Summary
A New York stagehand and member of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees came to Deuk Spine Institute unable to walk more than five feet, relying on a walker, and suffering from excruciating back pain, pinched nerves, numbness and weakness down his leg, and sleeping only one to two hours a night. Beginning before Thanksgiving and worsening through the holiday season, his pain had become unbearable for both him and his family. The day after undergoing the Deuk Laser Disc RepairⓇ on two herniated and degenerating discs, he reported being completely pain-free from his back all the way down to his big toe — and was looking forward to his first Christmas without pain in months.
Transcript
Dr. Ara Deukmedjian: I’m here with a gentleman who came to the Deuk Spine Institute with horrible back pain, pinched nerves, symptoms down your leg, weakness, numbness, and using a walker. He’s been struggling now for quite a while. You had the Deuk Laser Disc RepairⓇ done yesterday in the morning. We went in with the laser and we cleaned out two discs that were really causing pain in your back. They were herniated and starting to degenerate. How do you feel today?
Patient: 10,000 to 50,000 percent better. Absolutely wonderful. It’s hard to explain, going from not being able to walk five feet to being able to almost just walk around the block. It’s one day. I mean, it’s 24 hours. It’s incredible.
Dr. Ara Deukmedjian: When did you realize you had this relief in your back?
Patient: Yesterday, when I got home and got settled down. There was no pain. There was no pain in the back. There was no pain all the way down the leg to the big toe. It was like, where’d the pain go? It just dissipated.
Dr. Ara Deukmedjian: And that’s after surgery. So usually you feel like after surgery there’s going to be some pain.
Patient: No pain. I can’t even explain it.
Dr. Ara Deukmedjian: Well, you’re doing a good job. What was life like before you had the Deuk Laser Disc RepairⓇ surgery?
Patient: I didn’t want to live this way. There was no way I could — I would never want to live that way. Excruciating pain. Can’t sleep, awake all night. The pain was constant. It never left, but you got so exhausted from feeling the pain that you would finally fall asleep — anywhere from an hour to two hours at the max. And two hours was a gift. And that’s all night long. I had to sleep in the room by myself because I would have kept my wife awake all night. I was just miserable. The most misery I’ve ever felt.
Dr. Ara Deukmedjian: I met your wife. She’s a lovely lady. She’s by your side all the time. It’s hard when you have so much pain — it takes a toll on you, but also your loved ones.
Patient: Yes, it does. And she’s been a God’s gift, I will say that.
Dr. Ara Deukmedjian: How does she feel about your surgery you had yesterday?
Patient: She’s very happy for me. She’s been through every day of it. And this started before Thanksgiving and we are three days from Christmas, and I’m going to have Christmas without pain. Thank you, God. Thank you, doctor. Thank you, everybody on the staff. The staff is unbelievable. Nicest people I’ve ever met.
Dr. Ara Deukmedjian: We care about people like you. We want you out of pain and happy and getting on with your life. Tell me about your job — you have an interesting job.
Patient: I do. I love my job and I call it the greatest part-time job in the world. One of the highlights of my job — something I can say about it — is it’s a job where you can say no to work and you’ll have a job the next day. It’s the only job in the world that I know you can do this. I’m a stagehand with the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees out of New York. And I love my job. I do everything from entertainment, theaters, and arenas to trade shows.
Dr. Ara Deukmedjian: What’s the best show you did?
Patient: I’ve worked with two out of four Beatles. I’ve worked with everybody from Kenny Rogers to Celine Dion. I’ve worked with Van Halen. I’ve worked with all big entertainment. And then I’ve done a lot of medical trade shows, so I know where I’m at. When I come into a medical facility, I look around and go, I know where that comes from, and I know where that comes from. It’s a great job. It’s a wonderful, wonderful job. I see things before normal people see things. That’s the trade show side. What keeps our country moving is people buying and selling the products that we use — from the cameras that are on us right now and the lights that are on us right now to the doctor’s coat that he’s wearing and the shirt that I’m wearing. So probably some of the equipment you used in my laser spine surgery. The best shows I do — I have to say — are the medical shows, because I learn. I go around and I get literature and I read and I learn from past experiences with herniations. I’ve had a double hernia surgery, hand surgery, knee surgery, and now I’ve had back surgery. So I learn, and you get to talk to the people that do the work and represent the products, and it’s pretty awesome. I love my job. I miss it. I honestly miss it.
Dr. Ara Deukmedjian: Now you’re going to be able to go back to work without that pain.
Patient: Oh, thank God. Thank you, doc.
Dr. Ara Deukmedjian: You’re welcome. Is there anything else you want to say to your fans out there?
Patient: If you’re having issues — any kind of issues with back, knees, joints — you need to come to Deuk Spine. You just have to. The Institute is wonderful. Everybody here, there is no negativity in this building whatsoever. It’s unheard of out there. And I’ve seen a lot of doctors over the years for different reasons, but there’s no negativity here. It’s all positive and you leave positive. So I’m very, very happy that I did this. And I tell anybody that has ever gone through any kind of pain — you need to come see Deuk Spine. People come from all over the world, and now I know why. I just came from up the street, so I can tell you — up the street or from another side of the country — just come to Deuk Spine. It’s the best I can tell you.
Dr. Ara Deukmedjian: Well, thank you for sharing your story. Congratulations and happy new year.
Patient: Happy new year and Merry Christmas to the whole staff. All your people are excellent — to your family as well and their families. I hope everybody has a wonderful Christmas. And by the way, the office is magnificent. That is the best I’ve ever seen. When you walk through this office for the Christmas holiday, it’s all about family. It’s all about the holidays. It’s about the people that come through.
Dr. Ara Deukmedjian: Thank you. Thank you very much.
The Better Way: Deuk Laser Disc RepairⓇ (DLDR)
This patient underwent the Deuk Laser Disc RepairⓇ at Deuk Spine Institute for two herniated and degenerating lumbar discs that had left him unable to walk without a walker and in constant, debilitating pain radiating down his leg to his big toe. The Deuk Laser Disc RepairⓇ is a minimally invasive outpatient procedure in which a laser is used to clean out damaged disc tissue and inflammation — with no hospitalization required, no narcotic pain medication, and dramatic relief often felt within hours of the procedure.