Nerve Decompression Testimonials

Believe it or not, she has had a history of around 28 years of deep right severe buttock pain and sciatica symptoms with pain radiating down into the posterior thigh.  It worsened recently over two years to the point where she has been nearly disabled in pain and seeking significant medical care.  She had tried to improve this over the past many years with intermittent bouts of physical therapy and exercise and stretching. She would have intermittent flare ups of pain from time to time that were very intense.   Sometimes, her symptoms would almost disappear, but about 50% of her days she is in significant pain.  The pain was very intense at times as high as a 9/10.   On average she would live in the 4-5 range.  It affected her daily activity, and prevented her from sleeping at night and even waking her up if she was able to fall asleep.   She had no back pain.   She had a significant work up of her spine, and it was normal.   One of her astute doctors suspected that this might be piriformis syndrome and she was referred to pain management for injections into the piriformis muscle.   She had several of these.  These injections performed by Dr. Hasan Abed, one of our pain management anesthesia colleagues in the area gave her months of relief, but her pain always came back.     She tried many types of medication and physical therapy for the pain in the buttock, but they were not effective in eliminating her pain.   We evaluated this patient and agreed with the diagnosis of piriformis syndrome given her symptoms, physical examination, and response to the blocks.   We offered a surgical resection of the piriformis muscle in the buttock that crosses over and can pinch the sciatic nerve in the buttock.     At two months after surgery she returns to the office and reports that she is pain free 90-95% of the time.  The deep seated buttock pain and posterior thigh pain is essentially gone.   It is no longer stopping her from her activities, it is no longer waking her up at night time.    We could not be more excited for her!    If you or someone you know have been suffering with deep seated buttock pain with our without sciatic symptoms, and you have been told that your low back, spine, hip joint, and SI joint are normal, then you may need to consider the diagnosis of piriformis syndrome as the cause of your pain.  Talk to your physicians about it.  

I want to thank Dr. Senatore for assisting in caring for this patient and helping us hit it out of the park! John Senatore DPM teamed with me on this patient, allowing us to not only take care of her Achilles tendon "Hagland's" deformity that was causing severe pain in the heel where the Achilles tendon attaches to her heel, while at the same time, I was able to perform a decompression of the Proximal Tibial Nerve at the soleal sling to help complete her care for the residual numbness, tingling, and buzzing sensations that were still present on the sole of the foot after a previous tarsal tunnel release with decompression of the medial plantar, lateral plantar, and calcaneal nerves performed at the ankle and foot gave her about 50% relief of those symptoms. While 50% relief of one's numbness and tingling is better than living with what she previously presented with, she had findings up in the calf that indicated that the tibial nerve "upstream" was also compressed. We call this a "double crush." What symptoms did she have that suggested this upstream compression? She had severe pain in the back of the calf with walking, persistent numbness, and tingling in the entire sole of the foot, perhaps a trace of weakness in great toe flexion, AND she NO longer had a Tinel sign at the tarsal tunnel in the heel because we had decompressed that area, releasing the nerve, and it had been recovering for 6 months. This points the problem up in the calf. She presents back to the office about 6 weeks after surgery with nearly 100% improvement in the pain in the back of the calf, the sensation in the sole of the foot, AND thanks to Dr. Senatore, she is walking with much less pain in the Achilles tendon where it attaches to the heel. We could not be more excited for her! I call that a "double team and a double crush."

Linda suffered for 20 years with burning, intense pain in her glute and thigh. She couldn't sit in a car, go to restaurants or live a normal life because of the pain.She saw 50 specialists during the two decades but no one could help until she found pain-focused peripheral nerve surgeon Eric Williams MD.Watch how Dr. Williams changed her life with one surgery.

Linda

Never in my life have I met a more supportive and responsive doctor. I know in my heart that he cared about my outcome. My name is Brett and my pain started after an appendectomy in 2011. It's hard to write or speak about it. I don't think anyone understands how debilitating and awful injury to the ilioinguinal, iliohypogastric, or genitofemoral nerves can be. The symptoms profile is awful and I dealt with most of its worst manifestations: hypersensitive skin around my penis, electric-like nerve pains in the scrotum, base of penis and innermost thigh. Nondescript abdominal pain that worsens with stretching. Pain that, while not interfering with sexual function, somehow reduced its pleasure. If that's not bad enough I saved the worst for last: urinary urgency and frequency, a symptom collection so bothersome that some days I would pee every 5 minutes, and the sensation of urgency never actually went away. It’s enough to drive someone to where I ended up: A deep, dark depression where I was hopeless and suicidal. Worse yet is how clueless the medical profession is to peripheral nerve damage. I lose count of the doctors I saw, and the treatments that I endured. Here are the ailments I was diagnosed within the first year: Pelvic Floor Dysfunction Chronic Pelvic Pain Syndrome (CPPS) Blade Pain Syndrome Interstitial Cystitis Hip Labral Tear caused by Femoral Retroversion: had my leg broken, rotated and my hip fixed to no avail Psoas Tendonitis Lumbar Radiculopathies IBS (pain dominant) Diverticulitis Anxiety and Depression Another surgeon I met with regarding lingering groin pain told me he thought I had a nerve issue. A nerve issue, huh? Had to think about that for a minute and in that minute a light bulb went on. It was 2022! No doctor in all these years mentioned that! Not one! Up one night, armed with more knowledge and even more pain, I found a paper written by Dr. Lee Dellon. I reached out to Dr. Dellon and he introduced me to his colleague, Dr. Eric Williams. Dr. Williams is the one doctor in all these horrific years who helped me with my awful symptoms! I flew to Baltimore to see Dr. Williams. A nerve block in the office confirmed his diagnosis of nerve damage. The nerve block eliminated my pain and gave me a glimpse of the future without pain. Dr. Williams performed a bilateral resection of my ilioinguinal and iliohypogastric nerves in December 2022. Within a few days of the surgery, my pain and urinary symptoms began to improve! He is in Maryland and I am in Southern California. And I flew the whole plane ride back without having to use the restroom once. On the way there, I used the restroom 20 times! The operation ultimately changed my life for the better and I am very grateful for his help. But it is more than just performing a successful surgery that makes a good doctor. With my history, I know the difference. Never in my life have I met a more supportive and responsive doctor. I know in my heart that he cared about my outcomes. I am writing this testimonial because I believe in my heart that he is easily the best doctor I have worked with. To anyone else dealing with pain, like I did, Dr. Williams cares about you. He is going to take care of you, end of story. He is a problem solver with the ability to think outside of the proverbial “Box”. Today, I live a good, active life. My pain levels as related to IIN and IHN are non-existent and I no longer pee every 5 minutes. It is much more normal now and this has allowed me to be a better and more present father and huntsman and a better human being.  Thank you Dr. Williams and Dr. Dellon for what I consider to be groundbreaking research into this horrific condition. More Doctors and patients need to understand this research because many people are still suffering.     

Brett

This delightful patient suffered for roughly 10 months with pain in the lower leg and ankle after a slip and fall and ankle fracture.  She did have to have the fracture repaired with a metal plate and screws, but continued to have pain in the lower leg and ankle. After the bone healed she unfortunately continued to have pain. The hardware was removed, but this only helped a little bit. She continued to have lots of down into the top of the foot.  She was referred to us and we were able to diagnose a compression of several nerves in the leg and possible entrapment of the nerve in the actual scar tissue from the fracture or where the plate was located.  We operated and decompressed two nerves – one at the knee and one just above the ankle.  She is reporting 95 to 100% relief of her previous pain!  We are still waiting for some strength to come back in her great toe, but we will celebrate the pain relief EVERY DAY!   So anyone out there who still has pain after a healed ankle fracture, or an ankle sprain —  if you are having burning, tingling, numbness, or electrical pain, then I would strongly recommend you start a dialog with your physician about looking for causes of NERUOPATHIC pain.  We would love to see you and determine if we can help! 

I suffered a fall with blunt force to my left buttock area almost 20 years ago. Nothing was broken but I had a very deep bruise feeling that never went away and got significantly worse over time. I tried a lot of different things and nothing worked except the diagnostic piriformis injection gave me temporary relief. I contacted Dr Eric Williams after finding him on FB. Had surgery May 24, 2023. No pain at all after surgery! Got my life back. I live on a 150 acre farm and I mow for 3 hrs every week... before surgery I was hunched over like I had alot of osteoporosis issues... since surgery, I get off my tractor pain free and walk as normal. I cannot thank Dr Williams enough!

Hello, my name is Tanya and I want to tell you about my wonderful journey with Dr. Eric Williams. I've been working through life 24/7, 365 days a year with some serious acute constant pain in my feet and particularly in my toes. Well, let's say acute pain. I'm talking about having the sheet from your bed touch your toes and you're jumping because it's just can't handle that touch. You can't handle that connection of a soft sheet touching your toes. Walking became that's not something I want to do for a long period of time, and I love to walk. I will walk and walk and walk. I loved it. It became where it was debilitating for me to walk. That's when I knew I had to get something done. I've seen so many doctors, x-rays, MRIs. I've been told that this is something I'm going to have to take medication for the rest of my life. I was disappointed because I thought there must be something that's going on that these specialty doctors were missing. So, I took my friend's advice, I called the Dellon Institute and he retired, but Dr. Eric Williams was there. I could not believe how much time Dr. Williams gave me in my visit. 70 minutes he took with me, doing such a thorough examination, asking me about my history, about the pain, where it really persists. And he said, "Well, I'm going to do an exam on your legs." I'm like, "Legs?" When he did the examination on my left leg, I could have jumped off the table. The pain was so intense. I could stand for hours. I could walk two, two and a half miles just fine. I didn't have the feeling that I'm afraid to put the sheet on my toes. There was no pain at all. There was no waking up in the middle of the night because something was happening with the pain in your feet or you were getting these serious charlie horses in your legs. None of that happened. I so enjoyed his demeanor as a physician, as a surgeon, and how he really spoke in layman's terms so I can understand what was happening and what the procedure would be. I am so grateful for Dr. Williams. I consider him a friend, and I am blessed for it, and I am so grateful for having the opportunity to work with Dr. Eric Williams.

Tanya

I live in Rochester, New York, and my story is on occipital neuralgia. Before I had surgery with Dr. Williams, I was in 24/7 daily pain with a minimal level of probably about seven every day. One day, I started to have what I called reverse headaches. The pain started at the base of my skull, it traveled up the back right side of my head, and it felt like somebody was squeezing my head. That was on really good days. On bad days, the pain also came across my forehead and behind my right eye. Sitting seemed to make the pain worse. Where I work, I deal with customers, so I had to get a stand-up desk where, instead of sitting with my customers and talking to them, I had to stand over them. At my kids' sports events, instead of sitting with other parents on the bleachers, I had to stand away from everybody. That my primary doctor did was send me for an MRI of my brain to rule out tumors. But after that, it was six years of neurologists, neurosurgeons, pain management doctors, injections, Botox, physical therapy, and medicine. Nothing helped. Sometimes the symptoms were just temporarily masked. Actors told me living a life pain-free was probably just not in the cards for me anymore. This went on for about six years until finally, after some research, I found Dr. Williams in Maryland. After my first visit with Dr. Williams, I knew that I made the right decision. Dr. Williams knew right away what I had. He listened to me, he acted like he cared, and he came up with a plan. Dr. Williams is compassionate, knowledgeable. You can tell he truly cares about his patients. I am forever grateful to Dr. Williams. I can't thank him enough for what he did for me. I tell everybody all the time that Dr. Williams is my hero.

Paula

Hi, my name is Cynthia Baker, and I'm here to talk about my pain journey. I met Dr. Williams almost three years into a leg injury, and I was in constant pain. I had lower leg pain, ankle pain, twitching, and spasms that were 24/7. They were so bad they would wake me up. It was hard to drive. I spent most of my day just moving very cautiously. The searing burning pain was horrible. The pain took an emotional toll on me that was so large it's hard to explain. For my family and friends, especially for my granddaughter, it was like I had gone missing. Every day was a struggle to slog through. I saw so many doctors. I would often leave a physician's office disheartened and infuriated in equal measure. Well, there were three rounds of physical therapy, massage, wave treatments, PRP, prolotherapy. It was endless. My first appointment was a real game-changer. Dr. Williams was friendly, empathetic, answered all my questions, was not dismissive at all of any of my concerns, and I had a very thorough examination. He really spent some time with me, and I was relieved when I left there. I got my life back after surgery with Dr. Williams. I can walk with my grandkids at the zoo. I can walk at the Audubon with my camera for miles on the uneven terrain of rocks and sands. It's really nice to be able to enjoy life again. I am hugely grateful for Dr. Williams' help. I don't know where I would be without those life-changing surgeries he performed for me. If you are struggling with chronic pain, don't give up. It's hard, but don't stop asking questions. Don't accept an answer that isn't a solution or a response that dismisses what you're feeling. You do not have to live your life with unmanageable pain. Life is meant to be enjoyed.

Cynthia

Growing up, I was a highly competitive gymnast, competing in USAG and winning the NJ State Championships in vault, floor, and all around when I was in the 7th grade. I made it to Level 9, with the hopes of one day competing for a college. Early on in my freshman year of high school, I began to experience pain in every limb in my body. I saw countless doctors and no one could figure out what was wrong with me. I was even told by one doctor at the age of 15 that I would have to learn how to live with the pain. My family had heard of the Dellon Institute from a family friend, and we decided to make the 3-hour drive to Baltimore to meet with Dr. Williams. Within a few visits, I was diagnosed with entrapped peripheral nerves and was recommended for surgery. Over the span of two years, I had 6 surgeries, releasing, relocating, or removing 8 peripheral nerves across all 4 of my limbs. I started to get back into an active life, and ran my first half marathon within a year and a half of my last surgery. I still live an active lifestyle and have gone on to run another half marathon and 10-mile race, with another 10-miler planned in my near future. The care I received from the Dellon Institute and Dr. Williams changed my future forever and was able to give me back a pain-free, active lifestyle I had before all of my injuries. Thank you, Dr. Williams

EN

We want to celebrate with this patient for a great outcome! After years of pain in the foot and heel she is finally better!  She reported years of burning, hypersensitivity in the back of her heel and the sole of her heel, as well as some numbness, in the sole of the foot with tingling. In addition, the more she stood and walked she would have cramping in the arch of the foot as well.   As her pain progressed, it became 24/7 and not just when she was up and walking. We were able to diagnose her with not one problem, but two. She not only had plantar fasciitis causing some of the sharper well localized heel pain with standing and walking, but she also had evidence of nerve compression in the tarsal tunnel (inner ankle). The nerve compression also caused the hypersensitivity, burning, and tingling sensations.    I was able to team up with Dr. John Senatore DPM who works from our office on Mondays, and we were able to treat both problems simultaneously at one setting in the operating room.   We enjoy this teamwork on a regular basis to improve outcomes for patients with complex diagnoses. Thanks Dr. Senatore!  

P Dreyer

This patient suffered for nearly a year with pain in the left leg that was thought initially to be coming from her spine.  She did after all have some changes in her spine and did have previous operations in the past to help her with a pinched nerve in the back. Her back pain improved. However, over time, she developed pain that began around the outside of her knee and then radiated down her leg into the top of the foot. This got worse with time, a second area of compression was sought out by her medical team.   There is a phenomenon called a “secondary crush” that can occur. One of her other astute doctors figured out that her pain might be coming from her common peroneal nerve at the level of the knee.  We evaluated her and agreed with the diagnosis and added one other nerve that we felt was compressed as well in the lower leg.   She is several months from this decompression of the common peroneal and superficial peroneal nerves to remove tight bands of tissue that cross over these nerves that may prevent them from recovering. Fortunately, we were right, and we are delighted to get 80-85% improvement in her previously severe pain.  She has been able to be far more active, and sleep with far less discomfort.  We want to celebrate with her!

LG