A 16 Year Journey to Back Pain Relief: What one Patient Wants Others to Know

Gerald “Jerry” Pappa is a busy man, he traveled quite a bit years ago when he was a lobbyist in Washington, and on one trip in 2003, his back pain became unbearable. Soon after, Jerry was told that he had a degenerative spine disease. Jerry underwent TEN surgeries of the lumbar and cervical spine. He explained, “My back has a lot of hardware installed in it, from rods to plates and screws. I even had a spinal stimulator implanted in my spine to try and alleviate my pain, but unfortunately, nothing was helping long term.”

Jerry’s orthopedic surgery team had also administered over 50 epidurals to lessen Jerry’s pain, but some of those did not work at all, and the relief he did get was only temporary. Jerry had changed careers and became a well-established real estate broker, opening Golf View Realty Property Management, which alleviated his need to travel regularly, but on a daily basis, he was still in a lot of pain. That’s when Jerry’s orthopedic doctors recommended that he see Dr. Panchal. They told Jerry his back issues were ‘complicated,’ and that Dr. Panchal was an out-of-the-box-thinker and a highly-regarded physician that had unique methods and experience in spinal pain management.

In 2009 to 2010, Dr. Panchal did RF (radiofrequency) ablation treatments on Jerry’s spinal nerves. With RF ablation treatments, the nerves that are damaged, narrowed, or impinged, are injected with a low-level of localized heat, causing the nerve to stop sending signals to our brain through an interruption in the nerve conduction. This procedure is entirely safe and effective. It has been used for many years with long-lasting results for people suffering from low back pain. Jerry’s pain was alleviated for many years, but Dr. Panchal explained that nerves grow back, and in 2018, Jerry needed to see Dr. Panchal again to receive more RF ablations.

“I was having horrible pain in my pelvic area and lower back!” Jerry said. “ It’s hard to explain how excruciating the pain was, but it was debilitating.

Dr. Panchal told me that I had two options, one would be to have sacroiliac surgery, which would require more rods, plates, and screws or another alternative treatment that was helping numerous other patients of Dr. Panchal. Not looking forward to another surgery or, more hardware, I wanted to know more about the alternative treatment. Dr. Panchal explained that it was stem cells.”

Jerry continued, “Interestingly, I had been researching stem cells and knew they had helped other patients with nerve pain and joint dysfunction. I decided to get a second opinion, and my wife, and I attended multiple stem cell symposiums. It didn’t take long to realize that Dr. Panchal was the safest and most experienced option. I think it’s important for patients to know that legitimate surgeons only do stem cells in a sterile environment such as a surgery center and they do it under fluoroscopy, not in an office. There is also a great deal of difference between the stem cells options that are available.”

Exosomes
Jerry had his stem cell procedure in February 2019. Due to his extensive research and expertise, Dr. Panchal adds exosomes into his stem cell treatment. Exosomes are produced from the plasma membranes of cells and are best explained as extracellular vesicles. Exosomes are nano-sized particles that are released due to an immune response. Some medical professionals are reporting that they are more regenerative and effective than stem cells. Because they act as intracellular communication messengers within the body and have the ability to move between multiple cells, they are also incredibly useful when paired with stem cell therapy.

Dr. Panchal has been committed to regenerative medicine and stem cell therapy for several years. Dr. Panchal explains exosome therapy further, “This is an exciting new approach for regenerative medicine. Unlike PRP which has limited growth factors, or bone marrow and fat aspirate, which has an unknown quantity of stem cells, or growth factors from the patient, or the use of fetal cord blood stem cells (which has unknown function after thawing and also the risk of tumor formation from foreign DNA), exosomes are a highly concentrated and reproducible source of growth factors for regenerative techniques. The other approaches typically take six months to see any results. With exosomes, I’ve had some patients begin to notice improvement as early as 2-3 weeks. And since this is an acellular product, there is no risk of tumor development.”

After Jerry’s stem cell and exosome treatment, he reports that his pain is 80 to 90% gone. Jerry told us that he knows he made the best decision to have Dr. Panchal do the exosome and stem cell treatment and that he is a firm believer in what Dr. Panchal can offer patients.

“What Dr. Panchal did is nothing short of miraculous!” Jerry explained. “ I’ve had a lot of doctors in my life, and Dr. Panchal takes his patient care to a whole new level. He’s thorough, explains everything in great detail and even calls me on his cell to check in and follow up. Most doctors don’t do that; he’s a fantastic physician and one that takes great pride in helping patients find real results.”

Dr. Sunil Panchal
Dr. Panchal has treated patients with exosome therapy for pain in the cervical and lumbar facet joints, sacroiliac joints, knees, hips, ankles, elbows, shoulders, ligament injuries, and also degenerative discs. These tiny exosome communicators that secrete therapeutic and regenerative effects to the cells and tissues throughout the body are becoming highly-sought-after by many patients that have suffered from pain and chronic disorders. Some of the additional findings within peer-reviewed studies are as follows:
• Self-Renewing Capabilities
• Cellular Differentiating Ability
• Tissue Repair
• Anti-Inflammatory Effect
• Immunosuppression
• Neuroprotection

Although surgery is critical in certain situations, finding alternative methods to treat the underlying condition is always the first step. National Institute of Spine and Pain is a state-of-the-art facility that specializes in the treatment of spine and orthopedic conditions, as well as acute and chronic pain management. They provide the utmost quality of care for patients to address the problem directly, and if needed, provide for their pain management needs.

National Institute of Spine & Pain

4911 Van Dyke Rd., Lutz, FL 33558
10740 Palm River Rd, Suite 490, Tampa, FL 33619
(813) 264-PAIN (7246)
www.nationalinstituteofpain.org