New Back Surgery Reduces Recovery Time
AZFamily.com
by Nicole Moon
April 4, 2011
PHOENIX - Thousands of Americans suffer from chronic back pain each year including singer Merrill Osmond, but thanks to a new procedure now offered here in the valley, he's singing a different tune.
“Spending that many years in the entertainment industry, obviously, you're going to get some wear and tear on your body,” Osmond said. “I went through years and years of really suffering, a lot of injections for years.”
He's suffered chronic back pain since an accident nearly a decade ago but held off after watching his son go through a traditional surgery.
“He still is lying in bed after five months and when I saw what he went through I said, nah, I can't do that, number one I can't take the time off.
That is until he learned about Dr. Saquib Siddiqui and a new procedure called Nuvasive.
“I researched him and heard from everyone that he was the man to do the surgery,” Osmond said. “So I took a risk and I went to Houston and he had me on the table and he had me walking an hour after the surgery.”
“He was able to get up and walk within a couple of days and was back on stage within 7 days of the surgery,” added Dr. Siddiqui.
The doctor performed Osmond's surgery in Texas, but has now brought the procedure to his practice here in Arizona. The technology actually allows doctors to easily bypass muscle and nerves to repair issues in the spine.
“It's a technique that allows us to do this with a smaller incision and normally the patient is walking with in an hour or two and often going home in three or four hours time,” Dr. Siddiqui said. “Nobody really wants a lot of big scars and a lot of pain. If you can get the same job done with less trauma and less pain, then that's better for the patient.”
And patients like Osmond say its given them a chance to live life pain-free.
“I don't have any pain at all, at all and i used to have pain like crazy,” Osmond said.
Dr. Siddiqui says not everyone is a candidate for this surgery Most patients are between 40 and 60 years old.
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