Summary
A 21-year military veteran originally from Michigan, now living in South Carolina, had been living with back pain for 38 years following a moment he heard his back “explode like a shotgun” while lifting an engine during his service. Despite seeking help at Walter Reed, a wise physician there advised him to wait for a procedure that could actually fix the problem rather than resorting to fusion. Advice he followed for nearly four decades. After seeing a similar procedure on Newsmax and his nurse practitioner daughter helping him research further, he found Deuk Spine Institute, was impressed by the transparency of the website and procedures, and traveled to Florida. Dr. Deukmedjian cleaned out three painful discs through the laser during a surgery that preserved the patient’s full back tattoo. A complete military history spanning 21 years of service and the following day he was completely pain-free. His promised reward to Dr. Deukmedjian: adding the Deuk Spine Institute logo to his back as the next chapter of his life’s story.
Transcript
Dr. Ara Deukmedjian: Deuk Spine Institute. And it is a beautiful January 26th, 2023. And I have with me one of my patients who’s traveled from Michigan, actually… South Carolina.
Patient: I’m from Michigan originally. From South Carolina now, recently.
Dr. Ara Deukmedjian: You had surgery just yesterday… correct?
Patient: Correct.
Dr. Ara Deukmedjian: How do you feel today?
Patient: Awesome. No pain where the pain was in my vertebrae is gone.
Dr. Ara Deukmedjian: How long did you have that back pain for?
Patient: 38 years.
Dr. Ara Deukmedjian: 38 years. So you remember to the year?
Patient: Well, because I remember lifting up an engine and hearing my back explode like a shotgun. And I went down on the ground. And you know what happened after that.
Dr. Ara Deukmedjian: So for 38 years you’ve lived in pain. You’re in the military and why didn’t you get it fixed sooner?
Patient: Well, I went to Walter Reed to have a neck fusion. I had a really good doctor there who knew I had back problems. And he asked me he said, “You should wait until there’s a doctor or some sort of procedure that you won’t have to get the fusion and fix the problem.” And he was correct.
Dr. Ara Deukmedjian: So you waited. And how did you find out about Deuk Spine Institute and the Deuk Laser Disc Repair®?
Patient: So I watch Newsmax, and I saw another gentleman that does similar work that you do. I looked at his stuff, and then my daughter’s a nurse practitioner and we said we should look and see if there’s somebody else out there to talk to. I found you. I was impressed after looking at your website, seeing your procedures, and how upfront you were with everything. It was a no-brainer.
Dr. Ara Deukmedjian: And here you are now, sitting in the chair giving your own testimony.
Patient: Exactly.
Dr. Ara Deukmedjian: What was life like for you living with back pain before we did the surgery yesterday?
Patient: That was terrible. It was debilitating. The things I like to do. I couldn’t do. Like picking things up. I mean, I like to do that. I just like to be involved in everything. And I couldn’t do it.
Dr. Ara Deukmedjian: So you would limit what you did because of the pain?
Patient: Absolutely. Because you were afraid to set it off.
Dr. Ara Deukmedjian: Correct. When did the pain in your back become constant?
Patient: Probably 25 years ago. The injury at first they did some ice massages and different pain things for it. Where I was able to finish up my military career, being a mechanic by trade. If I bent over I had to go to a sitting position straight up because I would just lock up. And then there’d just be days I couldn’t get out of bed because my muscles would contract so tight that I couldn’t move. And I’d have to go see a chiropractor, or I’d have to go get a shot. I’d have to do something to be able to start moving again.
Dr. Ara Deukmedjian: And the mistake a lot of people make is they think the muscles are the cause of the pain. But it’s not they’re reacting to the disc pain. Right? You can see the disc is actually the cause of the pain. Because we discovered at Deuk Spine Institute there’s a tear in the back of the disc that causes the pain, and that tear gets filled with jelly that’s trying to escape from the center of the disc and we call that a herniation. Anyway, it can happen with bulging discs, herniated discs, protruding discs, ruptured discs. All of those injuries to the back of the disc can cause this back pain. And now the back pain you had before the surgery is gone?
Patient: Yes. Completely.
Dr. Ara Deukmedjian: Yeah. And you have a complicated medical history with injuries and such and to be able to use your back again just makes life so much better.
Patient: Absolutely.
Dr. Ara Deukmedjian: Now, you have a special history with your back, don’t you?
Patient: Yes.
Dr. Ara Deukmedjian: You have tattoos back there.
Patient: I do.
Dr. Ara Deukmedjian: And you’ve won some awards.
Patient: I have.
Dr. Ara Deukmedjian: Can you tell us about that?
Patient: It’s a funny story. But I used to ride motorcycles and someone took my motorcycle jacket that had all my stuff on it. So I went to a friend of mine who was in the military and I said, “Here’s my DD-214. Put it on my back so nobody can steal it.” And so you see my whole military history for 21 years is on my back. Every place I was, whatever I did.
Dr. Ara Deukmedjian: It’s pretty intense. You’re very proud of your back because it represents the history of your life and your accomplishments. And we went and we fixed your back, so now you can display it without pain.
Patient: And I’m going to add a new medal. And the medal is going to be the Deuk Spine Institute logo.
Dr. Ara Deukmedjian: That’s it. Yeah. That was our agreement. If I fix his back pain, he puts the Deuk Spine Institute logo on his back. Because he said the back is the story of his life, his tattoos are the story of his life. And so this is a big chapter in his life. It’s the rest of his life without that pain.
Patient: That’s right.
Dr. Ara Deukmedjian: And so if you watch the surgery, you could see his beautiful tattoos. And we did everything we could to preserve them. We went in with the laser and I cleaned out those three discs. And it turned out all three of them were causing severe pain for you. And we’ve successfully debrided the tears and the herniation using the laser. It went perfect. We didn’t have any problems with it. Anything you want to say to your fans out there?
Patient: I do. Anybody that has a back injury. If you haven’t checked out the site, his website, please do. Take the time. And if you want to get your back fixed, come see them.
Dr. Ara Deukmedjian: Well, I want to thank you for your service to our country and congratulate you on the faith that you had in having us help you.
Patient: All right. Thank you very much.
Dr. Ara Deukmedjian: You’re welcome, sir. Thank you.
Deuk Laser Disc Repair® at Deuk Spine Institute
This military veteran underwent the Deuk Laser Disc Repair® for three painful lumbar discs at Deuk Spine Institute. Treating 38 years of progressive back pain from a severe lifting injury sustained during military service, including severe muscle locking and spasms that were the result of disc damage rather than muscle injury. As Dr. Deukmedjian explains, muscle spasms and tightness are secondary reactions to disc pain the disc tear is the true source, and treating the muscles alone will never resolve the underlying problem. Using a laser through a carefully placed incision that preserved the patient’s full military history tattooed across his back, Dr. Deukmedjian debrided all three disc tears and removed the herniations with no fusion, no hospitalization, and no narcotic pain medication required. A Walter Reed physician had wisely told this veteran four decades ago to wait for the right procedure and the Deuk Laser Disc Repair® was exactly that. Veterans and active military with chronic back pain are strongly encouraged to submit their MRI for a complimentary MRI review and virtual consultation with Dr. Deukmedjian at Deuk Spine Institute.