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Background

In July 2010, Kelly was rear-ended by a vehicle while stopped at a red light. She recalls experiencing a severe headache, neck strain, shoulder, back, hip and left leg pain. Kelly’s pain progressed over the course of two months and she was unable to place any weight on her left leg. Her husband drove her to the local ER and the attending doctor ordered a series of tests which identified a L4-5 herniated disc and a C5 compression fracture. 

She was referred to a surgeon who performed a C4-5 fusion and soon thereafter she began physical therapy sessions. After the accident Kelly was unable to perform her professional duties as an oral surgical assistant as she could not stand for more than a couple of minutes per day. Fortunately, her manager reassigned her to light administrative duties. Kelly went from a very healthy person to someone living with chronic pain. She was out of her element and didn’t know how to ask for help or look for answers. 

After recovering from her spine surgery, Kelly’s hip and leg pain had not improved. Her surgeon administered an SI joint injection and Kelly felt immediate pain relief for several hours. Over the course of the next 18 months, Kelly received two more SI joint injections that provided her with temporary relief. Because conservative therapy was not a long term solution, Kelly’s surgeon recommended her for the iFuse Implant System. Kelly was pleased to learn about this option and began researching as much information as she could find about the iFuse procedure.

Update

In August 2014, Kelly underwent the iFuse procedure. She recalls feeling significant pain relief within a couple of days after surgery and then gradually improving over time. Kelly was so pleased with her results and optimistic about her future, she found it difficult to decide what goals she should set for the coming weeks and months. Looking back, Kelly never thought she would be able to sit through a meal with her family or enjoy a movie date again with her husband. Although Kelly wasn’t able to return to her duties as a surgical assistant, she is grateful to have returned to work full time. Today Kelly enjoys bicycling on the weekends with her husband and feels happy and healthy again.