Dr. Stanton Schiffer is first San Francisco Bay area physician to successfully perform 100th herniated disc procedure using breakthrough, minimally invasive outpatient technique: HydroDiscectomy(TM).

"I lived with excruciating back-and-leg pain for years. Two months ago, Dr. Schiffer performed the new HydroDiscectomy procedure to treat my condition. Since then, beginning immediately after the procedure, I've been pain-free. I'm so impressed with Dr. Schiffer and this minimally invasive procedure that I carry the doctor's business cards with me and pass them out to anyone who's suffering from back-and-leg pain." Nate Woods, 42, Morgan Hill, Calif.

FREMONT, Calif. -- Stanton Schiffer, M.D. (www.drschiffer.com, 877-463-5942) announced today he has performed his 100th successful herniated disc repair procedure using a breakthrough, minimally invasive outpatient technique called HydroDiscectomy, developed by Billerica, Mass.-based HydroCision, Inc. (www.hydrocision.com). HydroDiscectomy uses a high-velocity waterjet to quickly and safely decompress herniated (bulging) discs, providing relief to patients suffering from chronic back and/or leg pain. The new HydroDiscectomy procedure bridges the gap between conservative therapy and invasive open surgery. HydroDiscectomy can offer an option to patients who have failed conservative treatments and may lead to a significant reduction in their narcotic pain medication.

"HydroDiscectomy is a minimally invasive procedure for herniated discsaunder local anesthesia and on an outpatient basisathat allows my patients to return home the same day with no more than a Band-Aid[R] on their back," said Dr. Schiffer, who added that HydroDiscectomy is an innovative adaptation of the Lumbar Endoscopic Discectomy (LED) technique he has used in approximately 2,000 back surgeries in the past 20 years. "With HydroDiscectomy, patients can walk out of our surgery center in about two hours feeling significantly reduced, or no, pain at all. Other procedures may require open surgery, use general anesthesia, and necessitate long hospital stays and rehabilitation," added Dr. Schifferaan internationally recognized spinal surgeon who trained at the Cleveland Clinic and is presently on the clinical teaching staff at the University of California San Francisco Department of Neurosurgery.

One of his most recent patientsaNate Woods, 42, a production director for a community newspaper publisher in the San Francisco Bay Areaapaid out of his own pocket to have the new HydroDiscectomy procedure performed by Dr. Schiffer. "Turns out that I actually had several ruptured discs. I lived with it for years. But eventually the pain became so excruciating, beginning about eight months ago, and was spreading to my groin, my shoulder and my chest, that I had to do something," said Nate. "But everyone I talked to who had had open back surgery told me they were worse off than before the surgery. So, I Googled aminimally invasive back surgery', and that's how I found out about Dr. Schiffer and HydroDiscectomy." After consulting with Dr. Schiffer, Nate had the HydroDiscectomy procedure performed on August 10, 2006. He returned home that same day and was medically cleared to return to work. "I am now totally pain-free for the first time in eight years," Nate said. "I am so grateful to Dr. Schiffer and the HydroDiscectomy procedure that I keep a packet of the doctor's business cards on me, and I pass them out to anyone who says he's got a serious back problem."

Approximately 80 percent of all Americans experience back and/or leg pain at some point in their lives, and as many as 20 percent of working-age adults cope with back and/or leg pain annually.

"The HydroDiscectomy procedure has several advantages over open surgery," said Dr. Schiffer. "First, it's an outpatient procedure, so there is no hospital stay, and patients are back home the same day. In addition, there is no general anesthesia, only local anesthesia, which has fewer risks and side effects. And, patients frequently get immediate relief, because the HydroDiscectomy procedure effectively decompresses herniated discs and can thereby relieve pressure on the nerve instantly. Furthermore, HydroDiscectomy reduces the need for pain medications in those patients who have failed other conservative treatments. Because it's a minimally invasive procedure with no incision (3 mm puncture), patients experience less pain during and after the HydroDiscectomy procedure. And, finally, patients recover very quickly from the HydroDiscectomy procedure and can return to work much sooner than with traditional surgery."

Western Neurosurgical Clinic's mission is to evaluate, treat, and rehabilitate patients so that they can return to a more normal lifestyle, without their discomfort or debilitating pain, and to do this as safely and rapidly as possible.