Neurological Injury Specialists Video
Presented by Dr. Aaron G. Filler, MD PhD JD FRCS
Do You Really Need Back Surgery?
Noted neurosurgeon Dr. Aaron Filler of Neurological Injury Specialists in Santa Monica, California, discusses the issues surrounding back surgeries to alleviate spine and nerve pain. Alternative therapies are covered, as are new MR-guided injections which can often relieve or eliminate back pain instead of painful, invasive surgeries.
Sciatica and Piriformis Syndrome
Many people diagnosed with “sciatica” – pain that runs from their buttocks to their feet – may actually have piriformis syndrome. Dr. Aaron Filler of Neurological Injury Specialists in Santa Monica, California (neurologicalinjury.com), explains the key differences between these two afflictions, their respective treatments, and how piriformis syndrome can be alleviated with open-MR guided injections as opposed to painful, invasive back surgery.
Open MR Injections
Dr. Aaron Filler of Neurological Injury Specialists in Santa Monica, California discusses the revolutionary new technique for addressing many spine and nerve pain problems – open MRI-guided injections. These minimally invasive procedures provide many patients with the relief they seek without requiring the recovery time and pain associated with traditional surgeries. If you’re seeking a solution for your spine or nerve-related health problem, this video may provide you with the insight you seek.
Pudendal Neuralgia
Join neurologist Dr. Aaron Filler of Neurological Injury Specialists in Santa Monica, California as he explores an often-difficult to discuss subject, pudendal neuralgia. Numbness or pain in the urogenital area (perineum) affects thousands, yet many are embarrassed to discuss it with their physician. Dr. Filler discusses symptoms, the difficulty in accurately diagnosing pudendal neuralgia, and the best strategy for resolving this difficult condition.
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Magnetic Resonance Neurography is a ground-breaking new development in medical imaging. Invented by Dr. Aaron Filler, MR Neurography employs standard MRI machines outfitted with patented “pulse sequences,” allowing physicians and surgeons to “see” nerves inside the human body – something that was impossible just a few years before. As Dr. Aaron Filler, MD, PhD and chief of clinical services for Neurological Injury Specialists explains, the power of MR Neurography means better and more accurate medical scans for issues affecting the nerves and spine — resulting in more accurate diagnoses and treatments for patients suffering from spine and nerve pain.
“How do I know this surgery will work?”
Patients looking for a guarantee of surgical outcome are advised to stay away from any doctor who says that he or she can guarantee a cure.
The best way to place your trust in a physician is by choosing a board-certified surgeon in good standing and who is able to show objective clinical outcomes that support his or her treatment methods.
Unlike most doctors who have recently started performing these procedures, Dr. Aaron G. Filler of Neurological Injury Specialists has been long established as a leading expert in clinical determination and treatment of complex spine and peripheral nerve conditions. He has proven clinical methods that are often copied by other providers, many of whom never actually achieve the same successful results.
For example, many patients who have Piriformis Syndrome do not know that this is a widely encompassing term for multiple peripheral nerve and complex spine pain conditions.
Unlike other surgeons who have to resort to a major, invasive surgery, Dr. Filler’s techniques allow him to perform a minimal access surgery and distinguish if there is an actual Piriformis muscle anomaly or perhaps if there is involvement of adjacent peripheral nerve branches like the Sciatic, Pudendal or Superior Gluteal nerves.
Simply put, it is the difference between:
Operating blind and waiting to resolve an issue when you stumble across it; or
Operating with a GPS navigation system where you know exactly where you are going and what you will encounter along the way.
Patients who have been living with chronic pain after years of failed in-network treatment have every right to be skeptical. They ask, “How do I know Dr. Filler won’t abandon me like my other doctors did when they could not fix me?”
The answer to this question was actually featured in recent profile of Dr. Filler by Fox 11 News in Los Angeles, accompanying this article. In the piece, the Fox reporter referred to Dr. Filler as “the real House MD,” because he does not stop trying to find the right treatment — even when the initial intervention fails to correct all pain conditions.
Please be assured our dedication to providing exceptional clinical care means we provide patients with unparallel access to patented technology and treatment planning.
The cornerstone of our success is supported by detailed data resulting from MR Neurography studies. With this advanced imaging of soft tissue elements, we can see nerve elements outside of the spinal column. Basically, we are able to see what other doctors cannot see.
Next, we confirm the diagnosis by using Interventional MRI guidance to target and pre-treat the area just prior to surgery. After-surgery is a critical time period for most patients, since this is when scar tissue may build up, impacting the outcome. Our strategy is to provide additional surgical care post-surgery to maximize the chances of successful outcome. We do this by completing additional Interventional MRI procedures to help achieve the best patient results.
This type of clinical planning and staged surgical procedure provides two unique diagnostic planning methods to optimize the surgery and a comprehensive third post-operative procedure to speed patient recovery.
While no doctor can guarantee clinical outcomes, doctors should be able provide patients with a list of peer-reviewed references and clinical research indicating his outcomes.
Neurological Injury Specialists will gladly provide medical peer review papers to patients interested in learning about the standard of care and who are debating whether or not to have surgery.
Dr. Aaron Filler on ABC World News Tonight with Peter Jennings
Watch this circa-1990s ABC World News Tonight with Peter Jennings “Your Health” report featuring Dr. Aaron Filler soon after the public launch of magnetic resonance neurography. The case study included in this clip is an important one, as well.
Piriformis Syndrome: Advancements in Treatment
Join Dr. Aaron Filler, MD PhD FRCS, of Neurological Injury Specialists as he discusses state-of-the-art treatment strategies for Piriformis Syndrome (often diagnosed as “sciatica”), where sufferers endure a wide range of nerve pain from the buttocks, down the leg and to the foot.
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Meet Dr. Filler
A globally recognized expert in the treatment of peripheral nerve disorders and the development of nerve imaging technology, Dr. Aaron Filler is the world’s leading expert in treatment of nerve pain. He has revolutionized nerve-pain treatment by inventing several new technologies. One such technology, MR Neurography, enables doctors to use an MRI scanner to examine nerves, previously a difficult-to-impossible tissue to visualize with MR imaging.
Dr. Filler’s research in axonal transport is leading to a whole new generation of advanced pain medications. He has developed many new “minimal access” surgery methods that allow him to treat complex nerve problems with small outpatient surgeries. He has also pioneered the use of the Open MRI scanner to do surgeries and other therapies with the ultra-high precision and safety of the magnetic resonance imaging.
At Dr. Filler’s Neurological Injury Specialists Management Group in Santa Monica, California, the key to success remains a very traditional endeavor: listening to the patient and doing a thorough and expert neurological examination. Dr. Filler typically spends more than an hour with each new patient. The results of the initial examination are then strengthened and perfected with application of advanced technology available nowhere else in the world.
Dr. Aaron Filler combines three key components in his treatment of each patient:
- Compassionate personal attention,
- Expert medical skills, and
- The best technology in the world
He combines these components to turn insoluble pain problems into specific treatable diagnoses. Prior to coming to the Institute for Nerve Medicine, many of Dr. Filler’s patients have seen a dozen doctors (or more), experienced failed surgeries, and have even had their very pain questioned. Time and again, Dr. Filler demonstrates that in many of these cases the problem is the doctor and not the patient. A cure is in reach when the best available medical care is brought to bear.
Dr. Filler has an MD from the University of Chicago, a PhD from Harvard University, and is also a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons in England. His medical training included four years of medical school, eight years of neurosurgical training at one of the leading neurosurgery programs in the US, an additional one-year fellowship in neuroimaging at the University of London, another year of training in complex spinal surgery at UCLA, and a fellowship in peripheral nerve surgery with Dr. David Kline in New Orleans.
He is the inventor on ten major patents, has published more than twenty prominent scientific publications, and has done more than a hundred presentations at scientific and medical meetings. He is also the author of Do You Really Need Back Surgery? from Oxford University Press, a well-received 300-page book for the general public. He enjoys medical staff privileges at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.
