Low Back Surgery Nightmare: Email Advice

Dr Blake's comment: This kind young lady just had a quack do back surgery without actually doing the surgery. I have heard stories like this, but this is a first for me. I present the story because we all have to be cautious with surgery. Most surgeries are very helpful, but problems can occur. Major foot and ankle surgeries I love my patients to get 2 or 3 opinions. But, she did not do anything wrong, and now has to start all over again. She has to heal from the first unsuccessful non-surgery both physically and emotionally before she can attempt to do it all over again with another physician. I am sorry as a human for her suffering, and I am sorry as a doctor that this doctor brought a disgrace on the profession I love. Remember to take many opinions. Yelp the doctor to see the reviews. Part of the sadness is that this doctor obviously does not care. This surgery in face of low back pain with sciatica is very successful overall. I am sorry and I hope your healing and new surgery goes very well. Rich

I'm responding to your kind invitation from You Tube..So here goes!
I have had low back pain with sciatica symptoms for years but I wasn't willing to go through the process of steroids and medications that are a band aid and certainly not healthy either!

I had gone to several different Drs with my symptoms and actually most of them scared the hell out of me with their "solutions" so I suffered for 5 years,but on those years I also went to different chiropractic care facilities and massage therapist, along with physical therapy with some good results but nothing permanent so it started looking like surgery may be an option! 

I finally found a neurosurgeon who seemed caring and trustworthy!
I saw him a couple of times and finally felt comfortable with having this l5s1 microdiscectomy! 
Easy he said,you'll be fine he said!
Recovery will be max 6 weeks!

I decided to go ahead and do this even though his personally owned spine hospital is 4 hrs away from me!
GIANT MISTAKE!
First of all I wasnt even sobered up from the anesthesia and was led out of the facility 2 hrs after I was checked in....My husband and I stayed at a local hotel till morning and we drive home...that was a nightmare in and of itself !

Anyway I did to the letter post op instructions for the time frame he claimed,including physical therapy at 6 weeks!
About 2 weeks post op I'm still in horrible pain and no relief in site, I called and left messages and pretty much begged for some answers!

I only (and only then) got a phone call at 3 weeks post op. Why? Because I gave his business a bad review on Facebook! 
I got chewed out by his Facebook administrator to NEVER post bad things about him!
In the meanwhile I found a local neurosurgeon to see me but I had to wait 90 days for ab appointment! 

Legal reasons  (not his circus,not his monkey ) So my recovery is still not going as planned, even the great help I got from my physical therapy! 
90 days has finally passed and I go to the new neurosurgeon with my MRIs pre and post op! 
One was done the day before surgery the other was done 2 weeks post op at my local emergency room! 
Ya I ended up in the ER !

So the new surgeon is doing his exam along with his PA and reading my report on this case!
He takes a look at both MRIs and compares the 2 and looks at me with a very serious face and asks,is this guy old or something?  Not kidding! 
I said no why,he pointed out that the 2 MRIs are identical and that even though his report says he'd done a microdiscectomy,there was no l5s1 repair! The annular tear is still there and the disc is still protruding! 

What he did do was take stem cell from my right iliac crest and injected the cells into the disc space! 
That is ALL that as far as we can tell was done!
I knew things couldn't be ok from the start and this confirmed my suspicions! 
In essence I was a guinea pig that is out $35.ooo
Legal action ....pphhh! TORT REFORM BILL! 

True story:
I thought I was smarter than this!
Hope this isn't to boring!
Thanks for asking what the deal was!