Testimonials

Dear Professor Doctor Bertagnoli,

With the end of 2011 fast approaching, this is an excellent time for me to reflect over the events of this past year and to thank you and your team for returning me to an active lifestyle.

As a Medical Professional in 2003, I understood how serious my back problems were when I progressed from a Grade 1 Spondylolisthesis to an advanced Grade II, and became symptomatic. I realized I had to seek a solution before there was further deterioration. I had dismissed non-fusion technology for two basic reasons: Manufacturers of the hardware only discussed Grade I in their presentations, and, every Doctor I consulted with was negative to using this approach for my problem. This left me with one surgical option, a fusion at L5-S1, which I had done in January 2004. How I wish I had found you prior to that time!

Unfortunately, my fusion was less than optimal as no spacer was placed between L5-S1, the screws that were used protruded into adjacent nerve spaces and I was fused in an abnormal biomechanical position, resulting in a constant feeling of distress whenever I stood.

In 2009 adjacent segment syndrome developed resulting in a year spent consulting with various Surgeons only to be told again and again told that fusion extension, pain medication and Pain Clinics were my only options. Miraculously, in the course of one week, two separate sources recommended I consult with Professor Doctor Bertagnoli in Germany. In late May 2011, after extensive testing and consultation, my wife and I flew to Germany and you surgically implanted Pro-Disk-L ADRs at L3-4 and L4-5 in my spine. Immediately following the procedure I was finally free of the pain I had lived with for years.

As a Physician, I have given a great deal of thought about the medical care I received from you, your Assistants and the Hospital Staff at Bogen, and how different it is compared to the United States experience. In American hospitals, surgeons must adhere to a rigid surgical schedule, using standard hospital surgical packs and must sometimes rely on Operating Techs that they may or may not have worked with frequently. The patient’s hospital stay is often stressful, noisy and less than restful with staff running in and out of the room at all hours of the day and night.

In contrast, Professor Doctor Bertagnoli you are not confined by time restraints in your Operating Room and you take the time necessary to achieve an optimal result for each unique case. Adjusting cases intra-operatively is a skill set you developed through your vast experience and which leads to enhanced outcomes. You have designed many of your surgical instruments and know specifically what is required in your surgical arena. You have assembled and trained an elite group of medical professionals and assistants. My stay at the hospital in Bogen was unique in that my wife was allowed to stay in the same room, share meals with me and it was quiet and restful.

While in the hospital, we met several other patients who had ADRs who were from the United States. As fate would have it, we all stayed at the same hotel in Straubing during our post-operative stay, and had many opportunities to convene and enjoy each other's company. I maintain contact with these individuals and all have had rapid and complete recoveries and marvel at their good fortune and improved lives.

Professor Doctor Bertagnoli, my decision to go to Bogen for ADR surgery was one of the best decisions I have ever made. I cannot thank you enough for everything and especially for the future care you may render me; after all, I still have a suspect fusion that I am living with! ADR is truly a procedure whose time has come, in large measure because of you.

Happy New Year,

Charles R. Hahn, M.D.

Dear Dr. Fenk-Mayer,

I would like to thank you again for everything you and Dr. Bertagnoli, as well as the rest of your colleagues, have done for me. The care that I received in Bogen was second to none, and I can’t think of anything that I would change. Would you please thank everyone who was involved with my care at the hospital? I was surprised at how well they all seemed to speak English.

We found your web site very helpful, and it was easy to communicate and set things up for our trip to Germany. Tim Vicknair was very helpful in planning our trip and he answered all of our questions that came up. Peter Hoch was a delight as our driver, and he seemed to really enjoy showing us the countryside. I knew I was in good hands when Dr. Masyk, the anesthesiologist, came by before surgery.

My wife and really enjoyed the week or so we spent in Straubing after surgery, especially with all the Christmas market stands in the center of town. The hotel Theresientor there was wonderful.

My neck seems to be getting stronger every day. It has been less than four weeks since the surgery, and my neck gets tired and a little sore easily, but I know that is normal for this stage, and it is steadily improving.

If you would like to use my name for reference or testimonial purposes, that is fine with me. I think it is hard for many Americans, especially if they are not in the medical field, to get the information they need to make the correct decision of who should do their surgery and where they should go for it. Perhaps they would like to know why Doctors like me choose Pro Spine. I am in the process of putting my surgery story on the ADR support web site where I first found out about you, in the hope that others in my situation will be encouraged to contact you.

I hope I don’t need any more neck surgery, but you will be hearing from me if I do! Thanks again for everything.

Your friend and patient,

Michael E. Walker M.D.

From Ronnie J Kanas, MD, Bonnie, Kahlia and Chloe

Dear Dr. Fenk-Mayer and Dr. R Bertagnoli,

I wanted to express my gratitude for the care rendered by your team in Germany, from the moment we arrived and got to befriend Peter, our personal driver, who along with his wife we spent our 28th wedding anniversary together having dinner in Straubing five days post op. Such lovely people, very helpful and genuinely sincere! The medical care was first rate, very impressive, and I should know as I am an Anesthesiologist, for 15 years in the OR, and the last 6 years as an interventional pain specialist! The quality of care, cleanliness, professionalism, hospital care, degree of quiet on the hospital floors was unreal! I was able to relax post-op in a manner unheard of in the USA! One can actually sleep in a German hospital, unbelievable. The discogram was such a lovely experience in your hands Dr. F-M, a test I vowed never to have, but you made it bearable, thanks!!! Meeting Dr. Bertagnoli, the night before surgery, was a pleasure. A very impressive , nice man, down to earth and not what I was expecting. We came to realize we have very similar interests. Perhaps some day we will meet up on the Nordschleife some day!!

My wife was treated very well and her stay with me made my recovery so much more bearable. The hotel was excellent, and provided hospital type beds that were adjustable which was absolutely necessary! We hope to return to Germany for a holiday and have fun traveling with a healthy neck . Even though I was driving on the autobahn in a BMW520d five days post op, i look forward to a real celebration, for the health and minimal pain for the most part I now enjoy compared to the life before my C4-C7, three level disc replacement!!! My job is very stressful, requires wearing lead aprons, glasses, head gear, all of which are quite heavy. They cause much pain, but still I am much better than before!!!!Some numbness remains but is getting better, certainly i could live with it, despite the lack of sensation. It is all about relativity, said a famous man!! I recommend this operation to all my patients, and certainly compliment the ProSpine team constantly, and despite the fact that my American insurance would not cover the cost of surgery, it was worth every euro!!! I am truly impressed and grateful for all that you have done for me, and hope to continue enjoying the activities that I used to partake in which made life so much more interesting and fun,

Sincerely from my heart and sole, as well as from wife and daughters,

Ronnie J Kanas, MD, Bonnie, Kahlia and Chloe

Rick Froehlich M.D.

I’ve had chronic neck pain since 1995. I was an invasive cardiologist for twenty years. I did angiograms and stents, which necessitated wearing a heavy lead apron to shield against the radiation exposure during the procedures.

In 1995 I read an article in a cardiology publication about an epidemiological study showing a 6-8 % incidence of severe neck and lower back problems in invasive cardiologists wearing the lead apron for long hours. The article stated that the lead apron, which itself only weighs 30-40 pounds, lies at the base of the neck and exerts 300 psi on the spinal cord. Now there is also convincing scientific evidence for a genetic link to DDD (Degenerative Disc Disease). I saw an orthopedic surgeon in consultation who ordered standard x-rays ands a CT scan of my neck. These studies revealed severe cervical spondylosis (bone spurs) at C6-7 causing severe spinal stenosis (narrowed to 9mm). I was referred to Dr. Robert Watson in Los Angeles, California.

Testimonial for Dr. Rudolph Bertagnoli

Melba W. Benson, Ph.D.
Arlington, Texas
February 2010

One of my favorite quotes, which is framed in our home, reads:

Not until you have been in the deepest valley
do you know how magnificent it is
to be on the highest mountain.

The deepest valley we experienced in the year 2009 was on January 14, when my neurosurgeon in the United States told us that all of my lumbar discs were so severely deteriorated that no surgery could help and that pain management was my only hope for the rest of my life.

Fortunately, in May 2009, I learned about Dr. Bertagnoli and another surgeon in Germany who performed surgeries on people like me whose surgeons in the United States had given up on. Although I sent all my records for evaluation to two surgeons in Germany, it became apparent to me very quickly that Dr. Bertagnoli was the surgeon I wanted to perform my spinal surgery.

On September 11, 2009, Dr. Bertagnoli inserted artificial discs at L1-2 and L2-3 through an incision in my abdomen and inserted a Dynamic Stabilization System through two incisions in my back to straighten a curve in my spine. Following the surgery, I was in the hospital in Bogen for 11 days. That time might have been even shorter if I had not broken my foot in a fall at the hotel the first night we arrived in Germany. We consider my surgery a miracle, and now we feel that we have gone from the deepest valley to the highest mountain.

As a patient, it is important to me for a doctor to be technically competent and have a caring personality as well. Dr. Bertagnoli, Dr. Fenk-Mayer, Dr. Nickl, and Dr. Mysek (anesthesiologist) met those criteria. Dr. Bertagnoli’s talents as a surgeon are unequaled, and we were also pleased to find out what a genuinely caring human being he is. He radiates joy and kindness when working with his patients.

My hospital stay was a very pleasant one. I had a large, beautiful room with a patio, my husband had a bed right beside mine, and the hospital staff was excellent. Most of the hospital staff members were sufficiently fluent in English, and I never had a problem communicating with any of them. If we needed anything, the staff was right there, but we were not unnecessarily bothered 24 hours a day as I have experienced during several surgeries in the United States.

From the time we made the decision for Dr. Bertagnoli to perform the surgery, the assistance we received from everyone on his staff was remarkable. We received rapid responses to any questions we had about the surgery itself, transportation to and from the airport, lodging, etc., from Tim Vicknair or the appropriate person on the Patient Coordination Team, capably led by Renata Hein. Since we had not been to Germany before, this type of assistance was tremendously valuable to us. Even Dr. Bertagnoli’s website provided an amazing amount of information to help us prepare for the most important journey of my life.

The gratitude I feel to everyone associated with Dr. Bertagnoli and the Bogen Hospital is overwhelming. We can honestly say that we enjoyed our trip, which is not something we expected to be able to say about a trip to have serious surgery.

I have a life again, something I never would have thought possible. My pain before the surgery was so bad I had an “existence.” Although I still have some healing to do, I am thrilled with the progress I have made. Friends who have known me for years tell me I look 10 years younger, have the biggest smile on my face they have ever seen, and cannot believe how good I looked even from the first day we got home. People are also amazed by how good I looked in photos we took on the trip, some of which were taken as early as three days after the surgery.

Also, we will soon be going on a short vacation. I can remember the time before my surgery with Dr. Bertagnoli when I doubted that we would ever be able to go on a vacation again.

I have not been able to practice the profession I love as an Educator/Coach/Mediator for three years, but in 2010 I expect to be able to go back to work.

Thank you hardly seems enough to say to people who have done so much to change my life. May God richly bless all of you for what you have done for me and for so many other people.

Sincerely,

Dear Dr. Bertagnoli,

One year ago today, September 11, 2009, a new life began for me when you performed surgery on my back.

For three years I had been unable to work in the profession I love, go on vacation, or truly enjoy anything because of the pain I experienced.

Since last September 11, my husband and I have taken two wonderful vacations and are planning a third.

In June of this year I returned to work part-time, and the joy I receive from being back at work is difficult to describe.

Dr. Bertagnoli, we thank you, Dr. Fenk-Mayer, Dr. Nickl, Dr. Mysek, Tim Vicknair, and everyone on your wonderful staff for how well we were treated while we were with you in Germany and for giving me life back again.

Thank you seems inadequate to express the tremendous gratitude we feel. We thank God every day for leading us to you and making all this possible.

We hope that all of you are doing well as you can continue to change lives with your incredible skills. We will never forget you and will always be thankful for the time we spent together.

Danke,

Melba W. Benson

I was so fortunate to receive Dr. Bertagnoli’s help in alleviating pain from an injury that occurred twenty years before the surgery. He placed two ProDisc-2 ADRs at C5-C6 and C6-C7.

My memory is vivid of the fall from the inspection stand at work with the 200 lb. hog carcass in 1987. I came to on the wet floor with scalding water splashing on my chest from the sanitizer basin above and the hog carcass across both thighs. My chin was pressed tight against my chest and the back of my head was hard against the next inspection stand. I was dazed standing up, but seemed in one piece. The back of my head was hurting terribly. I hurt all over my body. I changed clothes and finish out the workday.

At the hospital emergency unit that evening, I was bruised and hurting in so many places. The doctor noted serious bruising to the back of my head even though my hardhat stayed on. With all the bruising over my body but no broken bones, I was advised I would be sore and see more bruising in the next few days.

That was the beginning of “chronic pain” that included carpal tunnel surgery, tennis elbow surgery, a dozen different kinds of hand and arm splints, back braces, TENS units, and a lost career when doctors couldn’t find an etiology for my “problems”. I had radiographs, MRI’s, bone scans, nerve conductions, EMG’s for virtually every part of my spine and limbs – EXCEPT on my neck! Sad but true, my neck was not considered part of the damage. I even spent a night in cardiac intensive care that, in retrospect from the discography, was severe pain out of my neck.

My medical record became folders thick and all symptoms were bilateral: Carpal tunnel, DeQuarvain’s, tennis elbow, and other maladies. Surgeries were only on the right arm and hand – which failed to give improvement. Throughout the experience, dozens of psychological tests were requested to demonstrate my pain was just in my head. There was no evident physical or psychological pain element.

I had trouble using my hands; I held a pen with my fist. I was not unable to button shirts or zip my pants, but I managed to work even when I hurt in every part of my body. I would stumble from shivering with severe chills some nights on the way back to the warm covers after a bathroom trip. There were headaches and neck pain. There were more “sore throats” than I can count. The doctors would not see any throat redness or infection. I had ear pain and headaches but the head scans did not show any problems with sinuses or any other part of my head. One occupational medicine practitioner said in anger to my face that I was a psycho because the physical or psychological etiology was not evident to him. I was wasting their valuable medical resources.

I was finally able to convince a general practitioner that the problems were possibly from my cervical spine. After my first cervical MRI, the GP referred me to Mayo Clinic for neurosurgery. Mayo Clinic agreed with the GP’s MRI interpretation but did not have a surgical treatment since there were at least four levels of damage in the cervical spine. Fusing two levels would be the limit and actually aggravate the others. Yes, the hand and arm symptoms were coming out of the spine. Mayo Clinic attempted several pain therapies with anti-epileptic drugs – without success.

I was cocooning and withdrawing from life. Every day was pain and depression. I did give suicide a thought or two but somehow moved on. I used a portable recliner to take the stress off my neck and relieve a little pain. I attended veterinary conferences and traveled with the folding recliner for a few years through airports and all. Before having the recliner, I was often found lying on the floor in airport terminals between flights or in the back of conference rooms.

I was relieved when my supervisor stated in February 2005: “You aren’t getting anything productive done here anymore.” Management demoted me from a Veterinary Medical Officer to file clerk when travel became impractical and inspection-report writing was nearly impossible. I was becoming unable to pull file drawers open and lift file folders in and out for filing. I lay on the floor during office meetings and hardly ever joined in going out to lunch with colleagues. Sleep only lasted an hour at a stretch at night. I was utterly miserable and the folks I was working with had had enough.

Good things began to happen after that. I was able to begin an early retirement annuity rather than disability pension. Mayo Clinic advised there was nothing else to do for my pain. I contacted other spine centers. Dr. Delamarter in Santa Monica advised me that I needed Dr. Bertagnoli’s surgery or make plans for using a walker in the near future. The discography ordered was positive at the “10” levels of pain in ¾ of the damaged discs. The fourth disc was a “nine”. The levels included a ruptured disc. I knew from each injection where all the different pains had come from since 1987. The headaches, arm and hand pain/numbness, sore throats, chest pains and other pains that the physicians could not establish a diagnosis for. The pains had not been in my head!

We arrived at St. Elizabeth’s Klinkum in Straubing for two level ADR surgery in December 2006. Judy and I were soon put at ease with the helpfulness and care of the staff and nurses. It all seemed to like a wonderfully good contagion infecting everyone working with Dr. Bertagnoli.

I got back to my room around 6:30pm and around 8:00pm was set up for a liquid meal. I did not sleep the entire night and was able to see the stars from my bed with none of my arm and hand pain that had developed over twenty years. I found a nice position to rest face down for the first time in years. The next morning I was ready for the soft breakfast of jello, yogurt, and ice cream! The Germans have a very nice custom that includes ice cream any meal if you like and yogurt, too. After breakfast was finished, the nurse put a waterproof patch over the incision and pointed to the shower without the collar. I had neck motion and very little pain with the analgesic and muscle relaxant prescribed.

The third morning Judy and I walked about ½ mile from the hospital to the hotel. We were elated at the outcome of the surgery and the simplicity of the after care. The journey home several days later was harder on Judy than on me. I was not having any of the travel problems I had before surgery.

Over the two years since surgery, I have regained essentially all hand and arm function. My depression has eased and Judy has told others many times how I am a different person. She is an angel to have stayed with me through those twenty years of pain.

We are working on developing my veterinary practice for aquatic animals. Judy is my right hand person now just as she was many years ago in the small animal practice. In 2008 we were able to spend six weeks in Kazakhstan. We walked and took busses. We each held conversational English classes at one of the universities. That experience would not have been possible without Dr. Bertagnoli doing a two-hour surgery in December of 2006.

Thank you, Dr. Bertagnoli and team, with all my heart for the relief and new chance at life.

David S. DVM

On April 15th 1998 while traveling to a Chiropractic convention outside of Colorado Springs, Colorado, during a blizzard, myself and 12 other Chiropractors were involved in a roll-over van accident. Two of us were unbuckled and were tossed around as the van rolled side over side several times, and at one point I struggled to keep myself and the passenger next to me from being ejected from the van as it rolled. After the crash I jumped out of the van and helped the others out. Then myself and 3 other Chiropractors hiked about 2 miles, in 10 inches of snow, late at night, in order to get help. Although we were at over 6000 ft elevation I barely broke a sweat on the hike which took nearly 40 minutes. Immediately following the crash, I had some shoulder and low-back pain but I did not realize the extent of my injuries. I was 32 years old at the time of the crash and thought I was indestructible. I had been a college athlete and have exercised and trained most of my life and was currently training 3-5 days a week. My hobbies before the accident included weight lifting, backpacking, scuba diving, archery hunting, fishing, cross country running, played in the over 30 men’s hardball league, I built four wheel drive vehicles and log furniture, painted cars, played sports with my 2 young children, and would do any outdoor activity I was invited to do. Needless to say I was active and in great shape at the time of the crash.

As a Doctor of Chiropractic, my career is a physically demanding occupation. My days are spent pushing, pulling, lifting patients, and sometimes carrying patients into the office from their car when they are unable to walk in on their own. Before the accident I would see 70-90 patients a day on average, in an 8 hour day, 5 days a week. Following the accident, my life began to radically change for the worse. Over a period of 2 months I had increasing low-back pain. By July 1st, 1998 my lowback pain was so severe I could barely stand upright. My low-back became so weak that when I would bend over the adjusting table to work on patients my back would "go out"! I then had to reduce my office hours to 24 hrs a week and I worked Monday-Thursday ( I needed 3 days to recover enough so I could work again on Monday). For nearly 4 years I was unable to do ANY of my hobbies and had very limited ability to do basic things. I was only sleeping 2-3 hours a night, and even those hours were interrupted by pain. This made every aspect of my life more difficult. The pain robbed my quality of life and made it impossible to sit, bend, stand, or even lay for more than 30 minutes before the pain was intolerable. My intimate life with my beautiful wife of 10 years became non-existent. Overall, it was a daily struggle to survive and work day to day. Many times I considered taking my own life as I struggled to fight depression caused by pain, never did I have depression before the crash, but my Christian beliefs and love for my wife and children kept me from pulling the trigger. I would share these feelings with my wife and we spent many night shedding tears over this. My practice stats fell to treating 10-20 patients a day which severely hurt our finances and my desire to continue practicing. Each time I bent over my treatment table I had the fear that my low-back would go out and I knew it would put me on the floor for 1-2 months at a time. My spine was very unstable.

From 1998-2009 my quality of life spiraled downhill. I knew that I would need some form of surgical intervention at some point but the surgeons I saw recommended fusion. The MRI’s showed a torn and damaged L3 disc. I knew if I had fusion it would most likely end my career, since I had seen hundreds of failed low-back surgeries in my career, and I didn’t want to end up that way. I had heard there was some experimental artificial discs being developed but not in the USA, and I watched as they grew in popularity.

On January 1st, 2009, I was being intimate with my wife and my disc finally gave completely out. I spent 2 months in excruciating pain, unable to work at all. I had 2 very experienced Chiropractors working on me but they could not help me, like they had in the past. I had already missed 7 out of the last 14 months of practice for low-back episodes, and I realized now was the time to have surgery. Things couldn’t be any worse than they had been. I consulted with an ADR surgeon in Seattle and 2 German ADR specialists whom I met in Phoenix. The consensus was I am a great candidate for ADR, so I scheduled a date with the 2 German surgeons for surgery a month later. After I scheduled the surgery I didn’t have peace about my decision and I was very distressed. So I canceled the surgery.

I continued to research surgeons who do ADR and I found Dr. Bertagnoli at ProSpine in Bogen, Germany. His resume was impressive, and his experience seemed unmatched. I contacted Dr. B’s office and sent my MRI’s, CT’s and bone scans for them to look at. I was told that everything looked hopeful and so I scheduled surgery. I immediately had a sense of peace come over me that is hard to explain. I slept incredible that night.

I flew from Washington State to Munich, Germany, we were picked up and driven to Bogen. That day we met the ProSpine team and they were all awesome. I met Dr Bertagnoli and we discussed the procedure, what to expect, and outcomes. The following day I was admitted to the hospital. All the nurses at the Bogen hospital were caring and friendly and it felt more like I was staying in a hotel than a hospital. Even though we didn’t speak German, the nurses spoke enough English we had very little problems communicating.

The day of surgery, I felt some apprehension as it became real to me that I was going in for spinal surgery. A Chiropractor having spinal surgery? I had seen many failed surgeries and now I was consenting to having surgery? Have I lost my mind? Then a little voice in my head said "it will be alright. You can’t be any worse off than before". So I took the sleeping pills and went to sleep. I woke slightly in recovery. The next day I was able to sit up in bed with NO low-back pain, for the first time in 12 years. The second day I got out of bed and walked around my room and a little ways down the hall, again with no back pain, although my back felt a little "strange", like more flexible. On day 3 I walked all over the hospital grounds, ate lunch in the cafeteria, and went outside to enjoy the sunshine. Awesome, was all I could say! I felt like a new man! The only pain I had was the incision site, and it was minimal compared to the pain of the last 12 years. I was taking a light muscle relaxant and a 100mg pain reliever (not an Opiate), but even during the 12 years I rarely took anything for the pain.

The 16 hour flight back to Washington was not easy, but was tolerable. Once home I began a walking routine. I gradually added swimming and spinal exercises 6 weeks later. 4 months after surgery, I added weight training and gradually and carefully increased the weight. By month 6 I was back to work treating patients. I am as strong now as I was in 1998 before this crash.

It is a complete miracle! I have my life back….literally! And I am getting back into the hobbies I have missed for the last 12 years.

I can’t express enough my thanks and gratitude for the gift Dr. Bertagnoli gives to patients. It is all about quality of life and I am grateful for the expertise of Dr. B, and for the great ProSpine team, the awesome nurses at Bogen hospital, and the Artificial Disc technology. It has changed my life and my family’s life in a huge way. My only regret is that I didn’t have it done years ago.

Got to go for now, as I am leaving to go Snowboarding and skiing in the morning and I have to pack. Thank You! Thank You! Thank You! You all are awesome and I consider each of my friends!

Best of health,

David Camp D.C.
President/CEO Camp Chiropractic Center Inc.

P.S. ProSpine has my expressed written consent to use my testimonial. Should anyone wish to ask me questions I would be willing to talk to them about my ADR experience.

I was directed to visit Dr. Bertagnoli by my doctor here in California, who has watched me for years(he is considered one of the top back surgeons in our country, as he operates on most of the professional athletes). I could have had a multi-fusion 25 years ago and I choose not to so, mainly because my doctor said he did not recommend this until I simply could not function any further in my lifestyle. Many other doctors would look at my x-rays and wanted to do the surgery right away. I was a professional baseball player for 19 years and learned to overcome discomfort and pain to continue my career.

My career ended when I was in a muscle spasm for 3 straight months and I was 38 years old. At that time, I was told that I would have to have the fusions by age 45 if I could last that long. I outlasted this prognoses by fifteen years. Make no mistake, that there were sometimes I wanted to give up, but I never wanted to give in and that is what allowed me wait so long to finally deal with my condition. My condition had severely turned for the worst as I needed all five lumbar discs replaced.

My doctor told me that Dr. Bertagnoli is one of the finest surgeons in the world and he is the only person that he would recommend for me. I found out that there had only been 4 other 5-level disc replacements done previously…a little unsettling to say the least. I am here to tell you, that was the best thing I have done as I have no pain anymore. Yes, I get a little stiff and sore after I have just played 18 holes of golf now or when I have pressed hard in my rehab to strengthen my back, but no PAIN. Yes, I am playing golf.

I cannot tell you when I can remember not having pain and major discomfort. My surgery was just 11 months ago and I have spoken to many people with such conviction if they need a fusion or have serious disc problems, you must give Dr. Bertagnoli a call. I also tell anyone who is thinking about any back surgery, you must be committed to the physical therapy requirements afterwards in order to truly benefit to the maximum. When I get out of bed in the morning now, I do not have to crawl the first few steps, I just get up and walk around! Amazing. Doug DeCinces