posted on 7/17/2008 2:01 pm

The owner of a welding shop, Don says he’s “a mechanical type of guy.” So it only made sense for him to seek a way to fix mechanically the sometimes-paralyzing back pain caused by his degenerative disc disease. He asked a friend who was a surgical nurse for a recommendation, and Dr. Burt Schell’s name came up immediately.

The solution Dr. Schell recommended was a surgical procedure called transforminal lumbar interbody fusion (TLIF). Dr. Schell removed Don’s degenerated disc from between two vertebrae and then fused the vertebrae together, using a bone graft, a cage device, pedicle screws and rods. The bone graft material and cage device serve as a scaffold for new bone growth while helping to achieve normal height between the vertebrae and taking pressure off the nerve roots. The screws and rods stabilize the spine while the treated area heals.

Six weeks after the TLIF procedure, Don, 50, says he feels no pain. “I took a week off after the surgery, but by the end of the week I was doing paperwork and taking calls,” he says, adding that he has been exercising three times a week. “I was expecting the recovery time to be a lot worse than it is. I’m really happy with the results. They did a great job.”