Summary
A patient originally from Indiana, now living in Ocala, had been suffering from back and leg pain for over 40 years. Complicated by scoliosis diagnosed at 15, a prior surgery 17 years ago that not only failed to fix his pain but added a new source of pain at S1, and a history of doctors refusing to treat him due to his anatomy. He arrived at Deuk Spine Institute barely able to walk, pulling his knee to his chest in agony and relying on around-the-clock narcotic painkillers that still couldn’t let him sleep. Less than 24 hours after the Deuk Laser Disc Repair®, the 40-year-old back pain was gone, he had stopped taking painkillers, and he was laughing for the first time in longer than he could remember. Moved to tears in recovery by the feeling of relief he hadn’t experienced in four decades.
Transcript
Dr. Ara Deukmedjian: CEO and founder of Deuk Spine Institute here in Florida. I have with me a special patient who traveled from Indiana. Now living in Ocala and he’s here today less than 24 hours after having his Deuk Laser Disc Repair® done to fix his lower back and his left leg. And I remember you hobbled in here. You couldn’t even walk. You were holding your leg like this, pulling your knee to your chest the whole time I talked to you. And here you are, less than 24 hours after your surgery. How do you feel?
Patient: I feel amazing. I think that’s all. Like another person who had been worked on he said, “I don’t have the words.” And I’m just like that. I can’t. I’m still processing how good I feel. It’s amazing.
Dr. Ara Deukmedjian: I’m happy about that. I know you’re feeling good because we put you on powerful narcotic painkillers.
Patient: No, actually. Today I took a muscle relaxer just in case. But I had been taking painkillers every four hours, day and night, for the last month because I couldn’t sleep and it still didn’t help me sleep. It just took the edge off a little bit. It’s just been hell for the last month.
Dr. Ara Deukmedjian: And did you need the painkillers last night or today?
Patient: I took some last night. But not today. Not today.
Dr. Ara Deukmedjian: And are you having that pain that you had before you came here?
Patient: No. It’s gone. It’s gone.
Dr. Ara Deukmedjian: See the smile? I’m
Patient: I’m learning how to laugh again. I haven’t done that in a while.
Dr. Ara Deukmedjian: Learning how to laugh again that is special. And you triggered something in me yesterday that I had not felt or thought about since my father and I had a conversation when I was just a little boy. I was probably seven years old. And I asked my father, “Why do you love being an OB-GYN? Why do you love being a doctor so much?” And he said, “Because being an OB-GYN, you’re with patients at the happiest time of their life.” And I realized, after talking to you in recovery and you were crying because you were feeling so good, that actually this may also be the happiest time in people’s lives, right? When they’re having a baby, and maybe when they’re getting rid of pain they’ve had for 20 years. So I thought, for the first time in my life, maybe I didn’t stray so far from my father’s footsteps.
Patient: I’d say that’s true. We were talking about how he delivered babies, and you said, “I deliver herniations.”
Dr. Ara Deukmedjian: And you said that’s my purpose and that’s why I come to work every day.
Patient: Yeah, absolutely. It is just so amazing because throughout my life I have not been able to live like that. I used to be into manual labor, which was such a dumb idea. I got to know that I have scoliosis around the age of 15 and they told me not to do any physical labor. But I still did all kinds of lifting in the warehouse, which wasn’t even a place where you would think of yourself being productive and fulfilling your life’s purpose. I did serve as a minister for ten years during my working life.
Dr. Ara Deukmedjian: So how long did you have your back pain before you came to see me yesterday?
Patient: Oh, we were talking about that. I had enough pain that when I was probably 25, so we’re going back over 40 years. I saw a spine surgeon and they were trying to do an injection in my back. They said there’s a bone spur there and we have to go through it. It was an epidural and it felt like they were killing me. They finally had to stop the procedure. But this doctor told me, “You have very small openings in all your back,” and he said, “I would not touch you with a ten-foot pole, and you should not let anybody else either.”
Dr. Ara Deukmedjian: So for 40 years you’ve had back pain. The doctors tried to fix it with shots that didn’t work. Do you still have that back pain you had for 40 years?
Patient: No. This morning no. I had surgery 17 years ago because a guy said he took a class and was doing microscopic surgery; that’s all he was doing after he learned it. After that surgery, I had the same pain and I picked up a new pain in my S1, my tailbone area.
Dr. Ara Deukmedjian: So you got worse.
Patient: I got worse. I had double pain for the last 17 years because of it. So I said, “I’m going to wait until I find somebody.” And who knew you were here? If I had known, I’d have come to you.
Dr. Ara Deukmedjian: Of course. I was starting the laser surgery 17 years ago, so you probably would not have heard about it. But we’re trying to get the word out, and I appreciate you sharing your story. You can see in your surgery here that we did it through a small incision. We actually had to make a couple but even then we were able to successfully get the pressure off the nerves, clean out the tear with the laser, and the surgery went perfect. I think you’re going to have a great result. Is there anything you want to share with the audience?
Patient: When you go to see the doctor and they’re noted as the best or you go to the best hospital. I’ve been to some of those. I even had a premier hospital in Indianapolis that was doing spine surgeries, and I went in and a doctor just said, “Well, we’re going to do this.” I went to my osteopath and talked to him, and he said, “That’s just an old-style surgery they’re going to do about a 12-inch incision on you and go in and cut things up.” I didn’t know that. I had to go to somebody I trusted to find it out. But these people were touted as the best. I would just say to you. If you go get a second opinion, go to somebody that thinks different. Otherwise you’re going to get a second opinion on the same thing. Dr. Deuk thinks different because he’s created things that nobody else is doing. Somebody throws the laser word out there. It means nothing. He knows how to use a laser, and it’s not a laser as a laser it’s very different. I’m still… like I said. I’m learning how to laugh again.
Dr. Ara Deukmedjian: Go laugh with who’s been praying for you for how many years?
Patient: About 20 years now.
Dr. Ara Deukmedjian: All right. Well, you go tell her how great you feel. Go… Go Tell It on the Mountain.
Patient: I will. I’d love to work with Henry because he gets to see all this stuff and hear all your wisdom. So if you ever need somebody to help out
Dr. Ara Deukmedjian: Henry could always use the help. We’re ready for you anytime you want. Well, go enjoy life.
Patient: Okay. Okay. Thank you.
Dr. Ara Deukmedjian: All right. Thank you. You’re welcome. It’s my pleasure.
Deuk Laser Disc Repair® at Deuk Spine Institute
This patient underwent the Deuk Laser Disc Repair® at Deuk Spine Institute for 40 years of lower back and leg pain complicated by scoliosis, a prior failed microscopic back surgery that added new S1 pain, and a history of doctors refusing to operate due to his anatomy. Including a spine surgeon who declared he would not touch him with a ten-foot pole. Using a laser through small incisions, Dr. Deukmedjian successfully decompressed the nerves and cleaned the disc tear. Achieving complete pain relief within 24 hours, eliminating the need for the around-the-clock narcotic pain medication the patient had relied on for the prior month, and requiring no hospitalization. As this patient astutely observed, the Deuk Laser Disc Repair® is fundamentally different from conventional back surgery. Not laser in name alone but a genuinely unique technique pioneered by Dr. Deukmedjian that no other surgeon currently performs. Patients who have been refused treatment, told nothing can be done, or made worse by prior back surgery are encouraged to submit their MRI for a complimentary MRI review and virtual consultation with Dr. Deukmedjian at Deuk Spine Institute.