Treating Back Pain with Minimally Invasive Spine Techniques -- Advances in Patient Outcomes through the eyes of a patient

BATON ROUGE, La., Oct. 29, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- As many as 90% of Americans suffer back pain at some point in their lives. Back pain is second only to the common cold as a cause of lost days at work and it is one of the most common reasons to visit a doctor's office or a hospital's emergency department.

Justin Pilcher was working as a trainer in a gym for 8-12 hours per day and ruptured a disc. "I suffered with the pain for two months because I did not want to have surgery.  I heard too many 'horror stories' including those about people who solved one problem but encountered another from having back surgery."

Pilcher decided to take pain medication to manage his horrendous pain and eventually ended up in the ER when it became so bad that no amount of medication reduced his symptoms. The ER physician confirmed that Justin was suffering from a herniated disc.  Pilcher was then referred to a neurologist who let him know that if he didn't go to the ER immediately for a discectomy or fusion, he could lose all bodily control.  Pilcher decided to look for other options.

New Minimally Invasive Options

There are new, minimally invasive options for treating a herniated disc. 'Endoscopic Discectomy,' is a minimally invasive procedure that removes the damaged disc material that is causing pain and provides relief.

"Endoscopic discectomy is highly effective in treating back pain caused by damaged discs," Dr. Arnold Feldman, a Harvard trained, Board Certified, Interventional Pain Management Specialist, stated, "it eliminates many of the risks and complications of conventional open surgery. There is only a very small incision. Recovery can be very fast depending on a patients' preexisting condition. Our patients have been very satisfied with the results."

Endoscopic discectomy, an outpatient procedure, uses x-ray imaging and magnified video to guide an endoscopic probe into the damaged disc space. Endoscopic discectomy surgery can be performed on either the lumbar (lower) or cervical (upper) spine. Disc damage is more common in the lumbar region, causing pain in the lower back and nerve pain in the buttocks and down the back of the leg (sciatica). With cervical damage, there may be pain in the neck, the shoulder, or radiating down the arm.

Justin Pilcher knew he did not want a fusion. After additional research he sought out Dr. Feldman and went to his office for an MRI and to discuss options.  He elected to have microendoscopic discectomy and one and a half hours later he walked out pain-free.

He relayed, "I had the treatment two months ago and to date am still pain-free. In addition I have been able to resume my job as a trainer at the gym. I forget most days that I had surgery."  Asked if he would have the procedure again, he said unequivocally without a doubt.  "Dr. Feldman and this procedure eliminated my suffering and returned me to life. I don't know where I would be now or what my life would be like had I not found Dr. Feldman or had this surgery."

To provide community education for other patients The Feldman Institute has launched The Spine Health Series this year to educate the community on recent advances in minimally invasive spine care.   The next seminar is scheduled for Tuesday, October 30 from 6 – 7 p.m. at The Feldman Institute, 505 East Airport Avenue, Baton Rouge, LA 709806.  Dr. Feldman will discuss this new minimally invasive procedure and other treatments for spine pain.

Contact: Susan Fletcher, The Feldman Institute

[email protected] / email

Phone: 225-278-5033

SOURCE The Feldman Institute