Summary
A retired coach and grandfather who splits his time between New York and Florida had been suffering from cervical disc herniations causing neck pain, arm pain, and arm weakness. Determined to avoid spinal fusion or disc replacement, he thoroughly researched his options and chose Deuk Spine Institute after a Zoom consultation in which Dr. Deukmedjian was the only physician who actually walked him through his own MRI and explained what was wrong rather than simply recommending a procedure. The day after his Deuk Laser Disc Repair® on the cervical spine, he had no narcotic pain medication — only an Advil — experienced no swallowing or hoarseness issues, and had already walked the evening following his surgery. He was looking forward to welcoming his fifth grandchild and getting back to boating.
Transcript
Dr. Ara Deukmedjian: I’m Dr. Deukmedjian with the Deuk Spine Institute; CEO and founder. Our patient here spends some time in New York and some time in Florida. We call them snowbirds. He had the Deuk Laser Disc Repair® done on the cervical spine. He had a couple of damaged discs, but one of them in particular was herniated, causing neck pain and pain down his arm. Weakness in the arm. We went in with the laser, we found the herniations, I used the laser to clean everything up and remove the herniations. We did a debridement of the annulus. And how do you feel?
Patient: Not bad, not bad. I was very apprehensive, yet excited to have the surgery. It came out a lot better than I even thought. Anesthesia was perfect. Your anesthesiologist is really good. And I walked even last night for a little while after the surgery, which I couldn’t believe. And I really didn’t have any problems with my throat that I thought I would either.
Dr. Ara Deukmedjian: The problems with swallowing and hoarseness come from open surgery. Invasive surgery like an ACDF or artificial disc. But you can see we did a four-millimeter incision. We went in and basically removed all the herniations, and now it’s going to allow your disc to heal naturally. No metal, no fusion, no bleeding.
Patient: That’s another reason why I did this. I didn’t want to be fused. I didn’t want a disc replacement. I wanted to see if I could do it as easily as possible. And I think I did.
Dr. Ara Deukmedjian: It was the right move. If you had a fusion or disc replacement, you would be pretty messed up right now and you’d be on narcotic painkillers. Are you on any narcotic painkillers right now?
Patient: Nothing. Nothing.
Dr. Ara Deukmedjian: Advil?
Patient: Just an Advil. That’s it.
Dr. Ara Deukmedjian: That’s it. So what’s life going to be like for you now that you are fixed?
Patient: I have a fifth grandbaby hopefully coming on Thursday. I’ll get to see that. Heading north in the summertime, and hopefully get back to doing my boating that I like to do.
Dr. Ara Deukmedjian: You’re a coach, and coaches pride themselves on preparation. How did you prepare for your visit at Deuk Spine Institute?
Patient: I did as much research as I could beforehand. looked at all the different avenues for me. And then when I found you guys, the Zoom call was fantastic. He was the only one to actually show me on my MRI. Everybody else just looked at the MRI, came in and said what they wanted to do to you, instead of showing you what was wrong with you. So I thought the education process from him to myself really gave me the confidence to say — that’s where I want to go.
Dr. Ara Deukmedjian: Anything you want to say in closing to your family and friends out there; anybody else that needs some type of surgery?
Patient: Please try this first before you try anything else.
Dr. Ara Deukmedjian: Thanks for sharing your story with us.
The Better Way: Deuk Laser Disc RepairⓇ (DLDR)
This patient underwent the Deuk Laser Disc RepairⓇ for the cervical spine at Deuk Spine Institute to treat herniated discs causing neck pain, radiating arm pain, and arm weakness. Using a minimally invasive four-millimeter incision and laser debridement of the annulus, Dr. Deukmedjian removed the herniations and allowed the disc to heal naturally: with no metal hardware, no fusion, no hospitalization, and no narcotic pain medication required. The Deuk Laser Disc RepairⓇ offers patients with cervical disc herniations a powerful alternative to ACDF surgery or artificial disc replacement, eliminating the risks of swallowing difficulties, hoarseness, and the long-term complications associated with open cervical spine surgery.