North American Spine review: Disabled after accura scope treatment 17

did your husband have the accurascope? if so, why did he have the procedure? i had back surgery 4 years ago, it failed. i saw the accurascope on the internet. so i started doing some research when i came across your complaint. so sorry about your husband.

Looking for people injured by NAS in Daytona or Dallas who may be willing to share their story. Email empoweredpatient@cnn.com as we would love to speak to you.

You can't have the accurascope procedure in the cervical spine. The scope device cannot reach beyond the lumbar spine. If they are offering a minimally invasive procedure in the cervical spine it is probably a laser discectomy which is not covered by many insureance companies. The procedure inserts a needle into the center of the disc and injects some dye to check for increased arm pain and/or leaking of the dye. If positive they use a laser to remove part of the nucleus and "seal" the herniation. It is not considered a very reliable procedure by many suregeons. I asked several doctors here in Indiana if it was an option and they refused to do it. The cited that it is not reliable in all but the most minimal of cases. Most would recommend (depending on your MRI) starting with a Posterior Foraminotomy which enters the neck from the rear, removes a small portion of the lamina ( the bone part of the vertebra that covers the nerve passage) to access the foramen (the opening that the nerves leave the spinal canal through). They then use a bone scalpel and/or high speed burr to open up the foramen to allow more space for the nerve. If the disc is too unstable or the herniation too large then they may recommend going with a ACDF (Anterior Cervial Discectomy and Fusion). THis enters through the front of the neck, removes the disc, places a spacer and bone fragments in place of the disc, and usually uses a plate and screws to hold the two vertebrae together until the bone fuses. Its a very reliable procedure and is highly successful. It does have some risk of added pressure on the other discs of the cervical spine, but they are like 2.9% chance per year of another herniation at a different level. Both procedures are common and should be covered by most insurances. If not, and you are going to have to spend your own money you may want to look into going to germany for a disc replacement. The M6 cervial disc is not approved in the US but has had incredible results in Europe with some 18, 000 discs placed already. It is superior to any FDA approved disc in the US, but will cost you about $30K with all travel and hgospital/hotel stays included.
Hope this helps

Please note that the company that preforms surgery is North American Spine, not North American Spine Institute which is a chiropractic and teaching company. The North American Spine Institute was founded several years before doctors from the North American Spine copied there name.

I'm glad I read these comments. I've had ESI done at the Bone and Joint Clinic in Baton Rouge, LA. by DR. McCarthy in the cervical and lower back with with much success! It will be a week or so before I know IF I I have pain radiating from bulging disk in my middle back. He may recommend ESI for that are also. I will do whatever he suggests (after educating myself) . I was reading this to inform myself IF I need something a bit more invasive. After reading these comments I'm going to opt for continued ESI, if necessary, weight loss and physical therapy for as long as I can. All of my back pain was initiated by a car accident.

yes I agree with all the negative comments. had the decompression done. no pain relief. pain is worse now. MRI after shows no sign of change. do not fall for them. DO NOT. they submitted outrages bills to my insurance.
and I agree with the comment: they shoot you up with novocaine to make you think it worked but after a few days it wears off and you will feel worse.

they made me promises when I was in terrible pain and desperate to stop the pain I contacted them to see if they would take blue cross and medicare and was told they would not take anything but cash 20, 000 dollars. I felt no pain after the operation but in a few days the pain came back this was because the Novocaine wore off I Complained and tried to get american express to take the charges off they are in Texas and you cant sue for damages they get you to sign allot of papers while hooked up to an IV you do not have enough time to read these legal documents and I rushed I was told so I had to pay the total 20, 000 dollars lost 20, 000 dollars and the pain is worse I have had to have other surgery to try to stop the pain and i am still in pain the whole thing is a scam they look good when you get there it was a nice place but it is a scam in my opinion wish I knew what crooks they are beware of them its hard when your in so much pain and you want relief and they lie to you and steal your money BEWARE!