Please take a few moments and listen to the patient stories about how Dr. Hayward has changed/saved their lives. After listening to a few stories, you will find out how Dr. Frank Hayward treats his patients. To listen to the next interview click the arrows in the video screen.

Hear our patient stories

Incision so small it fits beneath a band-aid

By the time Jim Shields met Franklin Hayward II, DO, neurosurgeon at Heartland Spine, he could barely remember a time when his back was not in excruciating

pain.

Ever since the 44-year-old Poplar Bluff man stumbled into a hole in field three years ago, he has had back problems. Then, after a fall on ice in early 2008, the pain became so bad he could barely sleep. “I was in so much pain that I had to stop working,” he says. “If I got two hours of sleep in a night I would be fortunate.”

Shields tried taking pain pills and seeing a chiropratic physician to relieve some of the pressure in his back, but he could not find a longterm solution –until he saw Hayward in March 2010. Hayward found Shields had a bulging disc that was pinching a nerve. Hayward told Shields that he could fix the problem through a procedure called a percutaneous discectomy.

In a percutaneous discectomy, a surgeon inserts a needle in the patient’s back into the bulging disc. The surgeon uses X-rays for guidance as he or she uses a special device in the needle to remove the disc. “A percutaneous discectomy is a minimally invasive alternative to open spine surgery, in which we have to open the back and remove bone in order to remove the disc,” says Hayward. “It is also a very

good alternative to laser surgery. My patients experience little to no pain and are able to go home a few hours after the procedure. They can return to their normal activities very soon after surgery.”

Shields was thrilled with how good he felt after his procedure. “Almost every bit of the pain was gone,” he says. “I am still undergoing physical therapy to regain strength in my back, but my quality of life is so much better now than it was before. I am able to play with my children again and have recently started working with my wife in her network marketing business. I am so grateful to Dr. Hayward for his help.”

Not all patients are candidates for this surgery.