Deuk Laser Disc Repair: Advanced Laser Spine Surgery for Pain Relief

Friday, August 23, 2024

A surgeon performing Deuk Laser Disc Repair on a patient.

Laser Spine Surgery: Deuk Laser Disc Repair

If you’re suffering from chronic back or neck pain, you know it can make your life very difficult. It can prevent you from doing the things you love, like playing games with your kids, gardening, or simply walking around the neighborhood. 

Deuk Laser Disc Repair is laser spine surgery that cures chronic back and neck pain in a way that is minimally invasive and will have you back on your feet walking, driving, and shopping just a day after surgery.

What Is Deuk Laser Disc Repair?

Deuk Laser Disc Repair is the most advanced laser spine surgery in the world. It is used as an alternative to dangerous invasive surgeries like total disc replacement and spinal fusion.

This revolutionary procedure was developed by Dr. Ara Deukmedjian, a renowned neuro-spine surgeon and a true pioneer in minimally invasive, laser, and endoscopic back and neck pain treatment.  

Deuk Laser Disc Repair is a form of endoscopic spine surgery performed in a state-of-the-art outpatient surgery center under sedation while the patient relaxes. This procedure does not compromise or weaken the health and integrity of the spine.

In over 15 years of performing this procedure and with over 1,300 patients treated, there has been a 95% success rate with no complications in any patient.

Submit your MRI for a free review with the team at Deuk Spine Institute.

How Deuk Laser Disk Repair Works

To get started, Deuk Laser Disc Repair requires a very small incision, less than a quarter inch long. A cylindrical rod called a dilator is inserted in the small opening to gently spread the muscle to create a small passage and guide through which the surgery is performed endoscopically. The tip of the dilator is advanced into the symptomatic disc through the tear in the annulus where the herniation originates, and a tube called the retractor slides over the dilator and is carefully positioned into the painful disc. The rest of the entire Deuk Laser Disc Repair surgery will occur inside this narrow tube.

To access the spine, an endoscopic camera is inserted into the tubular retractor to allow the surgeon to guide the laser inside each symptomatic disc. This process ensures that bones and surrounding tissues are not damaged, unlike traditional spinal fusions, microdiscectomy,  and artificial discs.

The Holmium YAG laser used in the Deuk laser disc repair is manipulated accurately with millimeter precision under endoscopic visualization to remove only painful inflammatory tissue from the disc. The laser is precisely used to remove damaged disc material that is causing the pain. 

Once the laser has removed the inflamed painful part of the annular tear and the herniated nucleus pulposus, the endoscope and tubular retractor are removed, leaving less than one-quarter inch incision in the skin, which can be closed with a single stitch and a band-aid. 

The total time for the Deuk laser disc repair surgery is one hour, and the patient is in recovery for about 45 to 60 minutes before being released to go home. Hospitalization is not needed and the risks of hospital-based surgery are avoided. 

Also, with the Deuk laser disc repair, there’s no loss of normal movement, and the flexibility of the disc and joint is preserved. With endoscopic Deuk laser disc repair there is no fusion, metal implants or biological material added to the spine. The procedure is all natural allowing your body to heal the herniated or bulging disc itself.

After the surgery, the Deuk laser disc repair patient is back home, enjoying life with a speedy recovery allowing normal activities without pain. Another advantage of Deuk laser disc repair is that no opioids or powerful narcotic painkillers are needed after surgery. Open spine surgeries like microdiscectomy, laminectomy, artificial disc replacement and fusion all cause so much internal trauma that patients are in severe pain after surgery and must take painkillers for weeks after their surgery but not with Deuk laser disc repair.

Here’s what one of our patients had to say one hour after Deuk Laser Disc Repair:

Other Testimonials:

“I personally want to thank you for performing laser spine surgery on my back. I have told everyone I see about the amazing surgery that you performed on me. I am still so impressed of the pain relief I continue to feel. It really is so good to have my life back!”

Jane

“The journey with Dr. Deuk through laser surgery was very easy and I was very impressed by him and his staff. I am 2 weeks post-surgery and I feel wonderful. The neck and hand pain were gone the moment I woke up from surgery!”

Susan

How Deuk Laser Disc Repair Is Different From Other Procedures

Deuk Laser Disc Repair has a lot of benefits over conventional spine surgeries. These benefits include:

  1. It involves no (plastic or metal) implants
  2. It’s the least invasive spine surgery in the world using a 7mm or 4mm incision
  3. It has the highest success rate (at a whopping 95%)
  4. It has the lowest infection rate (zero infections in over 1,400 surgeries)
  5. You can return to work immediately (with restrictions)
  6. No hospital 
  7. No internal damage or scarring. 
  8. No postoperative pain killers 
  9. Same-day surgery outpatient 
  10. No surgical complications to date 

Next, we look at some of the conditions that can be treated with Deuk Laser Disc Repair. 

Conditions Treated With Deuk Laser Disc Repair:

A patient with chronic back or neck pain originating from a symptomatic disc injury can be treated with Deuk Laser Disc Repair. A symptomatic disc causing neck or back pain can include:

  • Bulging discs
  • Herniated discs
  • Degenerative discs
  • Spinal stenosis
  • Radiculopathy
  • Sciatica 

Bulging Discs

Also referred to as a ruptured or slipped disc, it occurs when the disc (a soft tissue sac) between the vertebrae bones of the spine ruptures or shifts out of the area it should be in. A bulged disc will not move back into place on its own, and as the body ages, the disc tissue will become less flexible and drier, further increasing the painful effect. This problem occurs in the neck area, but is more commonly found in the lower back, also called the lumbar region. 

Bulging discs are herniated discs with small herniations. Bulging discs are far more common than what are commonly referred to as true “herniated” discs. Bulging discs and herniated discs both arise from an initial posterior annular tear that is traumatic. With bending and lifting, pressure on the disc pushes the central “jelly” out through the tear in the annulus. This happens in both bulging and herniated discs. The jelly wedges into the annular tear and causes intense pain from inflammation within the annular tear. 

Dr Ara Deukmedjian MD made this discovery in 2006 and has treated annular tears since then, publishing his results in scientific journals.

Both bulging disc and herniated disc can result in discomfort and should be treated by a professional. 

Treatment Options:

Bulging discs can sometimes be treated with physical therapy, exercises, and interventional pain management techniques. However, these treatments may not offer enough relief, and patients may require surgery to provide relief from the pain.

Deuk Laser Disc Repair is the most effective surgery to treat Bulging discs.

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Herniated Discs

Herniated discs can cause back or neck pain, arm or leg discomfort and even advance into more complicated syndromes such as sciatica, pinched nerves, radiculopathy, or myelopathy. We call pain originating in a damaged disc “discogenic” pain.

In the spinal column, there are 23 intervertebral discs. They include six cervical, five lumbar, and twelve thoracic. These discs are soft tissue joints composed of a hydraulic gelatinous core called the nucleus pulposus, encased within a firm outer collagen wall termed the annulus fibrosus. The discs protect the spinal nerves and vertebrae from sudden impact. They also absorb shock from movements of the spine like twisting, bending, and jumping. 

Unfortunately, it is possible for the disc’s outer wall, the annulus fibrosus, to develop traumatic tears (annular tear), allowing the jelly-like nucleus pulposus to push backward out of the tear into the spinal canal or neural foramen. Check out this animation that illustrates how a herniated disc occurs:

Treatment Options:

The Deuk Laser Disc Repair is the only proven, peer-reviewed, and published surgery that uniquely treats the painful inflamed annular tear that is the source of back or neck pain coming from a herniated disc.

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Degenerative Discs

Untreated disc inflammation can lead to degenerative disc disease. The pain in your back from degenerative disc disease comes from irritated (inflamed) nerve fibers within the nearby annular tear.

Degenerative Disc Disease involves a variety of structural, biochemical, nutritional and molecular changes that occur in the spinal disc over time or following an initial injury to the intervertebral spinal disc in your spine. Degenerative disc disease is a common cause of back pain and neck pain (discogenic pain), sciatica and radiculopathy

Treatment options:

The treatment for degenerative disc disease depends on the duration and severity of discogenic pain; less than two months may respond well to pain medication, injections, and therapy. Discogenic pain lasting longer than two months usually requires surgery to relieve painful symptoms in the neck or back effectively.

Deuk Laser Disc Repair is the most effective surgery to treat degenerative disc disease.

Submit Your MRI for Free Review

Spinal Stenosis

Spinal stenosis occurs when the spinal canal or neural foramen narrows and puts pressure on the important spinal nerves. Spinal stenosis is called thoracic stenosis when it occurs in the middle to upper part of the back, cervical stenosis when it occurs in the neck area, and lumbar stenosis in the lower back area. Narrowing can happen for several reasons. The most common is herniated discs and other causes such as ligaments and cartilage thickening in the canal or excessive bone growth, causing the opening to become more slender over time.

The risk of this problem increases as a patient passes 50 years of age, due in part to years of stress on the spine and the tendency of tissue and bone to become less sturdy or flexible with decades of repeated use. Disc disease or spinal injury may also be contributing factors in stenosis of the spine, in patients of any age.

Symptoms of Spinal stenosis vary depending on what region of the spine is affected. Patients who develop stenosis in the cervical spine will likely experience symptoms in the neck, shoulders, or arms. If the spinal stenosis has occurred in the lower back or lumbar area of the spine, these symptoms will be felt in the back, legs, hips, or feet. The general symptoms of spinal stenosis include; Numbness or tingling, Weakness, Radicular pain, difficulty in walking and maintaining balance, and potential problems controlling urine or bowel movements in extreme cases. The majority of diagnosed cases of spinal stenosis are recorded in the most mobile regions of the lumbar spine.

Treatment option:

Exercising and physical therapy can offer temporary relief from spinal stenosis, but the pain associated with spinal stenosis often returns. For patients who experience increased pain and limitations, the best solution to resolve the effects of stenosis of the spine is to consider Deuk Laser Disc Repair.

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Radiculopathy

Radiculopathy is most often a sharp pain that shoots from the neck to the arms or from the back down into the legs, and it usually includes a loss of feeling, tingling or “pins & needles” sensations, or weakness. These symptoms are often due to a pinched nerve, and they impact the cervical, lumbar, and thoracic areas of the back.

Without injury, and with proper function, the spine is a safe and protected environment for nerves to reside. But with the presence of a degenerative spine condition such as disc herniation, it can severely limit the space available for the nerve to travel uninhibited, which can cause radicular symptoms such as radiating pain that shoots down your arms and legs.

Treatment Option:

Physical therapy and exercises can be used to treat radiculopathy, but if it persists, the best solution to resolve the effects is Deuk Laser Disc Repair.

Submit Your MRI for Free Review

Sciatica

Sciatica is caused by irritation of the nerve roots in the lower and lumbar-sacral spine. The nerve roots may be pinched by narrowing their pathway, also known as foraminal stenosis, which irritates the nerves and causes pain and other sciatica symptoms, such as weakness, numbness, and shooting pain.

Symptoms include pain in the buttocks or the leg that may worsen when sitting, burning or tingling down the leg, weakness, numbness, or difficulty moving the leg or foot.

Treatment option:

Traditionally, the only way to get sciatica pain relief used to be with invasive surgery of the spine. Today, patients have a better treatment for severe sciatic nerve pain, which is Deuk Laser Disc Repair.

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A Patient-Focused Spinal Procedure

At Deuk Spine Institute, we believe physicians have a responsibility to do what’s best for patients. Traditional spinal fusions and laser spine surgery techniques that damage the spine are more profitable for spinal surgeons. We’re not driven by opportunities to make more money. We’re driven by our capacity to help others.

As a world-renowned neurosurgeon, Dr. Deuk has unique insight into the intricacies of spinal health and nerves. Laser spine surgery at Deuk Spine Institute can treat bulging discs, sciatica, spinal stenosis, herniated discs, and other conditions that cause intense chronic pain.

Deuk Spine Institute only performs this groundbreaking procedure when a patient’s condition calls for it. Let our team of physicians help you determine the cause of your pain and the very best treatment plan for you.

If you would like to enjoy premium patient-oriented care delivered by world-class physicians, contact us at Deuk Spine Institute today. We also offer free consultation on your MRI scan. Visit our site here to start your treatment. Submit your MRI for a free review with our team.

An elderly person experiencing back pain, gripping their lower back with both hands illustrating that the patient can benefit from Deuk Spine Institute’s state-of-the-art treatment Deuk Laser Disc Repair, which promises quick relief from pain.

Cure your back and neck pain once and for all

Deuk Laser Disc Repair has patients back on their feet within an hour, feeling zero pain. Submit your MRI for a free review with the team at Deuk Spine Institute.