I can't recommend Dr. Okumu highly enough. I have my life back. His knowledge, ability to talk in layman's terms, demonstrated surgical skill, and genuine and meticulous care for the unique aspects of my situation - all led me to sincerely ask "Why did I suffer so long!"
I had experienced back pain for over 15 years, but the intensity of the pain was increasingly becoming debilitating - to the point of interfering with my R&D at NASA. I was constantly fighting pain and that was all I was doing. Cold compresses, message, and hydrotherapy aided by over-the-counter pain killers only slightly took the edge off the agony. Cortizone shots directly into my back provided relief for maybe 1-2 months if I was lucky. I had two separate series of multiple shots over 1.5 years, but the pain always returned. I was walking slowly with a massively curved spine - just like my 90-year-old mother - and simply couldn't escape the pain. My primary care physician finally referred me to Dr. Okumu to get handle on what was going on.
I really did not want to consider surgery and was frankly afraid of what to me seemed like a highly (grizzly) invasive and long-recovery period "back surgery". But I really needed to understand what was so severely impacting my body and sought some kind of relief or at least management of the pain.
In my first meeting, Dr. Okumu reviewed with me my MRI and x-ray series, helping me to understand what the images were showing about my back. I could see the three collapsed vertebrae, but what I couldn't see, he explained in terms that I could understand: the multiple causes for my pain, including extreme spinal senosis. He explained - again in language that I could understand - the various steps possible in addressing the physical changes in my back.
Perhaps our most persuasive discussion was about a much less invasive surgery than the more severe "split up the back" surgery that would not only provide immediate relief but would allow for a faster recovery. We discussed not just the surgery but the lifestyle changes and physical therapy that would get me - and keep me - walking again without pain. Dr. Okumu's laproscopic technique required only three one-inch incisions and three days in the hospital. I understand that the surgery arena at El Camino Hospital was built for his surgical requirements.
Ultimately, Dr. Okumu's knowledge, ability to easily communicate with me, and his seemingly inexhaustible patience with my questions, really helped me to trust him and the procedure and to decide on the triple lumbar reconstruction surgery with the simultaneous removal of bone spikes that were the cause of my spinal stenosis pain.
When I awoke from the surgery, while expecting surgical pain, I immediately cried because the much more severe, overwhelming chronic back pain had vanished. On the day of the surgery, I fully supported myself and stood next to my bed; the next day, moved around my room with the walker; and the next day, was walking the hospital floor perimeter. I was walking unassisted by the end of the second week of my recuperation at home and returned to work after one month. Today, nearly three years later, I am pain free and feel at least 15 years younger.
I should note that since my back surgery, my left hip failed on me and Dr. Okumu also successful replaced my hip, allowing me to remain active and pain-free. read more
