I remember someone had decompression surgery in Raleigh, North Carolina. I am really interested in going through another surgery since my last surgeries did not help and the neurosurgeon could care less if I was hurting or not. He tried but not interested in my pain. It was almost a mercy surgery. I have heard good things about a doctor in Raleigh. Raleigh is about 5 hours from me. I drove 3 hrs many times to Charleston SC to MUSC. So, what's 2 more hours if I can get the help I need. Please let me know if anyone can reccommend a neurosurgeon between North Carolina and Georgia.
My neurosurgeon, Dr. T. Fukushima in Raleigh did my surgery and for 18 months I have been pain free, but others have not had good results. Duke Neurosurgery can also do the surgery but I know nothing about them. Best of luck, hope your pain gets relieved…
This is my experience with Dr. Fukushima . When we entered his office several years ago there was a poster on the wall declaring that he was " the Tiger Woods of Neurosurgery ". ( This was before Tiger's marital troubles became public). I assumed someone had said this about Dr. F. and that he must have had the poster created to show others what had been said about him . That is an assumption. He interviewed me and said I had " atypical facial pain " and that he did not rec. surgery . He said I should take seizure meds although I told him I was unable to function on them . He offered to see me back in a few months. The next thing that happened made my jaw drop to the ground . He dictated that I had a " normal physical exam ". I am a physician . NO ONE can say a patient has a normal cranial nerve exam without taking that person through the maneuvers to test the cranial nerves . IN addition we were in a room with windows and I never undressed to HAVE a Physical exam I was so shocked I did not confront him . Later on I asked for a copy of my office note thinking that perhaps he realized his error and had removed it from his office notes when he reviewed them . The receptionist said that he routinely sent copies of the office note out when requested and I would receive a copy. Instead they mailed me a letter details his rec. but with no copy of the office note . My Family Physician received the same thing .The FP advised me to drop the matter as I had enough problems on my plate without confronting this . Later I met someone at the nearby Post Office who had had an abnormal MRI who had surgery by Dr. Fukushima who says she now has residual numbness in her face. She needs to take seizure meds for pain control after the surgery but is able to continue working .She has no complaints other than the numbness. I then saw a neurosurgeon at Duke only to find out that he works WITH Dr. Fukushima …..at this time my experience steers me away from going to him for help…I have been thinking about looking elsewhere if I get to the point of needing surgery . By all means go see Dr. Fukushima and draw your own conclusion. I think the purpose of this forum is to share our experiences and that was mine . Dr. Fukushima did not operate on me so I cannot say anything about his surgical skills but to repeat this experience regarding that one time office visit for what the information is worth to you .