Video · Patient story
Published on YouTube Length 1:50
Alessandra says she had extreme lower back pain for years and that other physicians told her nothing was wrong. She says Dr. Melamed's workup with X-rays and MRIs found a collapsed disc at L5-S1 and that she needed surgery. Before surgery she couldn't walk, sit, or lie in bed properly. Six months after surgery and physical therapy, she says she is pain-free.
Patient experiences are individual. Individual results vary.
Medically reviewed by Dr. Hooman Melamed, MD, FAAOS
From the video's captions, edited for punctuation, capitalization and paragraph breaks. Filler sounds such as "um" are left out, and clearly misheard names and medical terms are corrected. Words that could not be made out are marked [inaudible].
I was referred by a friend and checked him out on Yelp. What I saw was very positive. So I came to Dr. Melamed with extreme lower back pain, I had it for years. I had seen other physicians who told me there was nothing wrong with my lower back. I was just suffering quietly until I saw Dr. Melamed.
He did a thorough checkup with X-rays and MRIs, etc., and did find I had a collapsed disc at S1 L5, and that I actually indeed needed surgery. Before I had the surgery I could not walk properly, I couldn’t lay in bed properly, I could not sit, I could virtually do absolutely nothing. I was in chronic excruciating pain.
When I had the surgery it was, first of all, a very positive experience, because Dr. Melamed has extremely a great bedside manner. He is a very caring doctor. You really get the feeling that he cares for you and wants you to get better. The surgery went extremely well, everything was awesome.
I was referred to physical therapy place, and now 6 months after the surgery, I am pain-free. I feel like I had never had lower back problems ever, so I cannot thank him enough. I had numerous surgeries on my body, I had never experienced a doctor who has helped me as much as Dr. Melamed. I will be grateful to him forever. Thank you.
Second opinions welcome
Send your imaging for a personal review with Dr. Melamed. Many patients learn a smaller, muscle-sparing option is on the table.