Michele J. McCoy from USA gets Relief from 10-year-old Back Pain after Double Discectomy in BLK Hospital, New Delhi

29-years-old Michele J. McCoy from U.S.A had extreme sharp back pain since 2013. Her pain used to get aggravated while walking or doing any other physical activities. She had undergone a surgery for the thoracic outlet syndrome in the past where one of her left and right ribs were removed, after which the back pain started. The past 5 years of her life had been extremely painful and battleful. She consulted several specialties and also received many treatments provided by the US doctors, but in vain.

“I had 3 electronic devices planted on my back”, she quoted referring to the spinal cord stimulators that were placed under her skin on her back. These devices, however, completely failed to relieve her pain. The doctors had also put her on opioid therapy, which is used for pain relief. The dosage for opioids kept on increasing substantially and progressively over the period of 5 years making her addicted to opioids. “Even after an MRI, which clearly showed a diagnosis of degenerative disc disease, U.S. doctors would not take anything but a conservative approach to her problem.” her husband Ken McCoy told. It was then, that a friend of her husband came to know about Vaidam Health, who posted a query on the website.

Shortly, she was approached by the team and assigned a case manager. Michele shared her reports and received a few opinions from the spine surgeons. The case manager, Archana Tripathi assisted her in searching the best spine surgeon in India. After feeling convinced by the hospital and all other aspects of his treatment, she gave a ‘go-ahead’.

What followed next was the entire process of paperwork and documentary formalities. Quite soon the patient arrived India on 11 July 2018. After his arrival, she was taken to her hotel and soon her appointment was fixed with Dr. Puneet Girdhar, who is a director of spine center at BLK Hospital, New Delhi. On the appointment day, the doctor heard the entire case history of the patient in detail and ordered all the required investigations including MRI spine. When all the reports came back, Dr. Puneet came to a conclusion that Michele would need Double discectomy (c3-6, L4/5) and correction of the reversed cervical spine curvature.

After a while, the surgery was conducted, which went successfully. The patient stayed in the hospital for the next 10 days approximately, after which she was finally discharged. She was able to walk without much pain. The doctor explained her about the post-operative instructions and lifestyle changes that she would need to do.

Michele finally went back home on 30th July. She was happy and entirely contented with the overall services. After returning to the U.S.A, she began physical therapy and the process of detoxification and rehabilitation from opiates, as she no longer needed them. Today, she is able to bend over at the waist and touch the floor with her hands, something she has not been able to do in nearly 10 years. Michele and her husband specially mentioned,” Dr. Puneet did 3 surgeries in 5 days, including the one for removing the spinal cord stimulators. While the US facilities focussed only on relieving the pain, Dr. Puneet treated the root cause and we are forever grateful to him. This was a life-changing event.”

Vaidam wishes her great health ahead in life.