Implant surgery controls pain

Mary Anne Wilson of Milton has been living with lower back pain for years. She visited several doctors and specialists, but nothing would ease the pain.

Wilson said her pain got worse last year after her husband died and she began taking care of her house alone.

That’s when she met Dr. Alan Cota, an interventional pain specialist from Lewes. In early May, Cota signed on to operate at Lewes Surgery Center on Old Orchard Road. His first procedure was to install a spinal cord stimulator for Wilson.

Two weeks after the surgery, and a few tweaks to the stimulator, Wilson, 63, said she felt years younger and had noticeably less pain.

“The pain used to run down to my shin and I wouldn’t be able to sleep,” Wilson said. “Since the surgery, I have had no pain. It’s been amazing. Dr. Cota saved me.”

Wilson was the first person to have spinal stimulator implanted in Sussex County. While the technology has existed since the 1970s, no one has performed it in the Cape Region, Cota said.

“I’m not sure why it hasn’t been done here, but this is an underserved area, so it is likely no one else has been trained to perform the surgery,” said Cota.

He said he hopes to perform similar surgeries to help other patients live without pain.

Surgery center

Lewes Surgery Center administrative director Peggy Roca said many patients at the center have been living with pain, and for some, surgery is the only remaining option.

Roca said most surgeries are covered by insurance. Wilson’s surgery was paid for through Medicare and St. Jude Medical, a developer of medical technology for chronic pain patients.

Dr. John Spieker, an orthopedic surgeon and founder of Orthopaedic Associates of Southern Delaware, established Lewes Surgery Center in 2006.

Spieker recruited other surgeons to the 5,600-square-foot surgery center, next to his original office, just east of Food Lion off Savannah Road.

“By using the latest in surgical technology and sophisticated pain-management techniques, Lewes Surgery Center can reduce postoperative pain and speed recovery times so that patients can go home the same day — with no need for an overnight hospital admission,” Spieker said in a statement.

The addition of Dr. Cota will add to the services already offered, said Roca.

Medical technology

Spinal-cord stimulators are made up of electrodes implanted in the spine in areas that are painful. A remote control is attached to allow the patient to increase or decrease the amount of stimulation emitted by the electrodes.

Neurostimulation electrically activates neurons that tell the brain pain no longer exists. Similar technology has been shown to help control chronic back pain, diabetic neuropathy, chronic postoperative lower back pain and chest pain.

“The procedure is minimally invasive, which means we can perform it in a place like the Lewes Surgery Center instead of in a hospital,” Cota said. “Without spine intervention, all that is left is narcotics, and that is not always the answer for patients. We want our patients to get away from narcotics.”

Cota said Delaware ranks second, just behind Florida, for the state with most opiate use per capita.

“There is a huge need here in Lewes for these types of surgeries to get people away from drugs and on with their lives,” Cota said.

Cota’s medical career began in 2005 at the University of California in San Diego. He completed his internship at St. Joseph Mercy Hospital in Michigan and graduated from the University of Michigan, where he completed his residency in anesthesiology.

Born in Mexico, Cota decided he wanted to live near the beach and chose Delaware as his new home.

“I think it’s important to put the word out for patients with chronic pain that not all pain management involves narcotics and that there are now local alternatives,” said Cota.

Wilson said she is happy to have her life back so she can keep up with her housework.

“After being on cortisone shots forever and other short-term pain relievers, it amazes me how much of a difference this surgery has made in my life,” Wilson said. “Now I can keep up with my grandkids.”

For more information on surgery performed at the Lewes Surgery Center, go to www.delawarebonedocs.com and click on surgery options. For more on St. Jude Medical products, go to www.sjmneuropro.com.