Pressure’s Off
Patient Feels Welcome Relief With Back Surgery
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Beatrice Lothrop was determined to avoid spine surgery. But when incapacitating pain in her lower back didn’t respond to epidural injections like it had a decade earlier, the 70-year-old Alexandria resident had to consider that option.
“Patients typically walk the same day and go home the next day.” |
Upon the recommendation of several acquaintances, Lothrop consulted with Corey Wallach, MD, an orthopedic surgeon with the Anderson Orthopaedic Clinic. “I thought I would need major surgery and have to wear a back brace during a long recovery,” she says. “But when Dr. Wallach explained the procedure, I felt confident I’d be up and around very soon.”
In a standard (open) decompression and fusion, surgeons must cut and then repair muscles. But in a minimally invasive posterior procedure, surgeons work between the muscles after gaining access through two small incisions. “Patients typically walk the same day and go home the next,” Dr Wallach says. “Especially with older patients, the sooner they can get up and around, the greater the chance of avoiding complications.
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Lothrop underwent her surgery at Inova Mount Vernon Hospital last Dec. 29. Upon discharge,
she got out of the wheelchair
and into her husband’s SUV.
“Walking on my own so soon
was a miracle,” she says. “Dr.
Wallach was the best surgeon
I could have had.”
Lothrop also has high praise
for the nurses, who, she says,
treat you like family. “Post-
surgical care is an integral part
of a patient’s recovery,”
Dr. Wallach says. “At Inova Mount Vernon Hospital, the staff knows exactly whatI need them to do.”
After having been in too much pain last summer to spend time at the beach, Lothrop looks forward to getting away this year. “With my 100 percent improvement, I advise others with severe back pain to see Dr. Wallach and go to Inova Mount Vernon Hospital.” She says. “There’s no reason to be afraid.”
