You can’t teach “perspective” in med school. Most doctors are limited by the experience of treatment, by clinical studies, medical research, and by what our patients tell us. Rarely does a doctor know exactly what it’s like to experience surgery.
I'm one of those rare ones: My full treatment story surprises everyone. It includes fifteen years and eight neck and back surgeries. I’ve had several discectomies, bone spurs removed, plus five artificial discs and two fusions.
I understand postoperative recovery and the challenge of following all those rules on the treatment sheet. I have personal experience of undergoing the very procedures and therapies we prescribe.
That’s one of the reasons I can connect with many of my patients. I’m fearless about my own treatment.
The fact is, my spine is in terrible condition. Through my education and training, I know what my options are. Every little twinge of pain along my spine tells me something. But I can’t communicate symptoms unless the patient already has the experience. So I communicate something else by my honesty and openness about my experience as a patient.
In sports and most other things in life, there’s a cost when we hesitate due to our fear of the unknown. Not only do we lose our initiative, but we also lose our perspective. We forget core values and push back our goals. Where our spine health is concerned, delayed surgery means deferred relief from the painful symptoms of degenerative and herniated discs. But it can also mean limiting our treatment options because our situation will get worse over time.
Being educated about your treatment options gives you a chance to get better. Seeing an example of what it takes to overcome your neck and back pain will lead you to the means of being greater than better.
Dr. Todd Lanman is a board-certified neurosurgery specialist practicing medicine for 25 years with a private practice in Beverly Hills, CA. He specializes in the treatment of spinal disorders and is a leading clinical advocate for artificial disc replacement surgery. He is a professor at the University of California Los Angeles, and a member of the Cedars-Sinai Institute of Spinal Disorders.
As a leading innovator in the treatment of spinal disorders, as well as a media educator and contributor, Lanman has published more than ten peer-reviewed articles, as well as book chapters on topics relating to neurological surgery, and has presented more than two dozen papers at national and regional medical society meetings. He has been tapped by colleagues to be the principal medical investigator on a broad swath of clinical trials for motion preserving surgeries and artificial disc replacement devices, most recently the Prestige LP and M6, with the former recently receiving FDA pre-market approval in 2016 with his continuous support and advocacy.
Part of his constant advocacy for patients stems from his own experience as a patient. His unique insights helped him develop a program called "4D Health Process." The "process" helps him guide patients to think about their health more comprehensively and holistically. The process also incorporates some different factors including one’s age, daily lifestyle, nutrition, hormone status, physical exercise routine, and of course spine and joint health to paint a complete picture of one’s health from a four-dimensional perspective.
The "4D" program relies on his meticulous analysis of each patient's current physical condition, their lifestyle, and treatment goals. He uses his decades of knowledge and expertise to shift the emphasis for how we view healthy living, aging, and the treatment of spinal disorders. His unique medical treatment approach helps him map out an entire preventative and forward-thinking strategy to help his patients live an active, healthy life, with the full natural movement of their spine. His stated goal is to help patients be greater than "better."
Dr. Lanman graduated from Northwestern University School of Medicine, Chicago, IL with top honors and is a member of the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society. He completed a general surgery internship and neurological surgery residency at UCLA. He is an active member of many professional societies and organizations including the American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS), Congress of Neurological Surgeons (CNS), International Society for the Advancement of Spine Surgery (ISASS), North American Spine Society (NASS), and Fellow American College of Surgeons. He is a Diplomate of the American Board of Neurological Surgery, a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, and a Fellow of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons (FAANS).
CREDITS
Editing: Ray Wyman [ Ссылка ]
Management: Brandi Kamenar [ Ссылка ]
