Michigan Patient Avoids Neck Fusion with DLDR Surgery

Summary

A patient from Michigan was scheduled for a cervical spinal fusion at C5-6 when he began researching alternatives and discovered Deuk Spine Institute. Rather than undergo fusion surgery, he traveled to Florida where Dr. Ara Deukmedjian performed the Deuk Laser Disc Repair® through a four-millimeter incision — and discovered that the patient had actually been misdiagnosed, as a second disc at C6-7 was the primary source of his symptoms and had been entirely overlooked. Both discs were successfully treated in a single procedure. Less than 24 hours after surgery, the patient reported that his neck felt great, his shoulders were relaxed, and he required no opioid pain medication, no hospital stay, and had no metal or hardware placed in his body.

Transcript

Dr. Ara Deukmedjian: Good morning, I'm Dr. Ara Deukmedjian, CEO and founder of the Deuk Spine Institute. I'm here with one of my patients who's traveled far to come to Deuk Spine Institute — all the way from Michigan. What brought you from Michigan to Florida?

Patient: I was scheduled for fusion to have just my one disc, C5-C6, fused. I'd had disc herniation before — my lower back had it done. I didn't want to have to go through that again, so I did some research, found you, you had a good record. Your history is impeccable, so I decided to come down here and have it done.

Dr. Ara Deukmedjian: Well, you didn't have a fusion though — you had something else done.

Patient: Yeah, I'm sorry. So instead of fusion, instead of going through the complications and risk of fusion, lack of mobility, I wanted to have laser. I talked to somebody in Mexico that had laser surgery, and she said it worked great. So I thought I'd pursue that avenue, and that's when I kept Googling and searching and trying to find the right place. Some places had bad references — you had impeccable records — so this is why I came here, and I'm glad I did.

Dr. Ara Deukmedjian: Yeah, so you were recommended for fusion by another doctor. Let's talk about that for a moment. They were going to fuse one disc, right? C5-6?

Patient: Correct.

Dr. Ara Deukmedjian: Now, if you go to your surgery video here, you can see that we made a tiny quarter-inch, four-millimeter incision, and we fixed two discs — not one, but two. And it turned out that the disc that you were not going to have fused was actually the worst one. It was the one that was causing the vast majority of your symptoms. And the reason I'm talking about this is it's a common problem. It comes down to being misdiagnosed, and misdiagnosis happens all the time, all over the world, with spine problems. That's what we're trying to fix — not having patients get the wrong diagnosis — because the wrong diagnosis will lead to the wrong treatment, because treatments are always based on diagnosis. So if your diagnosis is C5-6 disc, the treatment will be fusion of the C5-6. But that's wrong, because you had two discs that were problematic. We fixed both. You can see in that video we were taking out lots of little chunks of herniation out of your C6-7 disc. Definitely needed to be done. How do you feel today?

Patient: I feel great.

Dr. Ara Deukmedjian: Yeah? Do you still have the same neck pain you had when you came here?

Patient: I can already tell that my shoulders are relaxed. My neck — I feel great. I feel very comfortable.

Dr. Ara Deukmedjian: And you had your surgery just 24 hours ago.

Patient: Yesterday morning.

Dr. Ara Deukmedjian: Yep. And you can see you have a tiny four-millimeter incision with a band-aid. No metal, no fusion, no narcotic painkillers after surgery. We didn't give you opioids — so that's another plus to the Deuk Laser Disc Repair.

Patient: I agree.

Dr. Ara Deukmedjian: Yeah, you don't need to be on powerful painkillers. You're back on your feet already, walking around, not in the hospital.

Patient: Yep, great. I'm glad. I had a guardian angel looking after me.

Dr. Ara Deukmedjian: You did have a guardian angel, and you're welcome. We enjoy helping people like you have successful spine surgeries. Is there anything else you want to tell your fans out there?

Patient: Basically, if you need this surgery, if you're having complications — neck, back — definitely come here. I don't care what it costs you for travel or whatever. It's worth it. I mean, priceless.

Dr. Ara Deukmedjian: I agree with you. It is priceless to get out of pain and have no complications from your surgery — nothing bad that hurts you or harms you or changes your life in a negative way. So congratulations. When do you guys head back to Michigan?

Patient: Saturday.

Dr. Ara Deukmedjian: Saturday. So you're going to spend a few more days here?

Patient: Yes, sir.

Dr. Ara Deukmedjian: What are you going to do for the next couple of days?

Patient: Well, we plan on hanging out in the sun, but that's not the case right now.

Dr. Ara Deukmedjian: Yeah, well, it's just a little overcast right now. But this would be a good day for you to go check out the Kennedy Space Center. It's about 10 minutes away. They have all the displays and history of NASA, and it's really worth visiting.

Patient: I'll do that. Save the beach for tomorrow.

Dr. Ara Deukmedjian: There you go — sunny day. All right. Congratulations.

Patient: You're welcome. Thanks again.

The Better Way: Deuk Laser Disc Repair®

This patient traveled from Michigan to Deuk Spine Institute after being incorrectly diagnosed with a single-disc herniation at C5-6 and told spinal fusion was his only option. Dr. Ara Deukmedjian performed the Deuk Laser Disc Repair® (DLDR) through a four-millimeter incision at the front of the neck, treating two cervical herniated discs. Including C6-7, which had been entirely missed and was the primary source of the patient's symptoms. The procedure required no fusion, no metal hardware, no opioid pain medication, and no hospital stay, with the patient walking and pain-free less than 24 hours after surgery.