L1-L2 Disc replacement surgery -Dec 2012.
Completely pain-free for 6 years now. No pain pills whatsoever.
I had reconstructive surgery on my disc L1 - L2 area. I had suffered for 3 months with a ruptured disc. I went to "other" doctors and pain management doctors for evaluations, MRI's and spine injections to ease the very excruciating pain that NO PILLS could stop. I had 3 epidural spine injections from Oct-Dec 2012 that didn't help the pain but, did get me to be able to walk again. The inflammation of the injury made my feet swell so bad they looked like footballs. I could not lay down so I had to sleep in a chair for 3 months.

The MRI's these "other" doctors took they couldn't read and said and I quote, "if we cut on you, we can't go back." WOW, what a slap in the face from these so-called "best in Columbus" spine doctors. I won't name them but their last name initials start with the letter "G"
The decision was they weren't doing any cutting on me and we frantically searched for the best in the state of GA that was on their game concerning the spine. Searches revealed a godsend called Dr. Erik Westerlund at the St. Francis Spine Center, Columbus, GA. He hadn't been there long but, his credentials were impeccable. We called him to schedule an appointment ASAP as I was so bad in pain I couldn't stand it anymore. Pain index of a 20. No joke.

We went in for our first visit and Dr. Westerlund was a super guy to chat with and explained what he needed to be done such as a new MRI because the "other one" was so bad he couldn't see anything worth a darn. Remember, I couldn't lay down so, laying in an MRI machine for an hour was like putting a knee in your back and bending you backward past your limit.

He scheduled another MRI and I was put in a light sleep in order to be able to lay down for another hour of the MRI torture. It worked. Dr. W said what I had injured and we set up an appointment for surgery in 2 weeks. I had another appointment with him in a week before the surgery and when I stood up that morning to go see him, I started shaking so bad from the nerve being pinched from the disc I fell on the floor. We had to call 911 and take the ride ambulance to the hospital and have emergency surgery that night. WOW!

Dr. W explained what he was going to do for me and the surgery took 6.5 hours to complete. This injury in this area he said was a 1 in 300 cases and normally the lower vertebrae's are the most seen surgeries performed by people not picking up things correctly etc.

After all was said and done I was walking the hallways on the recovery floor by 9:00 am the next morning. Surgery was from 6:00 pm until 12:30 am. I was sore as all get-up BUT, I wasn't in any pain whatsoever.

I had to recover for 90 days and follow exactly what Dr. W said to do and only that. That was to walk, walk, walk and walk as much as I could stand every day. So, I did. I walked around the lake at Idle Hour park twice a day and at least 3 times around it as that's as much as I could do.

I got stronger and faster at it by the week and when my 90 days was up, I was ready to go back to work and did not have any pain during the recovery time frame. Awesome!

My injury was from "carrying" and not from bending over picking something up wrong. As you age your spine does as well and all the gym and lifting weights didn't stop it. It didn't cause the injury either. Aging did it coupled with the added weight load on my shoulders. I was plenty strong enough to carry it but, my spine said otherwise. I never had any back issues my whole life.

So the moral of the story is I am still pain-free in 2018 and have no more issues to report. I am careful about what weight load I put on myself so this doesn't happen again or reinjury to the area ever happens again.

When all others said they couldn't do it and the dreaded saying of "if we cut on you, we can't go back" is told to you from the other "quacks" recommended from word of mouth in Columbus, GA, I highly advise you do better research and see if Dr. Westerlund can be a service to you.

I highly recommend him to anybody and always do when I hear people complain about their back or are in a search for the "BEST" to do the job. If he can help you with your situation he will. If he can't he will also tell you as well.

He knows his stuff and you can look up his credentials to back this up.

Submitted Jan. 21, 2018

Dr. Westerlund Did my C spine surgery on 12/1/2017 I have had bad experiences with past surgery's from different Doctors. Doctor Westerlund is one of the most caring and professional Doctor that I have ever had an experience with he takes the time to talk with you about the problem you are having and goes into details and treatment plans and treat you like he has known you for a long time you don't get that from most Doctors He is a very compassionate Doctor and I will recommend him to anyone and his staff is just as great. Thanks Dr. Erik Westerlund for fixing my neck and the pain we need more Doctors like you. Signed your patient Willie A Godwin

Submitted Dec. 19, 2017

Excellent and caring surgeon. Dr. Westerlund was very thorough. I had an outpatient minimally invasive neck surgery. I went home the same day and I recovered completely. I would recommend him to friends and family (and I have already).

Submitted July 24, 2017

Dr. Westerlund is personable, caring, and thorough. He is an excellent surgeon. I would trust him to care for any of my friends and family as he has cared for me.

Submitted Oct. 1, 2015