Age: 43
Hometown: Boerne, Texas
Surgeon: South Texas Spinal Clinic, San Antonio, TX
Procedure: eXtreme Lateral Interbody Fusion (XLIF®)
Surgery Date: April 4, 2013
Life Prior to Surgery: Allan struggled with back and nerve pain for four years. He tried many conservative treatments, such as exercise, chiropractic treatments, physical therapy, pain medication, as well as two traditional surgeries to correct the underlying problem. Unfortunately, none of these options provided him with long-term relief. When the pain finally forced him to stop working, Allan consulted with a surgeon, who recommended the minimally disruptive XLIF procedure.
Situation Today: Allan underwent XLIF surgery in April 2013. He was walking the same day and did not experience any surgical complications.
“I felt great after XLIF surgery,” Allan says. “I was able to get up and walk without any nerve pain, and was walking 20 minutes at a time in a few days. The lateral surgical approach made it a much easier recovery than my two previous surgeries.”
Five months later, Allan is still doing very well. He is not experiencing any nerve pain, though he occasionally feels mild muscle soreness. Allan finds that physical therapy continues to help him in his recovery. He is now back to riding his bike and playing tennis. Allan hopes to get back to golf, strength training, and running in the near future.
“This is the best I’ve felt in four years,” he says. “I am finally looking forward again!”
14-NUVA-920