FT. LAUDERDALE (CBS4) ―Nearly eight out of every ten Americans will have back pain at some point in their lives.
Treating back pain costs the nation $50 billion a year in medical care and disability payments. Now one local doctor has come up with a way patients can get the best results from back surgery using a hybrid procedure.
When Ann Marie Kelley, 43, has any spare time you’ll find her on the golf course, but it wasn’t always that way. Back pain kept her off the fairways for months.
“Over the last year it really basically just crippled me. I mean I couldn’t get through a round of golf. I was taking ibuprofen. I got epidurals. I had nerve blocks done. None of that worked at all,” said Kelley.
She was referred to Dr. Jeffrey Cantor at the South Florida Spine Clinic in Fort Lauderdale and learned just what was causing her pain.
“Ann Marie had two severely degenerated discs in her back and the pain that she had as a result was quite severe. She was unable to do just about everything she normally does,” Cantor explained.
“I kept asking, ‘when can I get back to golf? When can I get back to golf?’ and he said, ‘you need to stop talking about when you’re going to golf and start talking about how you’re going to get through a normal day.’ Because I couldn’t at the time, I couldn’t clean my house,” admitted Kelley.
Dr. Cantor suggested a hybrid procedure that would not only relieve her pain but give her flexibility.
“A hybrid procedure, what we’ll do is we’ll fuse one level and at the adjacent level at a more mobile level we’ll put an artificial joint in. What this does is it creates a more normal situation,” Cantor said.
The bottom joint where Kelley was having the most pain was fused. The joint above it which needs to be more mobile is where Dr. Cantor placed the artificial disc to maintain mobility.
Kelley said she ís amazed that after three years of living in pain her back is now better than ever.
“I’m feeling great. I mean I’m playing golf 2 to 3 times a week now. It was definitely worth it,” she said.
After this type of surgery Dr. Cantor said there is no bending, twisting or lifting for 12 weeks and that’s because patients need to give the fusion time to heal.
Kelley was able to play a full round of golf 6 months after the surgery.
To find out more about the hybrid procedure call South Florida Spine Clinic at 954-567-1332.
