Spine Surgery Banished His Pain
An avid workout enthusiast, Nickolas -- also a local Army reservist -- was lifting weights one day when he felt some strange, uncomfortable symptoms on the left side of his body. He noticed tingling and muscle spasms in his hand, and pain under his arm and in his lower back.
He wasn't worried at first. Nickolas had no history of back or neck problems. But his symptoms worsened quickly and grew more frequent. A magnetic resonance imaging scan showed a severe narrowing in the cervical spine in his neck, a condition called spinal stenosis.
"It was so severe that a neck injury could have paralyzed me from the neck down," he said.
Fortunately, Nickolas knew right away where to go for help. His lifelong friend, Archie Perry, MD, is a spine surgeon who serves as the chair of the Spine Program Committee at Spring Valley Hospital Medical Center.
"I know how good a surgeon Dr. Perry is, and how well his patients do after surgery," Nickolas said. "I was his first assistant after we both completed our residencies."
Surgeons often try conservative therapies first, but that wasn't the case for Nickolas. Dr. Perry recommended immediate anterior spine decompression and fusion surgery.
Dr. Perry performed the procedure in March 2008. He made an incision in the front of Nickolas' neck, removed the diseased discs and excess bone material, and added bone grafts to support the spine. Then he used a small titanium plate and tiny screws to stabilize and fuse the spine.
"The surgery cured me," Nickolas said. "I have absolutely no symptoms or limitations. I was back to work in a week and was lifting weights in a few months. I was happy I could continue to serve in the Army Reserves without restrictions. And I don't have to worry about paralysis."
