Condition: Radiculopathy Physician: Francisco Torres, M.D
My sincere thanks again to Dr. Torres and all of the staff at Florida Spine and for his way of caring for his patients. Because of this, I am able to continue to work and enjoy some of the things that mean so much to me. Dr. Torres is not only my doctor, he is a person who really cares about getting you to that level in your life were you can feel good about yourself.
Condition: Radiculopathy Physician: Luis Figueroa, M.D.
I was in a boating accident and had excruciating pain afterwards. I tried a chiropractor, a massage therapist and I even tried a Physical therapy department elsewhere before I came to Florida Spine Institute. None of that worked and in fact, the exercises they taught me at the other P.T. place made me get sick every time I tried them.
Then I met Dr. Figueroa and Kathleen from the P.T. staff. They worked together like a well oiled machine to figure out what was wrong with me and what they could do to help me. They were extremely patient and they did so many things for me. They re-trained my muscles to work properly. They taught me the correct way to breathe, walk, sit and exercise.
But most of all they taught me to accept the fact that I was injured, embrace the fact that I could re-train myself and to appreciate all the more what I can do now. I am feeling so much better, I am almost the old me. I would not be where I am today without Dr. Figueroa and Kathleen. Until I met them, I couldn't get the right care and nobody could figure what was going on with my body. Their teamwork put it all together for me. I would have wound up depressed without them. I will always be grateful to them for everything.
Condition: Spinal Stenosis Physician: Scott Webb, D.O.
My name is Daniel and I feel like a walking miracle every day now. I had a bone infection in my spine and it got pretty bad. I was in unbelievable pain and was unable to be me anymore. I went to see Dr. Webb at FSI and he made me feel good as soon as we talked. This was a pretty traumatic experience for me and my family until we met Dr. Webb. I knew he was "On his game", a special kind of doctor and the man for me.
The whole experience was incredible. I had my surgery and everyone took such great care of me. They are so professional and I couldn't be happier. I feel great now and I just got my release to go back to work.
I never thought I was ever going back to work. Now, I am me again and I owe that all to Dr. Webb and the entire staff at FSI. If anyone I know ever needs help with their back or neck, I will drive them to Dr. Webb myself. I tell everyone I meet how fantastic this experience has been.
I am such a lucky man to have met these wonderful people. Dr. Holen is fabulous and he is without a doubt, my hero. I was most impressed with how much they all cared about me. I should be paralyzed by now, but instead I have a new lease on life. And, I am now providing hope for others. I have a friend in North Carolina who is blind. He called me throughout this to see how I was doing. He was so uplifted and encouraged by my story that he went back to see doctors about his blindness and a surgery has been scheduled where they are very hopeful that they will be able to return at least some of his sight.
I can't say enough great things about Dr. Torres, Dr. Holen and the entire staff at FSI.
I have spondololisthosis (collapsing of the spine) along with DDD, stenosis and anything else you can name relevant to the spine. March was my 5th spine surgery – 3rd lumbar and awaiting 3rd cervical in the fall. These 6 surgeries are all within a 7 year period. Basically, my spine is very unstable.
Last fall, Kim Dunn, FSI director recommended Dr. Drygas, the new neuro-surgeon at FSI. I learned more from that first appointment than I had known in years. His lengthy explanations were very clear to me and finally made sense.
One of my past cervical fusions did not fuse and that corrective surgery will be in the fall. I have a large plate with 10 screws in the cervical area but Dr. Drygas is going to approach this from a different angle to avoid the terrible post-op problems of not being able to catch my breath which caused panic attacks due to the involvement of my trachea and esophagus.
Urgent attention needed to be paid to my lower back because stress was being put on the spinal cord area. If I did not do this surgery soon, there would be a chance of paralysis. Because I had severe 24/7 headaches (thought to come from the neck) I wanted the cervical surgery first but common sense prevailed.
My surgery was on March 9th and today is the 1 month anniversary. I cannot believe the point I am at in my recovery. After one fusion, Dr. Drygas replaced my hardware and brought it up to the L-1 position to hopefully prevent a further domino effect using two new rods and 10 screws. Both other lumbar surgeries caused problems with smell and taste (I lost 28 lbs.). Additionally, the leg pain was so bad a few weeks after surgery, I ended up back in the ER where I was knocked out. NOT THIS TIME!
I spent 5 days in the hospital then another week at a rehab facility. I have been home for 2 weeks and feel I am so far ahead of where I was after the prior surgeries. I dumped my walker 10 days ago and am ready to lose the cane. Could it have been due to the expertise, attention and caring of Dr. Drygas???? He is THE MAN!!!!
I would recommend Florida Spine Institute to anyone who suffers from joint or back pain. I lived with severe pain for 2 years before I discovered FSI. Doctors kept giving me medicine for the pain but it kept getting worse and the worse it got the more depressed I got. I was afraid I would have to quit working full time and maybe quit all together. Dr. Bouchlas and his staff are wonderful caring individuals that made me feel like I was special. I have multiple joint problems but they didn't give up on me and now I can work and move around with little pain. I have referred several friends and co-workers to Florida Spine Institute and will continue to do so.
Dr. Hanna is a very concerned & detailed doctor. He listens well and we together tried a few different things including therapy before treating my condition with injections. I have been to this "good doctor" a few multiple times for my injections, till it really takes then I'm good to go for a couple years. I try to go alittle longer between injection by massages and chriopractor visits which also helps. The therapy massages are a big plus.
But for the long run, Dr. Hanna and the caring staff always will be my angels when it comes to something as important as my cervical injury.
With full faith, I know theres a clean & secure enviroment and tools for their procedures. Doctor Mehta and the staff as well is dedicated, skilled, friendly.
With their help, I live a full painfree lifestyle to the fullest with riding horses, running my bison ranch, deep sea fishing and so much more, till the next time!
I had some bad spinal problems and I had been to a couple of other places first and they couldn't so anything for me. One doctor told me there was nothing that could be done, period. Then, I went to Florida Spine Institute. The doctors were great, the nurse were wonderful. They treated my back and I had no pain whatsoever. Then I had another injury. I slipped and fell and ruptured four discs in my neck. I saw Dr. Bouchlas and he was supportive, positive and pro-active. He told me, we can fix this and he sent me over to the surgeons for a consult. Dr. Webb operated on my neck and it went great. I have no pain whatsoever now and I am really happy. All the way through, everyone at FSI was wonderful to me. There are a lot of people out there that are suffering and they just don't know where to get the proper attention. Well, I had the finest attention you can get and I highly recommend Florida Spine Institute to anyone who has spine problems. They are simply the best.
Condition: Injured Discs Physician: Scott Webb, D.O.
I was suffering quite a bit, I had injured a disc and it was ruining my life. I couldn't function and had to stop working. I have small children, so this was a real crisis situation. I went to see Dr. Webb and I qualified for the replacement disc study he was doing. Well, thanks to Dr. Webb, I have my life back. I can take care of my kids and I am back to work.
All of the doctors and nurse are wonderful at Florida Spine Institute. I can do so much more today than I ever could, more than I could have ever imagined. I have lost forty pounds and at 32 years of age, I actually feel 32 again. Before meeting Dr. Webb, I felt 64 years old. Without a doubt, this is the best thing that has ever happened to me. If you have back pain, don't hesitate; go to Florida Spine Institute right away. You will be glad that you did.
I was in a car accident in December of 2007. It was a devastating accident, my car was totaled and I was very upset. I was also in a lot of pain in my back and neck, plus I was experiencing headaches and dizziness. The professionals at Florida Spine Institute explained everything to me thoroughly and they took care of all of the issues from this accident. I had a special treatment for my vertigo and it worked because the dizziness and headaches went away. I received epidural injections for my injured discs and they straightened me right out. The pain before the shot, on a scale of one to ten was an eight, now it is a zero. I have absolutely no pain now. I was amazed. The entire staff was wonderful to me. They were so kind and considerate and they treated me with a lot of respect. After this devastating accident, I was really in a bad way. Florida Spine Institute was everything for me. I want to thank Dr. Botwin, Dr. Holen, Dr. Hanna, Dr. Figueroa, Kathleen, Steffi and everyone who was involved in my case. I couldn't be happier!
Condition: Spinal Stenosis Physician: Gordon Holen, D.O.
My name is Ron and I had surgery on my neck done by Dr. Holen on February 1, 2008. My problem began 6 years ago with tingling sensations and a stiff neck. Over time, it kept getting worse until eventually, I had no feeling in either of my arms and I could not use them at all. According to the doctors, my spinal cord was within 100,000th of an inch away from being completely pinched off, meaning that I would be paralyzed for life.
I had seen two other doctors and they told me that there was nothing they could do for me. Then, I came to Florida Spine Institute and first I saw Dr. Torres.
He immediately saw the problem and he jumped into action. He told me I needed surgery right away and he arranged for me to see one of the surgeons, Dr. Holen the same day.
I will never forget how much Dr. Torres cared about me. He acted as if I was the only person on the earth. Other medical practices don't do that kind of stuff.
When I first met Dr. Holen, he put my mind at ease. He explained everything, from what was wrong with me to more importantly, what he was going to do about it. They got me into surgery only two days later. Again, I felt like I was being treated like a King. I had my surgery on a Friday and by the next morning I was up and walking. I felt no pain and there was a moment in the post-op right after the surgery that I will never forget. Remember I said that I could not use my arms or hands before the surgery, well, in the post-op I reached out and squeezed my wife's hand just minutes after the surgery. We both cried tears of joy. Without a doubt in my mind, this was a miracle.
I am such a lucky man to have met these wonderful people. Dr. Holen is fabulous and he is without a doubt, my hero. I was most impressed with how much they all cared about me. I should be paralyzed by now, but instead I have a new lease on life. And, I am now providing hope for others. I have a friend in North Carolina who is blind. He called me throughout this to see how I was doing. He was so uplifted and encouraged by my story that he went back to see doctors about his blindness and a surgery has been scheduled where they are very hopeful that they will be able to return at least some of his sight.
I can't say enough great things about Dr. Torres, Dr. Holen and the entire staff at FSI.
"Doc", I can't praise you enough for the fantastic job you did taking care of my husband, Steven, with his two spinal surgeries. I can tell you're an amazing surgeon because your eyes light up whenever you start explaining whatever you're going to do or just finished doing. When people love what they do, it shows in the standard of excellence in which they do it. In other words: its your calling.
You also have an amazing way of explaining what's happening without "dumbing it down." You make everything understandable for non-medical folks like me. The end result for Steven is that he can walk again, is healing and recovering VERY nicely. He's regained so much of the use of his hands, arms and legs. The rest will come in time - just like you said.
In addition, to the folks at the Florida Spine Institute: I very much appreciate how you take care of the needs of the caregiver while their loved one is in the hospital. Being able to just go to the lounge and grab a bite or something to drink, get away from the stress of watching and waiting - was an amazing gift to me.
I could say more but then it would just turn into mushy gushing! To sum it up: "Well done, good and faithful ones."
I started in gymnastics when I was 10 years old. I had no idea then that I was pre-disposed to osteoarthritis, or Degenerative Joint Disease as it is called today.
By the time I was 20 years old, I’d already required surgeries to both of my elbows. At 46, I had a laminectomy-fusion at L4/L5. At 50, I needed surgery on both rotator cuffs.
For several years, I avoided more surgeries. But by the age of 59, it became unavoidable since my back was worsening daily. I didn’t realize how my delay in having surgery was making the nerve damage so much worse. I could hardly walk or use my hands.
Then by God’s grace, I met Dr. Drygas and the team at Florida Spine Institute. Two surgeries later (within 7 weeks) involving 8 vertebra, I again have the use of my arms and legs.
To me, Dr. Drygas is part surgeon, part artist. He has a way of looking at things methodically and precisely. In my case, the results are obvious. I can’t recommend any doctor more highly.
Condition: Degenerative Disc Disease Physician: Francisco Torres, M.D.
I was in a car accident in 1990. I have 4 fractured vertebras in my thoracic spine and I have had a lot of back pain. But, thanks to Dr. Torres and his staff, this is the best I have felt since before the accident. Dr. Torres has kept me whole and functioning to the best of my abilities and there are many reasons for that. The number one reason is that he listens to me and he counsels me on how to live my life with a bad back. He also does a superb job of giving me the appropriate and sufficient amounts of medication that can alleviate pain, but still allows me to function. It has been a wonderful experience being his patient. He creates and sustains an extremely high level of confidence for you. My wife Elizabeth is also a patient of Dr. Torres; she has a cyst in her lower back.
He can play tennis four days a week and that is because of Dr. Torres. He truly cares about his patients. We love him as a person, not just as a doctor. He has done such a tremendous job for both of us that my wife and I have sent nine other people to see him and he has helped all of them as well.
Testimonials
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