel and sitting nearly impossible, and prevented her from riding a bike or living a normal life. After coming to Deuk Spine Institute and exhausting conservative options, she underwent the Deuk Plasma Rhizotomy® for SI joint pain, in which Dr. Deukmedjian permanently destroyed all five pain nerves on each SI joint. The very next morning she reported being 99% different, having slept soundly through the night, taken no pain medication whatsoever, and feeling like a million dollars — calling it life-changing after a decade of suffering.
Transcript
Dr. Ara Deukmedjian: Good morning. I’m here with one of my lovely patients who came to Deuk Spine Institute with a long history of back pain. If you watch her surgery, you’ll see she’s had fusion done on her spine. She’s also had fusion done on her SI joints. And the fusion to the SI joints included putting in three huge screws on one side, two big screws on the other. And you went through a pretty rough recovery. It turned out they didn’t even work. She continued to have pain in her SI joints afterwards. She came to Deuk Spine Institute for our revolutionary breakthrough procedure to treat sacroiliac joint pain, which is called the Deuk Plasma Rhizotomy® for sacroiliac joint pain. Tell us how you feel today. Do you still have the same pain you had before surgery?
Patient: Absolutely not. I’m still 99% different from yesterday. Already.
Dr. Ara Deukmedjian: Amazing. Now, you’re not better because we gave you pain meds to take.
Patient: No. I didn’t take any pain meds yesterday. I came in and my pain level was probably at a 7-8 yesterday, and now there’s no pain today. It’s just a little swelling in the back, but there’s no regular stabbing pain that I normally have every day since 2016. And I’ve gone through two fusions, which is a huge recovery period, and which made me even worse. This is the first day I felt good in a long time.
Dr. Ara Deukmedjian: What did the doctors tell you about SI joint fusions? How come they got you to do that procedure? You must have been in a lot of pain.
Patient: Well, I went through many ablations before that. Nothing ever helped. I probably had 40 to 50 ablations or injections in the last 6, 7, 8 years. And then they would do so many ablations, then they’d do a surgery — a fusion. Then we’d do a whole other group of ablations, and then we’d do another surgery. And my last surgery was 2024, and nothing has changed since that.
Dr. Ara Deukmedjian: How did that affect your life living in pain?
Patient: It just limited my life. Working — I’d have to take a break every once in a while just to lay down. The only way to get rid of my pain was to lay down, and that’s kind of inconvenient when you’re working or living your life. I had a hard time traveling because it’s hard to sit in airplane seats. Hard time in the car for a long time. Sitting around the house, I had to lay down every once in a while. I couldn’t ride a bike. So it’s definitely inhibited my life very much since 2016. And now it’s 2026. So it’s amazing.
Dr. Ara Deukmedjian: Why did you decide to go through with the Deuk Plasma SI joint procedure?
Patient: Because I came here probably a year ago, and we looked at some other things. We tried some ablations, we tried injections, and it was your recommendation. And it was excellent to do that, because whatever happened yesterday — whatever you did — is amazing. Because I went to bed last night and said, I feel pretty good considering I just had a procedure today. And I did not take any painkillers yesterday, which I usually take at least Advil. I didn’t take anything yesterday when I left here, which is amazing. And I’m here this morning and I feel great. I can’t get over it. I can’t wait to ride my bike. Just to live life.
Dr. Ara Deukmedjian: What Deuk Spine Institute has done over the last 20 years is figured out exactly where back pain is coming from. And there are 30 specific causes or sources of back pain — individual joints, discs, sacroiliac joints, piriformis muscles, bones. What we do with each patient is we look at each of those causes, and we rule out each cause and rule in causes until we know exactly what’s causing your back pain. And then we recommend a specific treatment that goes in and treats exactly that condition — nothing more, nothing less. And it’s a permanent treatment that gets rid of the pain.
Patient: Well, I feel it today. I feel a difference today. I can’t believe how well I slept last night considering I just had a procedure yesterday.
Dr. Ara Deukmedjian: With the SI joints, there are five pain nerves on each joint that go out to the joint. I went in with the plasma wand and destroyed all five pain nerves permanently. So hopefully this will never come back and you can live life normally and enjoy yourself.
Patient: Well, I’m forever grateful for you, doctor. I feel like a million bucks today.
Dr. Ara Deukmedjian: Thank you for sharing your story with the world.
Patient: I’ll be happy to share with everyone. I promise you.
Dr. Ara Deukmedjian: And one thing we talked about — you don’t need to come back.
Patient: I know. That’s unbelievable.
Dr. Ara Deukmedjian: After our procedures at Deuk Spine, there’s no real follow-up because you just go out and live life and go on and be normal.
Patient: Well, I can’t thank you enough. This is life-changing for me.
Dr. Ara Deukmedjian: Congratulations. Enjoy. Let’s get you out of here.
The Better Way: Deuk Plasma Rhizotomy®
This patient underwent the Deuk Plasma Rhizotomy® (DPR) for sacroiliac joint pain at Deuk Spine Institute — a revolutionary breakthrough procedure in which Dr. Deukmedjian uses a plasma wand to permanently destroy all five pain nerves on each SI joint through a minimally invasive outpatient approach. Unlike SI joint fusion surgery, which requires large screws, extensive recovery, and carries significant risk of failure, the Deuk Plasma Rhizotomy® requires no hardware, no hospitalization, and no narcotic pain medication — with permanent relief often felt the same day. Deuk Spine Institute’s comprehensive diagnostic approach evaluates all 30 known sources of back pain to ensure every patient receives a precise, targeted treatment for their specific condition, including discogenic pain, SI joint dysfunction, piriformis syndrome, and more.