Testimonials
Hear what patients have to say...
Stryker Interventional Spine has helped relieve pain and improve lives for hundreds of thousands of people suffering from back pain caused by vertebral compression fractures, herniated discs, and facet joint pain. Listen to a few stories from patients who have benefited from the minimally invasive procedures Stryker Interventional Spine products support.
Vertebroplasty
Dan Foley, Age 43
After vertebroplasty, Dan's back at 100% and doing everything he used to.
Vertebroplasty - Patient Perspective (2:08)
Part Number: 9100-001-212 Rev A
Dan Foley - “What happened was I was on a quad at the dunes with some buddies and I came over a hill. I thought it was a plateau but it was actually about a 15-foot drop. So when I came down, all the energy went through my spine and basically blew out my L1. It was bad, I mean I couldn’t get out to do anything on my own much less go to my son’s hockey games or watch my daughter’s ice skating and those are things I really enjoy. It was pretty much constant pain and it really just felt like someone hit me in the back with a pipe. It was really painful. I’ll tell you, even the most positive person will start to get down after a few days of constant, constant, constant pain.”
Paul J. Lynch, M.D. Arizona Pain Specialists – “When Mr. Foley came to see me he was experiencing significant pain in his mid-back. I was suspicious of a fracture based on his history. What happened was, we did an MRI and he did have a significant fracture.”
Dan Foley - “I had a wedge fracture on my L1 and it was a bad one too.”
Paul J. Lynch, M.D. - Vertebroplasty gives us an option where we can take a bone, we can fix it percutaneously and the patient can literally get off the table and walk home feeling better.”
Dan Foley - “There weren’t a lot of treatments available for the back injury prior to the vertebroplasty. I mean you’re really just on pain pills, immobilized.”
Paul J. Lynch, M.D. - “Looking at all the options I felt that vertebroplasty was the best option to get him back to health.”
Dan Foley - “Gosh that same weekend I was out watching my kids play. I’m back at 100% and I’m doing everything I used to do and actually in a lot of ways better. It was awesome, I mean, I’m back at work, you know I took it easy but I was back doing the things I wanted.”
Radiofrequency Ablation
Brad Child, Age 36
Brad tried multiple treatments, and finally after the radiofrequency ablation procedure felt immediate relief.
Radiofrequency Ablation - Patient Perspective 2 (2:24)
Part Number: 9100-001-212 Rev A
Brad Child – “I first noticed my pain about 14 years ago. I was originally in a car accident and about a year after my car accident I started to notice chronic pain that was actually worse than the actual injury itself. The pain was so excruciating that just normal daily activities were difficult to do. I was in serious, extreme, chronic pain. The pain continued for 14 years, I tried multiple, different specialists, doctors, and physical therapy. That’s how I found the doctors able to help me with my life. Before I had the treatment, I was probably taking about eight to ten doses of pain medication on a daily basis just to try to make it through the day.”
Tory L. McJunkin, M.D. Arizona Pain Specialists - “When I first saw Brad in the office I realized that he had been in severe pain for quite some time and so I thought radiofrequency would be a good option to give him long-term relief. The procedure itself is minimally invasive. Usually it takes thirty minutes or less to perform the procedure and they get to go home that same day and start experiencing benefits and pain relief shortly after that.”
Brad Child – “After the radiofrequency procedure, I felt immediate relief getting off the table. I’m enjoying, I think, regular things in life. I would say that my life was like a blank coloring book, just figures and pictures, black and white. That was the hope of my future. And now since I’ve had the radiofrequency procedure, I’m actually filling in those colors.”
Gildardo Vergara Calderon, Age 27
After the radiofrequency ablation procedure, Gildardo knew that everything had changed.
Radiofrequency Ablation - Patient Perspective 1 (2:02)
Part Number: 9100-001-212 Rev A
Gildardo Vergara Calderon – “I started developing the pain while I was deployed in Iraq. After I came back it started getting worse. It would interfere with my everyday life. I couldn’t run or I couldn’t do anything that I used to do before. At times, with every step it would hurt. I just kept thinking 26 years old and sometimes I couldn’t even get out of bed right away. I had to be there 10 minutes, kind of warm up and then I got out of bed. I got treatment but I just never got better. I was just feeling depressed because I couldn’t go out or do anything with my family.”
Paul J. Lynch, M.D. Arizona Pain Specialists – “It was very clear what he had. The way we made a diagnosis was by blocking the nerves in his lower back that go to these joints called the facets. When we blocked those, his pain went away 100% and at that point we knew the radiofrequency was the right procedure for him. You know, it’s nice to know at the end of the day, that what we were able to do in the procedure room in a 15-to 20-minute procedure allows him to go home and hold his baby boy at night.”
Gildardo Vergara Calderon – “The next day I could actually feel the difference after the radiofrequency procedure with Dr. Lynch. So I knew right then that something was going to be better. Now that I have a baby I can actually pick him up, because before I couldn’t lift more than ten pounds. And after the procedure, everything changed. I’ll be a better father now that I can interact more with my kid.”
Disc Decompression
Julie Shattuck, Age 21
While still on the table during the disc decompression procedure, Julie felt relief from her pain.
Disc Decompression - Patient Perspective (2:31)
Part Number: 9100-001-212 Rev A
Julie Shattuck – “I was 17 years old, a senior in high school and I woke up one morning and couldn’t stand up straight. Sitting was very painful for me so after going to class and sitting for a couple of hours I would have to go home and lay down, especially by the end of the day. It was the worst at night because you’ve gone through all your day events. I was kind of thinking I wouldn’t be able to do a lot and that my back would affect my career choices, which is tough being at this stage of my life and trying to figure out what I do want to do but then throwing in the fact that, what can I do? You know once I figure out this is what I want to do with my life can I do it because of my back pain? I tried numerous treatments including physical therapy; I went to see a chiropractor, I did acupuncture, spinal injection, drug therapy. Nothing was really working for me though. It was a lot of, I guess, lonely times. I had pain along my lower back and down the back of both of my legs. “
Paul J. Lynch, M.D. Arizona Pain Specialists - “She was very active, she was a soccer player, she played lots of different sports and at an early age she started having severe pain and I began to talk to her about the percutane discectomy procedure, described to her the risks and benefits, talked to her about the possibility of this procedure taking away her pain without having an open surgery and I really thought it was the best option for her. And she had all these things going for her, she had every opportunity to become a dentist but her pain was holding her back. And so the percutane discectomy allows us, with a short 30-minute procedure, done with x-ray guidance, and most patients are able to go home within a couple hours.”
Julie Shattuck - “It was the first procedure that, automatically on the table, I felt relief. Just being able to know that I can go out and do things without hesitation. I’m a psychology major, however, I just applied to dental school, which is absolutely thrilling to me. “
Gregory Smith, M.D.
As a surgeon, Dr. Smith enjoys helping give patients their lives back.
Disc Decompression - News Clip 2 (1:53)
Part Number: 1000-900-016 Rev. A
A procedure is helping people get permanent relief from back pains and in today’s 4 Your Health, our own Dr. Bruce Hensel explains how it works.
Dr. Bruce Hensel - “Anna DeRegulado knows firsthand what it’s like to live in pain. She suffers from a disc bulge that’s made even simple tasks like walking and going to the store difficult. It’s a condition Dr. Gregory Smith has seen countless times.”
Dr. Gregory Smith - “People who have protruding discs especially with pain that’s radiating, a pain that goes from the back into the legs.”
Dr. Bruce Hensel – “But today Anna is hoping to put an end to the pain thanks to Dr. Gregory Smith and a simple procedure called percutaneous discectomy.”
Dr. Gregory Smith - “It removes the bulging part of the disc without actually cutting the patient and making an incision.”
Dr. Bruce Hensel - “Using the device a size of a needle called a Stryker Dekompressor, Dr. Smith removes the portion of the inner disc causing the bulging part to shrink, relieving pressure on the nerve that triggered the pain.”
Jesse Jones – “I don’t even feel like I have a bad back.”
Dr. Bruce Hensel - “Jesse Jones, Mario Gonzales and Roy Wilson know firsthand what it’s like to live with constant lower back pain too, but since the procedure their lives have taken turns for the better.”
Mario Gonzales - “After the surgery the pain on my left leg completely went away. It was great.”
Roy Wilson - “Made my life a whole lot better, a whole lot better.”
Dr. Bruce Hensel - “Less than one hour after surgery, Anna was awake and alert and for the first time in years, feeling no pain in her back or legs. Some quiet words of thanks to Dr. Smith.”
Dr. Gregory Smith – “People in chronic pain lose the basic things that we all take for granted, going to the store, going to the amusement park. It just gives me a lot of joy to see people get their life back.”
Dr. Bruce Hensel – “This procedure will not cure all forms of back pain but it is a good option for some people; it may be the cure you’re looking for. Ask your doctor if it’s right for you. I’m Dr. Bruce Hensel.
Patients in Houston, TX
Two patients in the Houston area experience relief from the back pain following disc decompression with the Stryker Dekompressor.
Disc Decompression - News Clip 1 (2:37)
Part Number: 1000-900-016 Rev. A
Greg Hurst – “Millions of Americans are living with chronic pain and spending trillions of dollars a year trying to find relief.”
Lisa Foronda – “Tonight 11 News reporter Nancy Holland shows us how doctors are helping people with bad backs. It can be done in minutes and some patients are telling us that the positive effects can last a lifetime.”
Nancy Holland – “There are no scalpels in the surgical suite, just a long needle. And Fred Shermie is awake and talking. Ever since Shermie was hurt in a car wreck, his back hurt. The procedure Dr. Stanley Jones is doing will take about ten minutes. Either because of injury or aging, discs in the back can degenerate. The cushioning sack begins to bulge and there’s pain. But instead of cutting into Shermie’s back, Dr. Jones is using an instrument called a decompressor. The needle makes a spot about the size of a freckle. Guided by an x-ray, Dr. Jones positions it as it vibrates; it suctions out a small amount of the disc. Dr. Jones thinks that patients turn too quickly to heavy-duty painkillers and some doctors turn too quickly to surgery.”
Dr. Stanley Jones – “You can oftentimes accomplish total pain relief and all you’ve done is stick a needle in a back.”
Nancy Holland – “If this doesn’t work, more invasive surgery is still an option.”
Fred Shermie – “The intense dull pain is not there presently.”
Nancy Holland – “But Fred Shermie thinks he’ll be under the 85% who don’t need more. If one patient, six minutes after the procedure, tells us he feels better, what about a patient six months down the road? Rachel Rosenbaum is about to do something that would have caused her extreme pain. She’s going to sit down and drive. A lot of drivers in Houston may dread that.”
Rachel Rosenbaum - “I am, I’m in my car and I’m driving. And I don’t have any pain.”
Nancy Holland - “Not Rachel. In fact six months after the procedure she says she feels better than she did after conventional back surgery.”
Rachel Rosenbaum – “My back pain does not limit me from doing my day-to-day activities so I’m in control of my life now. My back doesn’t control me.”
Nancy Holland – “Driving, in fact everything, is better now that back pain isn’t driving her. Nancy Holland, 11 News.”
Teacher, Age 49
After disc decompression with the Dekompressor, Yolanda feels like she's a better teacher, a better parent, and has gotten her life back again.
Disc Decompression – News Clip 3 (1:56)
Part Number: 1000-900-016 Rev A
Yolanda beams with her husband of 17 years because she can now do things with him like take long walks for the first time in a long time.
Yolanda - “It felt like a burning sensation going down the side of my back all the way to my toes, constantly, like a sharp knife being jabbed into my back.”
So this 49-year-old teacher tried it all until she took all she could take.
Yolanda - “I made a list of everything that I had tried, went to the doctor and said this is my list and there’re about 30 things on the list and he said, ‘Ok Yolanda we’re going to send you to have a new procedure.’”
Doctors use what is called a decompressor percutaneous discectomy probe.
Doctor - “The needle goes through the skin, into the disc and then the herniation is actually sucked out or aspirated with this little spinning device that comes out this tip right here and when you actually activate it, it’s battery controlled. And disc material is literally sucked up into the chamber.”
The procedure takes about three minutes. It’s done outpatient so it costs a fraction of the cost of back surgery.
Doctor - “A typical back surgery, just to give you a comparison, could be in the $20,000 – 30,000 range and this is going to be under $10,000.”
Five or six years ago doctors might have told Yolanda to live with the pain until it got so bad she would need surgery. Today there is a new option that works in six out of eight patients.
Yolanda - “Well, I began to travel again. I think I’ve become a better teacher. I’ve become a better parent. I’m not irritated at the end of the day because my nerve endings were constantly inflamed. I walk every day, 45 minutes. I’ve begun to get my life back again, which is a great thing.”
