I had an enlargement of the dorsocervical fat pad starting in January of 2017, it increased at a rapid rate and my doctors at the time were concerned that it may be cancer, a tumor, or a cyst. I had an MRI and it turned out to be "fiberous fatty tissue". So I started the process of physical therapy as I wasn't even able to move my neck without pain and was limited to 10/15 ROM on each side with my right side being worse. I do have cervical Dystonia and spinal stenosis, and after multiple rounds of PT with no improvement, I did dry needling, as well as massage, nothing worked. I even lost weight and it actaually increased in size. I had labs done and everything came back fine (hormones, negative test for Cushing's and cortisol was all normal, and I had never taken any steroids), my posture was perfect to the point of being painful and exhausting to be so erect all day - but still the hump on my neck and pain increased and my ROM decreased.
I eventually decided because of stenosis in my C-spine to undergo a diagnostic and then theraputic cervical ESI (epidural) and nerve block all within a months time. It relieved a bit of pain but not much. The hump didn't change. I remained in pain and in PT as months went by. I started to seek out my last resort - surgical removal. I was just starting that process when I relocated to San Francisco.
I started more PT and treatments for my cervical Dystonia with no change in related pain. I was frustrated and constantly in pain with even more treatments (scrapping, manual PT and exercises, braces, you name it) and I had enough. I knew this was medically necessary to have this removed after speaking to my PCP I was referred to Dr. Hoffman.
Dr. Hoffman is a really sweet man who cares about his patients greatly. He is very busy and it took me quite some time to get into see him (about 3 months) and for a surgical date (about 4 months after my consult)! By the time I was ready for surgery I could hardly move my neck, couldn't put my head down, or head back at all. It was so disabling for someone as young as I was.
I had liposuction done and it really was a dramatic difference. I have a horrible sensitivity to adhesive so even if it were something offered to most patients - I'd have more complications and scarring if they used it so they didn't but I did have a foam square placed on top of the site. My surgery went great but at the PACU my pain was so bad that I ended up being admitted for two nights, and three days. 10 days out and I was still in pain. I had a lot of sharp hot poker feeling in between my shoulder blades and most of my neck is sore or totally numb. I wasn't really expecting this but at 10 days post op I could finally move my neck 95% freely than before with NO pain and full ROM. That in itself is just a blessing.
I initially would have deducted 1 star for the complications and post op care (my discharge paperwork was a mess and I was very confused) and also for his office staff which was a mix of very helpful and not at all helpful and a bit abrasive at times. Medical billing and coding was an issue for my initial visit and I've already seen the claim come in for two of the bills which prior to insurance adjustments totaled over $62,000 (without the hospital stay). So I really hoped I wouldn't have to hassle with my insurance or the hospital billing dept due to lazy paperwork which has been pointed out on other review sites to be a real issue with his staff. In the end I did have it corrected. My suture removal was simple - mostly because they were dissolving LOL. Scars looked minimal and swelling was down. Still a bit of pain remained.
Dr. Hoffman is a kind man, he does great work; my scars are so minor and I have NO bruising whatsoever. So swelling and pain is to be expected and for me lasted about 2 months, right about the 9th week I was able to move a lot more and started being more active. I had another surgery just 2.5 months after this one and since then I have seen even more of a difference in my health and ROM and decrease in fatty tissue that was naturally around my neck and back. Also at 3mo out my xrays at the UCSF spine clinic show HUGE improvement. So much so that my neurosurgeon wants to use me as a case study subject for patients with spinal stenosis who may also have enlarged fat pads that are not related to posture or genetics and used plastic surgery for a remedy. It's amazing to know my health improving will help others as well.
Dr. Hoffman is great and my follow up went perfect. I'm not sure if he would want me to come in at a 6mo mark but I'd be happy to if so. I walk with confidence and am so happy I had this done. Totally worth all the hoops I had to jump through for insurance to cover it in full. I am feeling great and neck is 100% better. I would HIGHLY recommend Dr Hoffman. He's great. He helped give me my life back! read more