Five Things A Spine Surgeon Learned When He Became the Patient

MIAMI, FL, UNITED STATES, June 9, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- For years, Dr. Georgiy Brusovanik sat across from patients describing the very symptoms he came to know himself—burning nerve pain, stiffness, weakness, and the slow erosion of quality of life. He guided his patients through their options, sometimes recommending surgery, often urging patience and conservative care. But nothing prepared him for what he learned when he became one of them. Here are five lessons learned by a spine surgeon who underwent lumbar disc replacement surgery.

1. Pain Is a Thief You Don’t Always Notice
For three years, Dr. Brusovanik tolerated pain, convincing himself it was manageable. He used injections, stretches, posture changes—every non-surgical tool in his arsenal that he affords his own patients to help avoid surgery. Many of his patients say that a "new horrific pain" brought them to his practice after having tolerable day-to-day-pain. When one experiences a tolerable pain that starts to add up, that's when compromises begin. For Dr. Brusovanik, those compromises began when he stopped engaging with his family. His daughter finally said it: "You find excuses not to do things with us." That was the moment he realized he was no longer beating the battle of pain.

2. Trusting the Team Is Everything
As a spine surgeon, Dr. Brusovanik had the luxury of building his own surgical team—people who works with every day and trusts. Still, it was a strange experience to surrender control, to be the one on the table. Just as he asks his own patients to do, he underwent a bone density test prior to surgery because guidance through the pre-surgery process is as important as the surgery itself. But that trust, that sense of knowing he was in skilled, compassionate hands, made all the difference. Patients should feel this too. Your surgeon should be someone who listens, who talks openly about complications, and who will be there if things don’t go as planned.

3. The Procedure Works—Really Works
Disc replacement is designed to address the three main culprits of degenerative disc pain: loss of height, reduced motion, and nerve compression causing pain. In Dr. Brusovanik's case, it did all three. He left the hospital five hours after surgery after only taking one pain pill. He had performed this very same procedure on a patient the week prior, underwent it himself the following week, and then was back to performing it the week after his own surgery. Dr. Brusovanik is now pain-free and back to practicing the very physical sport of jiu-jitsu. Experiencing the results firsthand confirmed what he had seen for years in his own patients—but with renewed conviction.

4. Don’t Wait for the Breaking Point
Too many patients wait until the pain becomes unbearable. Those fighting through pain may fidget while sitting in the car or at the table. One cannot get comfortable. Once the nerve gets compresses, it becomes difficult to do basic things like standing up or taking big steps. But you don’t have to be in agony to qualify for surgery. You just have to be done sacrificing your quality of life. Dr. Brusovanik now tells patients: if pain is shaping your day-to-day choices, it may be time to act.

5. Patients Are the Heroes of This Process
As a surgeon, Dr. Brusovanik made informed choices and navigated my care wisely. But the real courage lies in the patients who face their fears, weigh their options, and make the hard decision to reclaim their lives. Going through this spine surgery as a spinal surgeon reminds one that surgery isn’t just about fixing something. It’s about restoring who you are.

Today, Dr. Brusovanik stands taller—literally and figuratively - with a renewed appreciation for what spine surgery patients go through and an even deeper belief in the power of the treatment he has dedicated his career to. There is life after pain—and it can be fuller than you imagined.

For more information visit spinedoctormiami.com or call 305-587-2611.

Dr. Georgiy Brusovanik
Miami Spine Doctor
+1 305-587-2611
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