WFAA Interview with Dr. Douglas Won of Minimally Invasive SpineCARE about spine surgery options and techniques in DFW TX.

Minimally Invasive Spine Care - DFW back and neck pain specialists

Patient: Elizabeth Cabeen
Condition: TLIF L4-5 (Spinal Fusion)

It was November 29th, 2011, I started my day like I would most days, but it would turn out not to be your typical day. I had gone outside to smoke a cigarette, walked back in, sat down to put on my socks and I felt a pop. It wasn’t painful at first, just a slight pull. I got up and walked in the kitchen and all of a sudden I felt horrible pain come over me. I thought I could just walk it off, so I grabbed some aspirin, but as I walked, the pain became unbearable. I still had to go to work, so I drove myself into the office, but the pain was so bad I could barely walk into work once I got there. I tried to stretch it out, but nothing. It just wouldn’t let up. I never call in sick or leave work for anything, but I lasted only 20 minutes before I had to tell my supervisor I was leaving. I managed to get myself back to my car, but the drive back home was miserable.

On the way home, I stopped at Care Now to see if they could figure out what was going on with me, but I had to wait for 4 hours in excruciating pain until they could fit me in. I couldn’t even stand to take x-rays because I had lost all feeling in my right side. The Care Now doctor diagnosed me with Sciatica and put me on pain killers. I took those for five days with no relief and pain that I can’t even describe. I returned to Care Now on December 4th since the pain killers they put me on weren’t working and a different doctor there tried to send me to physical therapy. I didn’t understand why they would try to send me to physical therapy when I hadn’t even gone to get an MRI…they didn’t even know what was going on with my back, nor did it seem like they cared. I demanded they send me for an MRI, so they gave me an order for one and sent me to this particular facility. I went the following Tuesday for my MRI.

I had to return to Care Now on Thursday to get my results and once again, saw another doctor. This doctor knew what he was talking about. He immediately read my MRI report and told me that I needed to get into a spine doctor the next day or go to the emergency room. As you can imagine, at this time, I’m feeling an overwhelming fear that I have never experienced before. I have severe pain that won’t go away, I’ve lost feeling in my right side, and now I’m being told I have a severe herniated disc that needs immediate attention by a spine specialist. We left Care Now with a ton of anxiety, but knew that we had to start making calls as soon as we got up Friday morning. /

The next morning, I contacted my aunt who works for a hospital and she told me it was a waste of time to go to the emergency room because no hospital near us would have a spine surgeon on call over the weekend, so my husband started scouring the internet for spine specialists. My husband came across Dr. Won and called to see if we could get in that day, but Dr. Won was in surgery and there weren’t any open appointments until Monday. Angela recommended that my husband continue to call around, but that she would schedule us anyways, in the event we were unable to secure an earlier appointment. We were told we could be squeezed in at 1pm with his physician’s assistant, Jason, so we took the appointment. We continued to call around to see if we could get in anywhere else sooner, but we didn’t have any luck. I knew I would just have to suffer through the weekend until my appointment on Monday.

Monday came and it couldn’t come any sooner. We got to the office and we were greeted by a young lady at the front desk that registered us. We waited a short period of time until we were led back for our appointment. Dr. Won’s medical assistant came in to meet us and do our workup before sending me over for x-rays. Apparently, Care Now didn’t send over all the x-rays they took, so I had to get an additional 4 x-rays, while still in horrible pain. I couldn’t even get up off the table. Joe, the x-ray technician, rushed over to assist me and help me get off the table. I waited anxiously for Jason to come in and tell me the good, the bad, and the ugly. Unfortunately, he couldn’t tell me much. The MRI facility Care Now sent me to didn’t do a clear scan on me, so Jason couldn’t see what all was going on in my back. We had to be scheduled for another MRI at Dr. Won’s Dallas facility the next morning before coming back to see Dr. Won. Fortunately, Jason was able to tell us how bad the herniation was on the x-ray.

Tuesday morning, we arrived at the Dallas location and had my new MRI. I didn’t know different MRI facilities can produce different grades of scans, but I do now. I waited for a few minutes and then was led back to wait nervously for our results. I was sitting in the exam room when I heard a woman say to Dr. Won how wonderful he was and how much he had helped her. I knew right then, I was in the right place with the right doctor. All my fears went away. Dr. Won came in and told us our options. There wasn’t really an option. I needed surgery and this is what he will have to do to fix my back and take away my pain. I have known people who have had back surgery before and they always said “never get back surgery because you will not have just one”. I knew I had no choice, but to have surgery. I scheduled it for that Friday.

I can honestly say that I never imagined I would feel so good, so fast. I woke up in the hospital pain free. I didn’t even use my morphine pump. I had this tiny incision where I feared I’d have a huge scar. For the first time in two and a half weeks, I was pain free. I am only a few weeks out and can walk and function like I did prior to November 29th. I am only taking a few aspirin a day. I have some restrictions, but over time I know I will be back to normal. My experience with Dr. Won and his staff was wonderful and I can’t thank him enough for what he did for me.

Minimally Invasive Spine Care - DFW back and neck pain specialists

Congratulations! You have been recognized as one of America’s Most Compassionate Doctors.

Treating patients, not just the disease, is what you excel at, and your patients appreciate the kindness you have dispensed along with your medical care.

This award is based on reviews written by hundreds of thousands of patients. While physicians generally receive positive feedback from their patients, only a select few receive praise about the compassion that accompanied their care. In fact, of the nation’s 720,000 active physicians, less than 3% were accorded this honor by their patients in 2011.

The Compassionate Doctor notation will be prominently displayed in your Profile on a broad collection of web sites, including Patients’ Choice, Vitals, Google, and a variety of managed care sites as well as top health insurance sites. More than 500,000 people view these websites on a daily basis.

The Compassionate Doctor certification is part of Patients’ Choice recognition program, where patients rate and vote for their favorite doctors.

Congratulations once again on this outstanding distinction.

Minimally Invasive Spine Care - DFW back and neck pain specialists

Patient: Carolyn Myers

What was the patient outcome?…

Look at this picture of Carolyn Myers, a 78 year old patient who went through a minimally invasive L3-4 fusion. Just 5 weeks out, and she just hiked 190 stairs. What an amazing testament to minimally Invasive surgery.

Minimally Invasive Spine Care - DFW back and neck pain specialists

October 15, 2011
Irving Rambler
Gala celebrates Irving Schools’ Successes
By Jess Paniszczyn

The inaugural Legacy Gala benefiting the Irving Schools Foundation was hosted at the Four Seasons Resort and Club on Oct. 7. The evening included a number of presentations about the Irving Independent School District (IISD), as well as dinner, a live auction and live music.

Radio personality on the syndicated radio show, Kidd Kraddick in the Morning, Kellie Rasberry, served as the evening’s emcee.

“I am very excited to be a part of something that means so very much to me as education,” Rasberry said during the event. “When I didn’t have a child, school districts weren’t important where I lived. Now that my daughter is getting into school and the education process, I am finding that I really pay attention. “I began to realize how much my teachers impacted my life. “I began to realize how much my teachers impacted my life. Looking back, the women who encouraged me were my female teachers. They told me not to sit in the back of the room and pretend to be an airhead. They said I should speak my mind, show my intelligence and be proud to express my opinion. Those women are the reason I get to do what I do in my life today.”

Former Irving ISD student and Orthopedic Surgeon, Douglas Won, MD helped sponsor the Gala.

“The leaders and teachers in the Irving school district gave me a solid foundation,” Won said. “So once I graduated, I could go out and compete in the universities with any students from any other part of the country. “I’m so glad I had an opportunity to come back to Irving and start my career as a spine surgeon. “I’m so glad I had an opportunity to come back to Irving and start my career as a spine surgeon. I have to thank all the teachers, principals and counselors who were involved in my life.”

One of the Gala’s highlights was the introduction of Judith Nevil, a GT/AP teacher at Irving High School who is IISD’s Secondary teacher of the year, and Deborah Dupree a science teacher at Johnson Middle School who is IISD’s Elementary Teacher of the Year.

“As a teacher, I am reminded daily of my awesome responsibility and my golden opportunity teachers have to make a difference in young peoples’ lives,” Nevil said. “Teaching is a profession like no other, because we make a difference. We are the ones who make the professionals of tomorrow. We educate young people who will be tomorrow’s lawyers, doctors, nurses, mathematicians, scientists, and the list goes on and on. “Great teachers set high expectations for themselves, not just for their students. “Great teachers set high expectations for themselves, not just for their students. Great teachers are guided by expectations, not by rules. Great teachers can teach anywhere and to any number. Great teachers treat students with respect every single day. They praise students after they criticize them. “In the Irving ISD, I am privileged to work with many of these great teachers who have mentored and guided me over the years. I am also privileged to work in a district that supports and encourages teachers, giving them the tools with which to teach and providing them with opportunities to hone their skills, thus making it possible for all teachers to become master teachers.”

Minimally Invasive Spine Care - DFW back and neck pain specialists

Dr. Doug Won of Minimally Invasive SpineCARE on WFAA Channel 8 talking about advances in minimally invasive spine procedures.

Minimally Invasive Spine Care - DFW back and neck pain specialists

Minimally Invasive Spine Care - DFW back and neck pain specialists

Dr. Douglas Won, MD, FAAOS, was the first minimally invasive spine surgeon in Texas to perform minimally invasive XLIF procedure with new 26mm minimally invasive fusion device on December 28, 2011.

Minimally Invasive Spine Care - DFW back and neck pain specialists

Dr. Douglas Won Selected For Patients’ Choice Award 2011

Dr. Douglas Won of Dallas, TX has been ranked among the top physicians in the nation based on patient reviews.

Dallas, TX

December 22, 2011– A select few physicians were honored with the prestigious 2011 Patients’ Choice Award, and this year they include Dr. Douglas Won.

Only doctors who have received top scores by their patients and pass other quality measures are awarded the Patients’ Choice Award. In fact, of the nation’s 720,000 active physicians, just 5 percent were accorded this honor in 2011.

Every month, millions of patients across the U.S. access websites like Vitals (http://www.vitals.com) to share feedback about their experiences with their doctors. Patients rate various components of the care they receive, such as the accuracy of their diagnosis, the amount of time they spent with the doctor, and the doctor’s bedside manner and follow-up care. Patient’s Choice ranks the top reviewed physicians and looks at other quality measures to compile its yearly list.

Dr. Douglas Won commented on the recognition:

For more information on this Patients’ Choice Award winner, please visit Dr. Douglas Won’s profile on PatientsChoice.org.

Following the publication of Dr. Douglas Won’s selection for the Patients’ Choice Award, American Registry seconded the honor and added Dr. Won to The Registry™ of Business Excellence.

Patients’ Choice Award is the honor roll of physicians who have received the highest ratings by their patients.

American Registry, LLC, recognizes excellence in top businesses and professionals. The Registry™ includes over 2 million significant business and professional recognitions. For more information, search The Registry at http://www.americanregistry.com.

Contact Info:

Dr. Douglas Won

 Dr. Douglas Won Selected For "Patients' Choice Award 2011."

 Source: American Registry and Patients' Choice on behalf of Dr. Douglas Won

Minimally Invasive Spine Care - DFW back and neck pain specialists

Patient: Carol Simon

Minimally Invasive Spine Care - DFW back and neck pain specialists