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“After suffering a pinched nerve and severe back and leg pain an MRI revealed that I was experiencing a severe degree of central canal narrowing, or stenosis, caused by a disc herniation. I opted to schedule the earliest possible surgery. Upon my recovery from the five hour surgery, I was informed that all had gone well. The afternoon of the surgery, I was able to walk the length of the hallway twice. The second and third day, I was able to increase the walking distance during three daily walks. These two days proved to be the most painful, with a rapid abatement of pain from then on. I was released on the fourth day, which was the last day I required prescription pain medication. On the sixth day, when I awoke, the pain had all but disappeared.
In my opinion, the keys to success in this procedure and subsequent recovery were the outstanding skill, knowledge, and attention to detail of Dr. Barcohana and a concerted effort to optimize physical conditioning and especially core strengthening prior to surgery. Beyond this, the SCOI Physical Therapy Department has proven extremely beneficial in my return to good health and normal activities. My sincere thanks to Dr. Barcohana, and my best wishes to him in his continuing efforts to enhance his patient's health and quality of life.”
Treating Doctor: Babak Barcohana, MD
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“I first inquired about surgery in 1998 with local surgeons, and it just seemed as if they were all too eager to schedule surgery without exploring other options. I was wary of surgery, wary of spending any time in the hospital, so finding SCOI more than a dozen years ago was a godsend. It was my choice to avoid surgery for as long as possible. The treatment I received at SCOI helped me do just that. When the time for a surgical fix arrived, having a doctor who exhibited confidence and that he could provide a remedy to my pain with a minimum of invasiveness made my decision to proceed so much easier. Now, fifteen weeks out, with physical therapy complete and no pain what so ever, I feel years younger. I look forward to getting up in the morning and taking on the demands of the day. I want to say thank you for all of your skill, help, and guidance through this process. You gave me my life back, and I am forever grateful for that. Again, much thanks and appreciation.”
Treating Doctor: Babak Barcohana, MD
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“I had just spent a year eating well and exercising to lose 100 pounds. I was so happy to finally bring out my inner athlete when I started to have pain and numbness in my feet. Since I had always been obese, I thought back pain was just a given, so I ignored it. I never thought my back pain could affect my feet. After almost 3 years of different medications and treatments, I was referred to Dr. Barcohana at SCOI by my chiropractor. He immediately took an MRI of my back and diagnosed that one of my vertebrae had slipped forward, and was rubbing on my spine. I was given the choice of cortisone shots or surgery, but because the shots wouldn't heal my feet, I opted for surgery.
Within a month after surgery, I was back at work and doing aqua therapy. After a few weeks of land therapy, I am happy to say I am back to the gym and getting back to my old routine. My back is pain free, and my feet are healing slowly but surely. I'd like to thank Dr. Barcohana and all of the support staff at SCOI for helping me heal quickly. I would definitely refer anyone I know to SCOI.”
Treating Doctor: Babak Barcohana, MD
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“It has been almost one month to the day since I hobbled into your office at SCOI in Van Nuys with severe pain in both legs and across my back. I had originally come to SCOI in March, believing I had injured a hamstring or my back, but Dr. Gazmarian ordered an MRI and diagnosed the cause of the pain as a cyst between the L4 and L5 vertebrae in my spine. He recommended that I see you. I have to admit that learning I had a problem related to my spine was not something I was prepared for and gave me quite a scare.
I don’t recall whether it was Leslie or Michelle that I spoke with when I called your office at the end of March, but they listened to my concern and description of the pain I had experienced since last December and found a way to squeeze me in for a consultation almost immediately. Dr. Barcohana immediately put me at ease through his thoroughness, caring, and professional manner in showing me the MRI and explaining the issues and options for surgery. Seeing the pain I was experiencing, he found a way to do my pre-op that same day, helping me organize clearances with my primary care physician and cardiologist, and scheduled me for surgery the very next week.
It still amazes me that after a three-hour surgical procedure to remove the cyst and a day and a half hospital stay, it took less than two weeks before I was back to normal. The pain was gone when I awoke from the anesthetic after surgery. I only needed a walker at home for two days to get around. Within 4 days after the surgery, I was walking, sitting, and sleeping comfortably. A month later, except for the very small incision at the base of my spine, one would not know I had surgery at all.
The greatest compliment I can give is that I was treated as an intelligent person and provided me all the information to remove my fears, help me understand my condition, the medical options, how to recover safely and quickly, and feel secure in the knowledge that I truly was in the best professional care possible. I appreciate Dr. Barcohana’s judgment in prescribing a conservative surgical procedure and not going after other potential future cysts, which another surgeon, not at SCOI, wanted to remove, but had not told me of the risks to the stability of my spine, which Dr. Barcohana had explained to me. I also appreciate Dr. Barcohana’s thoroughness in contacting my primary care physician and consulting with him to confirm that other potential issues raised by the MRI were not, in fact, real issues. This is the third surgical procedure I have had in the past 16 years at SCOI. To say that SCOI is the best kept secret, as Southern California’s finest orthopedic institute, is an understatement. You have provided me the best results, the finest and most professional care I believe I could receive anywhere. Thank you for returning me to a pain-free and normal life in such an incredibly short period of time.
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Treating Doctor: Babak Barcohana, MD
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“I would like to thank Dr. Babak Barcohana for his 200 percent and love for his work. I am 56 years old and with plenty of issues, caused from the large bone behind the neck, pain between the shoulder blades at times, headaches and pain traveling from the large bone behind the neck through the left shoulder collar to the shoulder joint, and arm numbness and tingling down to my wrist at times and lost arm nerve reflex. After the x-rays, MRI and nerve testing, it was determined that the C6 & C7 area was the issue. I lived with this issue for quite a while. Once it started to spread to the other side of the shoulder, I felt it was time to do something about the issue.
Before I’d seen Dr. Barcohana, I did the chiropractor thing up till I figured out that was no help and the issue was worsening. After that I knew I needed medical help, I tried physical therapy, which did not help at all. I then tried acupuncture, which relieved a lot of muscle tension for just a few minutes. I finally did the surgery and it’s the best thing that’s happened to me. I knew this from the moment I woke up in the recovery room. No more hurting, everything was gone. I knew Dr. Barcohana did an excellent job. Now I’m in my room for the remainder of the day with a sore throat, difficulty swallowing, and now supper in front of me. That part was not good. I had no appetite for food at all, but I was plenty thirsty for water. What I did, knowing my throat was very sore, I took a small sip of water not knowing I didn’t have full throat muscle control. That small sip ended up being like a large gulp of water. What I found was some small ice chips helped quench the thirst, but I still had to be careful I didn’t swallow too quickly. I put the small ice chip in my mouth and let it melt. I went into the hospital early morning, and out late evening the next day. I felt good enough to go home, but mind you, just getting home from the hospital is not a total treat. Recovery time is needed. The sore throat lasted a few weeks but every day is a better day.
Now let me quit the jibber jabber and get to the good stuff. I am nearing the end of my fifth week since the surgery, and things turned out better than expected. There is no pain anywhere, even where the plates were installed. I know I’m still recovering from the surgery, but I just want to say I’m doing great. The throat feels a little tight when I swallow, but it’s not sore anymore. SCOI, I would like to thank you for your high standards of Dr. Babak Barcohana and his assistant proves that. Having throat lozenges nearby is a must and I would like to add chocolate milk to my surprise gave better relief for a short while. Thank you!”
Treating Doctor: Babak Barcohana, MD
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“I am a 63-year-old man, who was injured on the job. I endured a lot of pain over a period of time and was diagnosed by Dr. Babak Barcohana as having disintegrated disc in my back. As with all surgeries, there is always a risk involved. I had only three choices. One was to live with this pain, which would only increase in time and possibly cause additional injury and pain. Second, I could take pain medication, however, did I really want to be on medication for the rest of my life? The third choice was to leave the knowledge to Dr. Barcohana, an orthopedic surgeon with SCOI, that he would do the right thing and have me back to my feet. It is kind of scary to think of what could happen, however, taking a chance that my life would be better off served with surgery. Besides, surgical procedures have come a long way and we are all better off for having moved forward. As I mentioned before, there are always possible risks with surgery. The idea of feeling better with little or no pain appeared to be the best option. I asked myself, do I really want to live like this the rest of my life?
Relying on a knowledgeable doctor and feeling good about his intentions, my little voice told me that he was a good man and that I should go forward with the operation. Thus, on December 29th, 2009, I had the necessary operation. It included the cleaning around the area of the L1, L2 spinal cord for the installation of a titanium bridge using 4 titanium screws. Sounds mechanical and odd when you think about it after all. I had never had a foreign object in my body. I had a few days of discomfort and I was released to go home. I hired a full time nurses aid to assist me from helping me around the house the first week, to simply assisting me to allow me to do things on my own during the second week. Some of the simplest movements like putting clothes on and picking up things were not so easy to do. I followed the advice of Dr. Barcohana relatively to my being careful every day not too overdue myself. He also told me no lifting for a while.
Today, I am fully recovered with no pain. I do have a few cautions to be aware of, however. I have come a long way and I very pleased that I chose to have the operation. The stitches were few and hardly noticeable.
I look forward, as you should also do, to embrace life and know that change is good and to live without pain is very good. Keep in mind that what you are going through right now can only get worse and your limitations will only increase. I am not an exception, simply one of many who have had this type of surgery.”
Treating Doctor: Babak Barcohana, MD
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“My persistent back problems began in the 80’s. I had a car accident in my little Corolla with a big solid 1970’s vintage Cadillac. It won and I lost big time. I was in my mid-twenties and spent some time every year with back problems. I went to chiropractors, who could give some relief, medical practitioners who could give pain pills that would dull the pain but not help the underlying cause, acupuncture doctors who didn’t really help, physical therapy, and even paid extra money to use a stretching machine called the DRX. This did seem to help for a time. I also had some spinal block type treatments, which helped for almost a year the first time, but each subsequent time, helped for a shorter length of time.
So in Fall of 2009, around Thanksgiving, I finally injured my back so much that I couldn’t work. I had missed up to a week at a time before, but had managed to struggle to work in pain until that year. I was trying desperately to avoid surgery on my back. My husband had back surgery around the time we were married, and his was successful. The doctor told him it would probably last 5 years, and it had been more than 15. However, in the research I had done online, you apparently had a fifty/fifty chance that surgery would help. I was very afraid at the thought of back surgery. What if it didn’t work and I couldn’t work now. Then I had the back surgery and that didn’t work, what would I do? Friends and relatives usually tried to talk me out of it.
However, I had tried everything else. I knew I had to do something. So I made an appointment with SCOI to see a specialist, and it turned out to be the best thing I ever did. My back problems originally had started with only one disc that was damaged. Now it was two! Also, I had excess weight, which of course made everything worse. Walking, sitting, everything was difficult and extremely painful. So there I was at SCOI, talking with Dr. Barcohana. He told me that he thought he could help my back pain at least 50-70 percent. I thought I would be very happy with 25 percent by that time, but I agreed. We scheduled the surgery for the end of March 2010. The surgery itself was to remove the collapsed discs, L4-L5, and L5-S1, and replace them with cages. I would have two cages, 6 screws, and 1 titanium rod to hold them in. The surgery could take up to seven hours. So I set it up, and it turned out to be the best decision I had made in a very long time about my back. The surgery lasted about five and a half hours. I was able to get up the third day and start walking. The hardest part was being released and sitting in a car for an hour to get home. But even that wasn’t too painful. I received the best back brace I have ever had. After about six weeks, I began physical aqua therapy. I improved slowly and steadily.
I originally began this letter around my first Halloween after my surgery, when it finally came home to me how much better I was with the surgery. Six months had gone by since my back surgery, and it was Halloween again. It occurred to me that this was the first Halloween parade at the school I teach at that I wasn’t worried about the pain from standing and walking so long and that I didn’t collapse at the end of the parade. I am able to walk, swim, and exercise at the YMCA, work and live again. I owe it all to you Dr. Barcohana and I thank you from the bottom of my heart!!
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Treating Doctor: Babak Barcohana, MD
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“My lower back has bothered me for more than 40 years. In the past few years, the pain became worse. I began to have difficulty with both legs and at times, my toes would go numb. I had also lost a considerable amount of mobility. Over the past 20 years, I have tried a number of things to help ease the pain, including chiropractic adjustments, and injections directly into my spine, medications. None of the above was relieving my pain and it was impacting my life style. I began with a physical medicine & rehabilitation specialist at SCOI, who did some nerve studies and discovered some nerve damage that was so far reversible. She referred me to Dr. Barcohana, also at SCOI, for a consultation. His diagnostic workup showed I have a severe scoliosis in my lower back, progressive arthritis and some disk damage. As previous injection in the area had not worked, he recommended surgery, using the newer minimally invasive technique. As I was otherwise healthy, I opted for this surgery in March 2011.
I had heard all the horror stories of failed back surgeries and I was extremely nervous about making this decision. When I thought it through, I realized I had no choice, as I was becoming incapacitated. Dr. Barcohana explained the surgical procedure, recovery expectations and future mobility. This surgery was a 2- day procedure of approximately 6 hours each day. The first 3 days seemed hardly worth living, even with morphine. With that being said, from the end of the 1st day, I could tell there had been improvement as I now had feeling back to all my toes. They had me up to walk for a short distance that same day. I was able to go home on the 5th day. I was able to walk 30-40 minutes per day from the very beginning, 10-15 minutes at a time, and that only lengthened as the days went on. I stopped using the walker within the first week at home, used a cane for an additional few weeks, and have been off pain pills since the 4th week. I was able to return to work part time in the 5th week and full time at 8 weeks. I have some recovery time left, but have been feeling well enough to be fairly active doing light gardening and walking. My most difficult activity is sitting for longer than 90 minutes and that is improving with physical therapy. Physical therapy started within two weeks of the surgery. The first 6 weeks consisted of pool time to stretch and relax muscles that have been moved. Since then, therapy has consisted of weight training for strengthening those same muscles. I expect at the 6-month mark to be pretty well back to full activities.
This was absolutely the right decision for me. It has been difficult, but not impossible and I am told I am doing very well in the recovery process. Sometimes it takes a tough mental attitude to push through discomfort, and it has been worth it. Dr. Barcohana was right on with his diagnosis and treatment recommendation. The doctor, SCOI, and the hospital staff have been exceptional. My lower back is straight. I walk straighter. I’m out of pain. I’m even nearly an inch taller! In conclusion, the diagnosis was right, the surgery was right, and Dr. Barcohana was the right surgeon.
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Treating Doctor: Babak Barcohana, MD
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“First off, let me tell you that I am a 60-year-old woman, who has always been very active in life. I have always held a physically demanding career and lifestyle. Since 2003, I have experienced serve low back pain, spasms, and neck pain. I have been to numerous back specialists and was diagnosed with degenerative discs in my lumbar and cervical spine. I have endured numerous series’ of epidurals, acupuncture, physical therapy, massage therapy, and heat and ice therapy, not to mention all of the various medications. All of which, were merely Band-Aids for my condition.
In 2010, I began to see Dr. Barcohana, at Southern California Orthopedic Institute in Valencia. In short, he advised me that I needed surgery on both the lumbar and cervical areas, and would proceed to request that my insurance authorize the procedure. As with anyone anticipating back surgery, there is so much to be concerned with. Will it really help? What if it makes the pain worse? What if I am paralyzed? The “what ifs could go on forever.
On June 22, 2010, I was admitted into the hospital and Dr. Barcohana proceeded with the surgery on my lumbar spine. He removed one of the involved discs and fused the vertebrae together by placing bone marrow and a small bracket with 4 screws to hold everything in place. My recovery was intense for the first several weeks but the only discomfort I felt was from the actual surgery. The pain that I normally felt in my spine was relatively gone. I was excited. I only spent four days in the hospital and was up walking the day of the surgery. I had to walk up stairs before I could go home. Once I was at home, the more I walked and moved around, the better I felt. I used my back brace and bone growth stimulator religiously. I returned to see Dr. Barcohana nine days after the surgery. I walked up and down the stairs to get to the second floor rather than taking the elevator. I was pretty proud. I wasn’t taking any more medication. I think Dr. Barcohana was surprised and pleased with the progression of my recovery. I know I was. My pain was gone and I had no adverse effects from the surgery. I would say it was a complete success. Within 3 months, I was back to work. I did have some restrictions but only until the fusion was completely healed.
On March 1, 2011, I had Dr. Barcohana perform my neck surgery. He removed two discs and fused the vertebrae the same as he did for my lower back. Needless to say, I was happy with the outcome of this surgery also. I never felt any pain, where the fusion was in my spine only from the incision site and a little sore throat. All of that was gone within 2-3 weeks. I like milk shakes, so it didn’t bother me to have a sore throat. It was a small price to pay to get rid of the pain. I was back to work in 30 days.
I hope that anyone reading this feels a little less stress with the thought of having to go through back surgery. I realize that not everyone is alike and the situations are different, but if my story helps ease the mind of a potential back surgery patient, I am happy.
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Treating Doctor: Babak Barcohana, MD
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“Starting back in September 2010, I was experiencing tremendous pain in my right leg from the lower back down to my food. I had tried Synvisc injections, cortisone shots, and braces, but nothing would relieve the pain. I was at the point where I could not even climb stairs. Dr. Barcohana had mention my best option was to fix the L5 vertebrae that was sitting on my tailbone as that was my best option to ease the pain. I wished I had listened to the doctor back in 2010.
On January 3, 2011, I had a full right knee replacement due to the fact I had no meniscus and was scared about having back surgery. I was hoping that it would relieve the pain in my leg. My knee feels great and is working just fine, but the pain in back of my legs was getting worse. I was always told not to have back surgery because of the risk involved. I went and talked to Dr. Barcohana for the second time. He explained again in detail the procedure, the risks, and benefits involved, making me feel comfortable and relaxed enough to do it. It has been less than two months, and I feel great. The pain is almost non-existent. On both surgeries, the first week is a little rough. The relief I feel now and the mobility that I have gained back was well worth it and has exceeded my expectations.
The treatment I received from pre-surgery and post-surgery was exceptional, professional, and courteous at all times. Dr. Barcohana's practice coordinator has been very helpful, tending to my needs and prescriptions. My wife and I own a medical supply store and I get customers coming in looking for braces for knee and back relief because they are afraid to have any surgeries. I explained the procedures I had, the outcome, and find out they are very surprised to see me only after two months after back surgery. The incision on my back is not even noticeable. I give them Dr. Barcohana cards and tell them to at least go talk to him.
I am very grateful to have had my surgery done at SCOI and by Dr. Barcohana. I would recommend him to anyone that asks and to all of my customers.”
Treating Doctor: Babak Barcohana, MD
