Posted on May 21, 2023
For Karen, a patient of Advanced Pain Management & Spine Specialists’ Dr. Jonathan Daitch, the Relievant Intracept® procedure has given her a “whole new life!”
This minimally-invasive, non-implant procedure safely blocks pain signals that are causing chronic back pain. The Intracept® procedure is excellent for adults who desire effective, longterm relief after conservative measures have fallen short.
Adults who live with constant back pain often forget how significantly their pain dominates their lives. Like Karen, back pain can interfere with the ability to perform day-to-day tasks as well as one’s quality of sleep.
Once the pain is gone, people are able to resume an active lifestyle that is markedly improved. Thanks to Intracept, Karen now feels “there is nothing I can’t do physically.”
While Dr. Daitch had kept Karen’s pain to a manageable level over the years, relief was always temporary. Feeling she was a good candidate for a new procedure for back pain, he recommended the Intracept procedure as a long-term treatment option.
The Intracept procedure is designed to interrupt the Basivertebral nerve, which innervates the vertebrae. Intracept short-circuits the nerve supply.
The beauty of this procedure is that it is “one and done.”
Experience shows that this nerve does not grow back, and therefore the procedure can lead to a long-term relief of pain.
50% of patients get more than 75% relief of their pain and one-third can get complete resolution of their lower back pain.
After a discussion about the procedure, Karen was comfortable proceeding.
Dr. Daitch explains the most important first-step to determine who is a good candidate for the procedure is that they have MODIC vertebral endplate changes on their MRI. These changes indicate painful inflammatory changes in the vertebrae themselves, which are transmitting the pain.
The Intracept procedure is performed in less than an hour in Park Center for Procedures, the APMSS outpatient surgery center located on the facility’s first floor. This is a fully-accedited surgical center that safely and comfortably provides sedation.
In the procedure, the patient is comfortably sedated. Through a small incision, a curved cannula is inserted that targets the painful nerve inside the 2-4 affected vertebrae. Using a controlled heating process, the pain signal is interrupted long term.
Karen was only at the surgery center a total of 3-4 hours, but realized immediately “the pain I’d felt all those years was gone!” The majority of patients experience pain relief within the first 2 to 6 weeks.
“When conservative measures fail to provide the patient with a desirable level of comfort, procedures such as Intracept are often the answer to longterm relief,” states Dr. Daitch. “For people who prefer to avoid open surgery or continue with repetitive pain management treatments, we offer some of the most advanced options available in Southwest Florida.”
Karen shared high praise for the entire team at APMSS. “I’ve been going there for years. They have been consistently excellent in all areas and show the utmost respect for their patients. It is an exceptional office.”
She also encourages others to consider advanced procedures at APMSS. “For anyone who is in pain on a daily basis and doesn’t want to continue on their current regimen, I’d highly recommend this,” Karen adds.
If you have endured back pain that is not responding well to injections, call 239-437-8000 or visit: APMSS.net.