An American woman, Susan Simerly, was the first international patient of the Dong Ao Pain Management Clinic.  Ms Simerly suffers from spinal stenosis, the narrowing of the spinal column in her lower back, due to two prior surgeries in that area. 

Last November Ms Simerly brought a trio of jazz musicians to Shenyang for a cultural exchange program; and on July 12 she arrived with a group of artists for another cultural exchange program.  While visiting Beijing she found she was not able to enjoy the Great Wall, as the pain in her back had become too intense.  She simply sat and read a book while the other 6 visitors walked on the famous Great Wall. 

Sadly, she also had to ask a friend to help her group of 6 visit the Forbidden City and other sights in the beautiful capital city.  She began to have more and more pain, which was greatly reducing her ability to enjoy sightseeing and visiting friends.  Ms Simerly also had pain in her left foot, which an orthopedic surgeon in her home town of San Diego, California, recently told her was related to the problem in her back.

Ms Simerly did take pain killers but with the walking one must do when traveling; there was no relief from the pain.  The group carried on to Jinzhou where they studied painting with Liaoning’s well known artist, Ms. QIN Bailan. 

Susan decided to get an MRI in Jinzhou, which confirmed multiple degenerative changes in her lower back.  She was referred to Dr. NI Zhongge of the Dong Ao Pain Management Clinic in Shenyang.  After a long consultation with Dr NI she decided to have him perform a special procedure to stop the pain so she could continue guiding the cultural exchange group.  

The operation was performed under local anesthesia and lasted one and a half hours.  Ms Simerly was awake and able to ask questions during the procedure, which injected steroids in the disks above and below the area of with disk degeneration in the lower back. 

Ms Simerly  receives treatment at Doctor Ni's Clinic

Prior to the procedure she reported the level of pain to be at 7.5.  However, immediately after the procedure, the level was at 0.0.  Dr. NI said the pain could be controlled for between one to six months.  Following the procedure the patient rested for 3 days. Dr. NI advised her to either lie down or stand, but that any sitting would prevent the steroids from properly taking effect.
 
Susan Simerly arrived home in the United States late Tuesday evening and happily reported to Dr. NI that even after the long journey home, her back is still pain free, with only very slight discomfort in her foot!  

Ms Simerly said, “I am extremely pleased with the treatment.  I had complete trust and confidence in Dr NI’s level of skill and highly recommend anyone suffering from chronic pain to seek his assistance.  Dr. NI trained in Australia, France, South Korea, and Thailand.  This type of pain management treatment is common in America, Europe, and Australia.  I am lucky to have found the clinic when I needed help in China.”

Her doctor in San Diego will not need to do any invasive procedures for the time being.  As her work involves quite a bit of traveling, she is now able to continue her job without pain.

Thanks for the Chinese doctor, and thanks to Dr NI. 

Dong Ao Pain Management Clinic is located at:  5th Floor of Jinghua Hospital，Nanjing Nan Street 156#,Shenyang 110005
The telephone number is:  024-2337-2155; 8219-2899.
Website: www.ttzl.cn