Summary
A California athlete, softball coach, and mother of three had been suffering from thoracic spine pain since a motor vehicle accident on September 12, 2022. After seeing four neurosurgeons each with a different opinion, with the majority vote being lifetime pain management. She had fallen into depression and accepted that her active life was over. Her husband refused to give up, searched relentlessly, and found a Deuk Spine Institute YouTube video of a patient with the same T7 injury. After a virtual MRI review followed by a diagnostic X-ray procedure upon arrival to localize the worst discs, Dr. Deukmedjian performed the thoracic Deuk Laser Disc Repair® on two discs through two seven-millimeter incisions. Coming out of surgery the same day without narcotic pain medication. She wept with relief, telling her husband the tears were not from pain but from the absence of it for the first time in over a year. She flew home that same afternoon.
Transcript
Dr. Ara Deukmedjian: I’m Dr. Deukmedjian. I’m sitting with one of my patients who had life-changing surgery yesterday. She’s crying because she has… I believe… tears of joy. And she wants to share her story with you. How long have you had thoracic spine pain?
Patient: For over a year now.
Dr. Ara Deukmedjian: How did it happen?
Patient: I got into a decent motor vehicle accident on September 12th of 2022.
Dr. Ara Deukmedjian: And that was in California, where you live?
Patient: California.
Dr. Ara Deukmedjian: And you’ve been in pain since then?
Patient: Since then.
Dr. Ara Deukmedjian: What did the doctors in California do for you?
Patient: I’ve seen four different neurosurgeons. All four had a different opinion. One wanted to do surgery. I was told I was too young for surgery. And the majority vote was to seek out pain management for the rest of my life.
Dr. Ara Deukmedjian: Pain management for the rest of your life. And how did that make you feel?
Patient: Like my life was over. I went from being a gym rat as you call it on four different softball teams. I was an athlete. I was a coach. Worked out five days a week to not being able to do anything.
Dr. Ara Deukmedjian: I’m sorry. Where did that leave you in terms of options?
Patient: A lot of depression. A lot of mental… this is my new life, deal with it. There was no help, and they expect you to live on pain medicine the rest of your life.
Dr. Ara Deukmedjian: So how did you find Deuk Spine?
Patient: I had pretty much personally given up. I felt I had tried every option in California. I had no idea going out of state was even an option. Thanks to my husband. He is the one that dug and dug and said, “I’m not quitting. There’s got to be another option. There’s got to be another person. There’s got to be another opinion.” He searched and found an old YouTube video of someone with the same T7 injury that I had. And he said, “We’re going here to Deuk Spine Institute.” And you did.
Dr. Ara Deukmedjian: We did our MRI review with you when we identified several discs in your thoracic spine that were probably causing pain. And when you got here on Monday, we did a special X-ray, didn’t we?
Patient: Yes.
Dr. Ara Deukmedjian: To help localize which of those discs were causing the most pain. And we figured out it was two of them that were really bad, causing most of your symptoms. And you had your surgery just yesterday, didn’t you? You can see in the surgery. We made two little seven-millimeter incisions. We went in with the scope and the laser and we cleaned out the herniations that were causing all of that pain that you’ve been suffering with. How do you feel today?
Patient: Like a whole different person. I got out of surgery yesterday and just cried. Cried because the pain was gone. It was gone.
Dr. Ara Deukmedjian: And that’s a pretty big deal, isn’t it?
Patient: Like you wouldn’t believe.
Dr. Ara Deukmedjian: I understand. That’s why I chose to do what I do to end people’s suffering where other doctors fail. We can help people. So the pain you had that was unbearable is now gone?
Patient: It’s gone.
Dr. Ara Deukmedjian: And is your husband happy about that?
Patient: It was very emotional last night. He said, “Are you crying because you’re hurting?” And I said, “No, I’m crying because I’m not in pain anymore.”
Dr. Ara Deukmedjian: It’s impressive. So if you had to do it all over again… come to Deuk Spine… would you?
Patient: 1,000%. I don’t regret a day of it. Any of it.
Dr. Ara Deukmedjian: Well, I’m hoping someday this technology will spread and other doctors will be able to do this procedure to help people with thoracic disc pain. You had those herniations just ruining your life, and now you have a new life to look forward to. What do you look forward to the most?
Patient: Being the parent I once was with my three kids. Going to the gym again. Not waking up in excruciating pain. And just living a normal life that I once had.
Dr. Ara Deukmedjian: Did you talk to your kids?
Patient: Not yet.
Dr. Ara Deukmedjian: Okay, well. And by the way, we don’t have you on any medication, so you’re not on pain meds. We didn’t give you powerful narcotics to kill your pain. You had propofol sedation. For those of you who don’t know what propofol is, it’s not a painkiller. It just makes you sleep. So when you wake up, whatever pain you have, you have. There’s no pain meds used at Deuk Spine after surgery. We want our patients to experience what life is like without pain medication and without pain. We accomplished that.
Patient: Anything else you want to tell your fans out there or family?
Dr. Ara Deukmedjian: If you’re in pain. This is the place to go. When do you travel back home?
Patient: Today at 5:00.
Dr. Ara Deukmedjian: All right, so we’ve got to get you out of here. All right. Congratulations. I’m happy for you.
Patient: Thank you. Thank you.
Deuk Laser Disc Repair® At Deuk Spine Institute
This patient underwent the Deuk Laser Disc Repair® for the thoracic spine at Deuk Spine Institute a pioneering procedure exclusively available at Deuk Spine. To treat two severely herniated thoracic discs at T7 and adjacent levels sustained in a motor vehicle accident. The process included an initial virtual MRI review followed by a precision diagnostic X-ray procedure upon arrival to localize the most painful discs before surgery. Using a scope and laser through two seven-millimeter incisions, Dr. Deukmedjian cleaned out the herniations entirely in a single outpatient procedure. Performed under propofol sedation with no general anesthesia, no narcotic pain medication, and no hospitalization. The patient flew home the same day, pain-free for the first time since her accident over a year prior. Four California neurosurgeons had offered no surgical solution and recommended lifetime pain management. Underscoring why thoracic disc herniation remains one of the most underdiagnosed and undertreated conditions in spine care, and why Deuk Spine Institute remains the only center in the world offering this procedure. Patients with thoracic pain who have been turned away or told to simply manage their pain are strongly encouraged to submit their MRI for a complimentary MRI review and virtual consultation with Dr. Deukmedjian.