Patient Testimonials
Patient 1
Contractor Lineman for City of Pasadena Power
Phelan, California
Several years ago, I developed spinal stenosis as a result of the work that I was performing. In 2008 Dr. Anand recommended that I participate in his clinical trial study comparing spinal fusion with Stabilimax, a device which stabilizes the spine while allowing for normal mobility. I was chosen to receive the Stabilimax. Before the surgery, I could barely walk and weighed 250 pounds. Now I’m down to 190 pounds and run a mile and a half a day. It's a miracle! Thanks to Dr. Anand, I am not dependent on drugs and I can return to my profession. He's a brilliant surgeon. My wife and I just love him.
Case Study:
I started in the utility industry after graduating from ITT technical institute in 1988. Back then, I was a telephone lineman. Later, I transitioned to power and enrolled in the National Joint Apprenticeship Training Community, serving as a power line apprentice for 30 months. To an eager apprentice working in a remote area in Northern California, work was nothing out of the ordinary, just another day. I had been on the hooks for a few hours when I started having excruciating pain and had to get down. I was close to blacking out and told my foreman that I had to get to a hospital. I was given medication and because I was working out of town, they recommended that I see my doctor at home. From that day on, I tried many different treatments and medications under my doctor’s care and tried to return to my usual work. I would get better for a while, but the pain would always return.
Then in 2007, I had an accident at home while trying to repair my septic tank. I was digging in the dirt, which was as hard as concrete, but I couldn’t find the tank. I kept digging until I finally threw out my back. I went to Dr. Moushabeck in Hesperia, who prescribed painkillers and steroids. By 2008 the problems hadn’t gone away. Dr. Moushabeck had recently had his neck worked on by Dr. Anand and recommended him highly. In March 2008, I saw Dr. Anand, who diagnosed my condition as spinal stenosis, which he said could repair with surgery. I had heard horror stories about spine surgery, but Dr. Anand said he was conducting a trial study on Stabilimax, a device which stabilizes the spine while allowing for normal mobility. I was accepted into the trial study knowing there was a 50-50 chance that I could get a spinal fusion or Stabilimax. I didn’t find out that I was receiving the Stabilimax until right before the anesthesia.
Before the surgery, I could barely walk and weighed 250 pounds. The two-hour drive to work was excruciating. Now I’m down to 190 pounds and run a mile and a half a day. The recovery time was amazing - after six weeks the pain was gone. A year later, I still have a few twinges, because the Stabilimax is an implant and not part of your body. But what’s a few twinges compared to not being able to walk! It's a miracle. I hope that others who are living with the pain and loss due to spinal stenosis will also have the benefit that Dr Anand gave me with the Stabilimax implant. Thanks to him and his dedication, I am not dependent on drugs and I can return to the profession I love.
Patient 2
Director of Risk Services and Producer
C. M. Meiers Company
Woodland Hills, California
In 1994, I was in a car accident while traveling abroad. Afterwards, I had no obvious symptoms. Then in March 2009, I suffered a head bump which irritated my nerve endings and I could barely walk. I had been living with a ticking time bomb for 15 years and was days away from quadriplegia. When I woke up from surgery, I was fine. This was a genuine medical miracle. Dr. Anand saved my career and my future.
Case Study:
In 1994, I was in a car accident while traveling abroad. Afterwards, I had no obvious symptoms - no pain, no numbness, just a very subtle progressive weakness, so I didn’t give it much thought as I attributed it to middle age. Then in March 2009, I suffered a blow to the head which irritated my nerve endings. I could barely grasp an object in my left hand and my left leg was so weak that even with a cane, I could barely walk. What I didn’t know was that after my car accident, the bones had grown together at two different points and were pinching my spinal cord. I had been living with a ticking time bomb for 15 years and anything could have set it off, leaving me paralyzed from the neck down. The spine itself doesn't feel pain and my back muscles were so strong that they twisted the spine around so that it was straight and taking the pressure off of the stenosis. An MRI could have caught it, but until the injury in March 2009, there were no indications that anything was wrong.
I did some research and was told that the two best options were UCLA Spine Center and Dr. Neel Anand at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. Dr. Anand had operated on the CEO of the company I work for. After his surgery, our CEO was doing great and he’s 66 years old. In fact, just two weeks after his surgery, he took his grandson to an amusement park. I chose Dr. Anand, who examined me and reviewed my MRI, which revealed that my spine was completely choked off at the neck and that I was days away from quadriplegia. Dr. Anand rushed me into surgery. They made an incision across my neck below the Adam’s apple, removed the bone pinching the spinal cord and removed a vertebra to relieve the pressure on my spine. Then they created bone grafts and made a cage for three vertebrae and installed a plate.
When I woke up from surgery, I was fine. Hours before, I could barely walk. Now I walked with a normal gait and with full strength in my arms and legs. My hands and legs are stronger and the pain is gone from my muscles after being clenched around my spine for five or six years.
Dr. Anand immediately diagnosed the problem; he took decisive action and repaired a dangerous condition that untreated, would have left me a quadriplegic. He patiently explained the problem, the surgical procedure, and the recovery process in a detailed and realistic manner. His compassion and professionalism are remarkable.
This is a genuine medical miracle. Dr. Anand saved my career and my future. As an insurance professional, risk is my life. When you spend your career identifying and managing risk, you appreciate that sometimes the greatest risk may be the one that is not apparent. Without Dr. Anand and his prompt action, I would be paralyzed today. My family and I will be forever grateful for his care. This has been a life-changing experience. It really inspired me to think about what I can do to give back. There are probably tens of thousands of people walking around with a similar condition. If I can help keep one person from needless pain or paralysis, it’s worthwhile.
Patient 3
President / Creative Director
XL-Brand, Burbank, California
In 2005, I had a go-cart accident resulting in a fracture dislocation of the spine that almost left me paralyzed. Dr. Anand was very confident, knowledgeable, and handled everything quickly and professionally. This was a real life changer for me. Dr. Anand put me back together so well that after two months I went to Ireland to work with U2.
Case Study:
In 2005 I had a serious accident while competitive go-cart racing in Lancaster, California. I flipped over, flew over two go-carts, and landed on end. There was a 400 pound car on me which nearly ripped me in half, tearing all the muscles in my back and crushing my T-11 vertebra.
I walked over to a safe portion of the race track, but I was in a lot of pain and having a hard time standing up, so I drove to the hospital with my wife. At the hospital, I got into a wheel chair and sat in ER for four hours in excruciating pain. Eight hours later, after CAT scans and X-rays, they told me I had a broken back and put me on morphine. Then they brought in a surgeon who told me to go home and wait for three months, then maybe do a surgery. I said “Get me to Cedars-Sinai!”
I had been laying on my back for two days in the Lancaster hospital when my parents called our family friend Stephen Spielberg, and asked him to get me into Cedars-Sinai. My dad is Drew Struzan, the "father of the movie poster," who did “Back to the Future” and all the “Star Wars” posters. They put me in an ambulance and we drove all night. At dawn, Dr. Anand walked in with an entourage of eight people holding clipboards. After more CAT scans and X-rays, Dr. Anand said we're going to operate tonight.
The surgery was supposed to last six hours, but they found a 2 cm bone fragment lodged in my spinal cord. The surgery ran an extra two or three hours to remove the fragment. They put in two rods on both sides of my spine and fused seven vertebrae. I woke up the next day and went for a walk. The pain was tremendous, but I began my recovery instantly. After six weeks, I was off painkillers and back to work. Dr. Anand put me back together so well that after two months I went to Ireland to work with U2. I still have a lot of pain to manage day to day, but I do Pilates, ride motorcycles and I’m pretty active for a 40 year old guy.
Patient 4
Actor, Writer and Activist for SAG Performers with Disabilities
Los Angeles, California
When I was 14, I was in a terrible car accident resulting in a broken back and a catastrophic spinal deformity. In 2007, my spine unfused. I feel so lucky and blessed that Dr. Anand was assigned to my case. I feel great and have a wonderful life. I’m still in a wheelchair, but I’m a working actor and very active. Dr. Anand gave me back my career. He's someone that I'll stay in touch with for the rest of my life. He has a very special place in my heart.
Case Study:
I grew up just outside of Knoxville, Tennessee in a house my parents designed on four acres of land. When I was 14, three high school friends and I got into a terrible car accident. The car hit a tree, I flew forward and the seat belt, which was a lap style, cut one of my intestines in half. I broke my back and became a paraplegic. I had my back fused with rods and screws and began physical rehabilitation. Three years later, the rods were taken out and I became fully independent of my wheelchair. I went to college at Oglethorpe University in Atlanta, where I caught the acting bug. I also performed with Full Radius Dance Company, which is a physically integrated (using dancers with and without disabilities) professional modern dance company.
In 2004, while still living in Atlanta, I was cast in my first Hollywood film, HBO’s Emmy Award winning “Warm Springs,” starring Kenneth Branagh, Cynthia Nixon, and Kathy Bates.
Shortly after that, I moved to Los Angeles, where I happily reside today. In 2006, I was cast as a series regular on the NBC Universal comedy pilot “I’m with Stupid,” developed by the Farrelly brothers and directed by Linwood Boomer, creator of “Malcolm in the Middle.”
Suddenly that year, my vertebrae unfused. My back was popping, but my doctor thought it was just arthritis. The problem kept getting worse until I finally went to the Cedars-Sinai emergency room. Dr. Anand was assigned to my case and he told me that when the bones become unfused, the body creates a joint between them. Dr. Anand had done a similar surgery before, but the procedure itself was ground breaking and no one else was doing it. Dr. Anand performed two surgeries: one to install a cage, rods and screws, and the second to finish everything off. During the first surgery, Dr. Anand discovered that my bones were crumbling from severe osteoporosis. My previous doctor should have prescribed Calcium or Fosamax to prevent the osteoporosis.
I feel so lucky and blessed that Dr. Anand was there. I feel great and I have a wonderful life. . I’m still in a wheelchair, but live alone with complete independence. I’m a working actor and very active. Dr. Anand gave me back my career. He's someone that I'll stay in touch with for the rest of my life. He has a very special place in my heart.
Patient 5
Retired
Apple Valley, California
I’ve had scoliosis for my whole life, but didn’t know it. When I was growing up, schools didn’t screen for scoliosis, so when I got older and began to experience chronic back pain, I thought it was arthritis. Eventually my sciatic nerve hurt so much that I had trouble walking. I was referred to Dr. Anand, who diagnosed my problem as scoliosis. I was one of the first patients to receive Dr. Anand’s minimally invasive treatment, which made for a very speedy recovery. When I was in physical therapy, everyone thought I was a track star because I was running up and down the stairs. Not bad for a woman in her seventies!
Case Study:
When I was growing up, schools didn’t screen for scoliosis. I didn’t have any real symptoms of scoliosis, except that one breast bone was higher than the other and my spine had several curves. As I got older, I began to experience chronic back pain from what I thought was arthritis. Eventually, my sciatic nerve was hurting so much that I had trouble walking. I was getting pain shots every two weeks, but it didn’t really help. My doctor referred me to Dr. Anand. I checked him out on the Internet and was very impressed by his credentials.
Dr. Anand took x-rays and showed them to me saying, “Here’s your problem. You have scoliosis.” I was surprised, because in my day, the disease was not so well known. The kids with severe cases wore braces and that was about it. I probably had scoliosis since birth, but didn’t find out until I was 70 years old! After Dr. Anand identified the problem, he told me that liquid from the cushioning between my vertebrae was leaking into my spine. I was worried because everyone had told me that spine surgery is horrible. But Dr. Anand said that he could correct my problem with minimally invasive procedures that he had recently developed. First he performed surgery on my lumbar, taking out the discs and replacing them with synthetic spacers to correct the tilt of the vertebrae. Then he scheduled a second surgery a few days later to put in screws and rods to fix the scoliosis.
After the second surgery, they moved me to the rehab/physical therapy department. Everyone thought I was a track star because I was running up and down the stairs. I did physical therapy for about a week, then was released with a cane - not a walker. They put me in a back brace for a few months to prevent movements that could interfere with the healing process. Now I feel perfect! I’m 73 and doing everything I used to do when I was younger. I was desperate before I met Dr. Anand. Now I have a positive attitude because everything worked out so great!
