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Getting back on her feetNew technology changing surgery and recoveryJoshua Wolpe, DDN Staff WriterMonday, May 4, 2009 |  | | HEALING FASTER — This fixation device can now be placed between two vertebrae during an outpatient procedure using revolutionary new minimally invasive technology, allowing a patient to be in and out of the hospital in a matter of hours. |
Boulder resident Donna Warren consulted with three surgeons before undergoing the first surgery of her life at the age of 50.
In fact, she had never been to the hospital before. The first two doctors both recommended procedures that would require between four and seven days in the hospital to recover after her lumbar fusion surgery, which was necessary to fix the severe back pain she had been experiencing for about a year.
The third doctor she met with ended up giving her the answer she had been waiting to hear.
“I had my surgery at 8 a.m. on Jan. 12,” said Warren. “Then, they handed me my coat at 3:20 p.m., and I walked out of there.”
That third doctor turned out to be Dr. Alan Villavicencio, the renowned Boulder-based surgeon who is Director of Research and Development for Boulder Neurosurgical Associates in addition to being the senior managing partner. He is also Director of Neurosurgery at Boulder Community and Longmont United Hospitals and Director of Surgery at the Minimally Invasive Spine Institute.
Dr. V — his preferred nickname — is not your everyday surgeon. He possesses a resumé that could be confused for a book, a doctorate from Harvard Medical School and a list of degrees, honors and accomplishments too numerous to mention. Oh yeah, he has also competed in 32 marathons, 28 triathlons and 14 full Ironman events. He also operates a small organic farm in his free time with about 30 head of cattle, 75 chickens and five pigs.
Minimally invasive
Dr. V is essentially pioneering a movement to transform what used to be major surgery requiring long hospital stays into outpatient procedures using advanced technology. When asked about his opinion on long hospital stays, he pulls no punches.
“People need to understand – they think they want to stay in the hospital to make sure they don’t have problems,” he said. “But the longer you stay in, the more likely you are to have immobility problems, urinary tract infections, pneumonia, hospital-acquired resistance infections, etc. By sending these people home within three of four hours, you eliminate that.”
The new technique uses what is called a “radiological system” that utilizes focused high-energy radiation.
“We use unique technology that allows us to obliterate things like herniated disks or tumors, with a minimal retraction, in culmination with newer minimally invasive systems,” said Dr. V. “Therefore, we can access the spine or brain with smaller incisions and less recovery time.”
Dr. V will be publishing the results of these new minimally invasive lumbar fusion procedures in medical journals soon.
Back to normal
Since the surgery in January, Warren went through eight weeks of physical therapy with no complications. She is back doing yoga, working in the garden and enjoying time with her two kids. She speaks about the surgery as if it was a very small procedure, something that would have been unthinkable only a short time ago.
“Dr. V said he was just ‘gonna clean me up’ – basically he drills and removes a disk between my L4 and L5 (names for vertebrae), and hammers in a cadaver disk, then puts in some screws and spacers. He puts you together like Humpty Dumpty, sews you up and sends you home.”
It sounds so simple, doesn’t it? However, Warren understands that risks come with any new techniques, and the question of duration has yet to be answered.
“Obviously, we don’t know how long it lasts,” said Warren. “Call me in five or 10 years, then we’ll see. Time will tell. But Dr. V was great. You feel a lot of confidence when you’re with him.”
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