Summary
A San Jose painting company owner and father of a 19-year-old with autism had been suffering from stabbing lower back, buttock, and leg pain for seven years. Having undergone five previous back surgeries at another Florida spine facility that not only failed to resolve his pain but left him in worse physical and mental condition. Running a business, caring for his son, and relying on employees who depended on him, his inability to sit or stand without constant pain had made him feel useless and desperate. Despite his skepticism after so many failed procedures, he traveled to Deuk Spine Institute and underwent the Deuk Laser Disc Repair®. The following day, with no pain medication at all, he was sitting up straight naturally for the first time in years. Calling the relief almost too good to be true and was jumping inside with joy at finally having a spine doctor he trusted for life.
Transcript
Dr. Ara Deukmedjian: I’m here with a patient who traveled from California yes to Deuk Spine Institute here in Florida for back pain that he’s been suffering with for about seven years. He’s a father and he takes care of his family. It’s been really hard for him to do so. He’s actually gone for surgery already in the past. I think you had five surgeries done, and that was done elsewhere. We won’t mention you can say the name, go ahead. Tell us your story. We want to hear it.
Patient: So I’ll say this quickly if I can. I come from San Jose, California. I had several procedures at the beginning of the year at another spine institute here in Florida with the hope that it would get rid of my back pain. And it did not. Everything they said they were going to do did the opposite. If anything, it left me in more physical and mental pain. Horrible. That’s an understatement.
Dr. Ara Deukmedjian: And you have a child that relies on you. You have a family that relies on you to be healthy.
Patient: Absolutely. I have a 19-year-old autistic child that my wife and I take care of. And I can go on and on for hours about that. It requires my help for not the greater part of the day. I’m also a business owner of a painting company in San Jose, which my employees rely on me for. So long story short a lot of people rely on me. If I cannot even stand or sit up for any time of the day, I feel useless. Stabbing pain in my back, my lower back, my buttocks, to my legs; it was just there constantly. I had my surgery done yesterday. Dr. Deuk here took it away. It’s gone. I feel a little bit of the surgery and stuff, but other than that, I don’t even really feel that I’d be honest with you. I don’t. I’m able to sit up straight. I’m not trying to compensate on what side of my body to sit on. I’m naturally sitting straight.
Dr. Ara Deukmedjian: So how does it feel to know that the pain you’ve lived with for seven years that’s hounded you for seven years in your back. How does it feel to know it’s gone?
Patient: It feels fantastic. It feels great. Feels like a little too good to be true, but it’s gone. It’s literally gone. I have to learn how to feel good again and just take it step by step.
Dr. Ara Deukmedjian: Now, when people get open back surgery, the doctors put them on narcotic painkillers opioids. Are you on any opioids from us?
Patient: No, no.
Dr. Ara Deukmedjian: You took Tylenol maybe last night?
Patient: No, I didn’t even take that.
Dr. Ara Deukmedjian: And he didn’t need to take it. So basically no painkillers. None. People because this incision is just seven millimeters. You can see in his surgery we made a tiny little cut on his back. And we showed his scars from the old surgeries he’s had elsewhere, and there are all these scars on his back. And all those scars, all that surgery. What did it do for you?
Patient: It made me not believe in any doctors. It made me scared. Everybody did. I come from a background where you look them in the eye, they say, “We’re going to take care of you.” I’m in a service business so when I tell somebody, “Don’t worry, I got you,” I mean that. So when Dr. Deuk said, “Don’t worry, we’re going to take care of this,” I was kind of okay. I wasn’t overly excited because I didn’t want to over-excite myself. I wanted to see what happened. But right now I am literally jumping inside.
Dr. Ara Deukmedjian: Yes! So I’m very happy that you’re doing well and that we’ve made a big difference in your life and the life of your family. I met your mother she’s very sweet, she’s here to help take care of you. Anything you want to tell your family or friends out there that are going to watch your video and your experience here at Deuk Spine?
Patient: I would like to say I know there are a lot of testimonials, but if you have any problems, really if you really do come here. Come to Deuk Spine Institute. From the first phone call setting up the initial timing of having Dr. Deuk look at the imaging. Have them take a look at it. He gives you a no-BS, straight-forward attitude. If he’s going to help you, he’s going to help you. And you’re not alone after that as well. I feel very welcomed here even though I live in California. I’m not being rushed to go back home. From the staff here, from the front office saying hello everyone I feel very welcomed here. And I feel that I have a spine doctor for life, if need be, if I need to come back for anything else.
Dr. Ara Deukmedjian: And I don’t think you’re going to need to come back. And one thing I want to emphasize is the other surgeries you had done elsewhere. It’s not that that place is a bad place in any way, in my opinion. They just did the old-fashioned laminectomy and microdiscectomy. And the problem is that surgery doesn’t address the pathology. What’s causing people’s back pain. Because the problem that’s causing your pain is the disc, and they’re coming from the back, removing bones and ligaments in the back of the spine. They’re not getting in to clean the tear in the disc. You’ve got to do the annular debridement, folks, if you want to get rid of back pain. And laminectomies and microdiscectomies don’t do that. That’s why people have such bad experiences with those types of procedures. It’s not necessarily the doctor. It’s the procedure that’s bad. The problem is the doctors are recommending that to patients. There’s a far better new technology now. The Deuk Laser Disc Repair®. Would you agree?
Patient: Absolutely. A thousand percent. Absolutely. Thank you again, Dr. Deuk.
Dr. Ara Deukmedjian: You’re welcome. Thank you, sir. My pleasure. Thank you, sir. You’re welcome. That’s why we’re here. Thank you.
Deuk Laser Disc Repair® at Deuk Spine Institute
This patient underwent the Deuk Laser Disc Repair® at Deuk Spine Institute for seven years of chronic lower back, buttock, and leg pain that had persisted through five prior back surgeries. Including laminectomies and microdiscectomies at another facility that left him in worse condition than before. As Dr. Deukmedjian explains, the critical flaw in conventional back surgery is that laminectomies and microdiscectomies approach the disc from behind. Removing bones and ligaments without cleaning the annular tear inside the disc that is the true source of pain. The Deuk Laser Disc Repair® addresses this directly through a transforaminal endoscopic approach with a seven-millimeter incision. Performing annular debridement with a laser to eliminate the source of disc pain permanently. No narcotic pain medication was required after the procedure, and the patient was sitting completely upright and pain-free the morning after surgery. Patients who have undergone one or more failed back surgeries elsewhere and are still in pain are encouraged to submit their MRI for a complimentary MRI review and virtual consultation with Dr. Deukmedjian at Deuk Spine Institute before undergoing any additional procedures.