Patient Testimonials

“I first became aware of Dr. Samudrala when he was serving as Director of Spinal Surgery for the Department of Neurosurgery at USC. My sister has had lumbar spine problems for years so we took her to see specialists at a notable Pain Center in town. The breaking point came this spring when she could barely walk and as a former operating room nurse, I knew something had to be done. We met with a few people but I was wary about finding someone good. Then I set an appointment with Dr. Samudrala and we took an instant liking to him. He was so kindÑhe wanted to know everything about my sister and really communicated his interest in her well being and concern for her. I was shocked. In my experience, most doctors don’t care and they take very little time to get to know their patients. We discussed her treatment options and elected to have surgery. I have to stress that before the procedure, she was 100% debilitated; afterwards she is now pain free. She went from a 10+on the pain scale to a zero. Dr. Samudrala said when he opened her up, the nerve was black. Not even a week out of the hospital, I literally cried, I was so happy. I would rate Dr. Samudrala as one of the top spine surgeons in the US and can’t express the degree of impact he’s had in our lives.” – Jeb B.,OR Nurse

“I have known Dr. Samudrala dating back to his affiliation with the Keck School of Medicine at USC. At that time my wife was on the medical faculty. Both of us had referred several patients to him, with excellent reports from those patients. I developed severe spinal stenosis to the point where I couldn’t stand up for more than 2-3 minutes at a time or walk more than half a block without being in severe pain. I had always been apprehensive about the possibility of needing surgery for my back. For over 30 years I have practiced as a physician in emergency medicine, and in the ER, you tend to see patients who haven’t done so well with their back surgeries and who come in wanting a lot of pain meds. After seeing this phenomenon for years, you can imagine how this sort of put me off as far as back surgery for myself was concerned. But once I saw my MRI, I knew I needed to have surgery. And I only wanted to have surgery once if I could. So as a result, I elected to have an L 4-5 laminectomy, an L 4-5 fusion and a PLIF (posterior lumbar interbody fusion), all at the same time. It was close to four hours of surgery. I went into the hospital on a Thursday morning and was able to go home that Saturday. After the muscle healing and the pain from the actual surgery itself resolved, which took about two weeks, I have not taken a single pain pill, nor have I had a pinch of pain, for the first time in years. I went back to work in less than seven weeks, and have been exercising regularly. Life is beautiful. I have already referred Dr. Samudrala to several people I care about, and I would tell other patients that he’s as knowledgeable as anybody could be, that he’s experienced in these procedures, and that he is a considerate, sensitive physician. I knew prior to my surgery that he was an excellent neurosurgeon, formally trained in spine surgery, and came highly recommended from a number of sources, including other neurosurgeons.” – Victor L., MD, Emergency Medicine

“I was referred to Dr. Samudrala by a well-known physician who served as a television expert on NBC’s Today Show for more than 23 years. This physician had a successful procedure by Dr. Samudrala and Dr. Johnson and thought Dr. Samudrala could help me. I had a great deal of pain in both legs and had tried a series of epidural injections without any significant results. The turning point was when I went and had a meeting with Dr. Samudrala. We reviewed my case and he made it clear that whether I continued with non-surgical treatments or elected to proceed with a surgery, the choice was mine and he would support either decision I made. I elected to have the surgery several months ago and can tell other patients that the pain has not diminished. The pain has disappeared. I found Dr. Samudrala to be a very responsive, involved and caring physician. I have referred others to Dr. Samudrala and told them I had very good results. The bottom line is that I had a successful procedure and that’s the thing – when you’ve had an experience that’s good, you can talk about it.” – Gene S., Owner & Director – Public Relations, Marketing & Branding Agency.