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Video Q&A With Dr. Aguila

We are happy to answer questions that help patients better understand treatment options and alternatives. 

Below are common questions, and answers, from our patients who we’ve helped on these journeys to full health.

Postherpetic Neuralgia of the Abdomen Flank
03:59

Postherpetic Neuralgia of the Abdomen Flank

Carmine suffered for three years with pain in her abdomen from Postherpetic Neuralgia (PHN) after Shingles. No one could help until she found Dr. Demetrio Aguila in Omaha, Nebraska. Dr. Aguila is one of only a handful of surgeons worldwide who can eliminate Postherpetic Neuralgia pain. Carmine calls Dr. Aguila "a genius." Watch her story and learn more about surgical solutions for PHN. "My name is Carmine, and I am from Indiana. I was suffering from Postherpetic Neuralgia. It was difficult to drive, difficult to go to work, and it was difficult to be with my family and go places. It was very frustrating because the doctors I went to did not know how to help me. They said if you have PHN, there is no cure, and you just have to learn to live with it and take narcotic medication. I tried various therapies like acupuncture, two nerve blocks, and medication. Finally, after three years of suffering, she found Dr. Demetrio Aguila, a pain-focused surgeon who specializes in Postherpetic Neuralgia. Dr. Aguila: "Her chronic growing pain in her abdominal and flank pain seems to be due to a case of Shingles that occurred a number of years ago and then left her with chronic pain afterward. She had pain that started on her flank and wrapped around her back and also down toward her groin area. Her pain seems to involve what we call the iliohypogastric and ilioinguinal nerves. Dr. Aguila gave her a nerve block and temporarily turned off the affected nerves. After the nerve blocks, she was delighted that she didn't have any pain and said when can we do surgery? Dr. Aguila: "In surgery, disconnected those nerves from the source of the pain, which, according to some recent research, isn't actually the nerve root, which is the classical teaching because that's where the virus that causes shingles lives. It lives in the nerve root right next to the spinal cord. There's more recent research suggesting that the problem is actually not at the nerve root, but where the nerve and skin connect and that there's either damage to the skin where this nerve in the skin connects or damage to the nerve where the nerve in the skin connect or damage to both where they connect to each other. She came back for her follow-up. She just had surgery a few days ago, and she says she feels fantastic. Carmine: "Find ways to educate yourself, whether on the Internet or trying YouTube, which I highly recommend." Aguila: "To my knowledge, there's only a small number of us here in the United States that offer permanent surgical solutions for Postherpetic Neuralgia. There's me, Dr. David Brown, Dr. Eric Williams, and Dr. Tim Tollestrup. Carmine: "My experience with Dr. Aguila has been just absolutely wonderful. He's very caring, and I call him a genius doctor. If you have the opportunity to take a chance and you want to come to Nebraska, I highly recommend it." Dr. Aguila and Total Pain Solutions https://www.totalpainsolutions.net/ And on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/TotalPainSolutionsbyHealingHandsofNE
Postherpetic Neuralgia of the Chest Wall
03:24

Postherpetic Neuralgia of the Chest Wall

Mark had a case of Shingles that developed into severe Postherpetic Neuralgia under his armpit. He couldn't shower, wear shirts or function normally, leaving him in a dark place. After other treatments failed, he researched and found Dr. Demetrio Aguila, a pain-focused peripheral nerve surgeon. Dr. Aguila has helped hundreds of patients with Postherpetic Neuralgia get their lives back. Mark is his latest PHN success story and he is' "grateful beyond words." My name is Mark McCubbin. I'm from Oklahoma City. I developed a case of Shingles and after the Shingles rash healed the pain did not go away and I developed Postherpetic Neuralgia (PHN). The pain was probably seven or eight often a nine and the sensitivity to touch was a nine or 10. It was hard to sleep and hard to function. I was in a dark place. Mark saw several different doctors who could not help. But he did not give up, searched online and found Dr. Demetrio Aguila, a pain focused peripheral nerve surgeon. Dr. Aguila: According to the CDC there are about 1 million new cases of Shingles in the United States each year. Anywhere from 5 to 15% of those people end up with chronic pain after shingles which is called Postherpetic Neuralgia. That's anywhere from 50 to 150,000 new cases of Postherpetic Neuralgia in the United States alone. Dr. Aguila performed nerve blocks to the affected nerves in Mark’s chest wall. When they worked, he went to the operating room and disconnected the lateral cutaneous branches of the intercostal nerves that were responsible for pain in his chest and his armpit. Thankfully, he was one of many patients who've gotten great relief from this surgery. As a result of this surgery, I'm pain-free. I feel no pain in that area and it's just a wonderful feeling to have relief from the pain. The last year has been tough, and this was an answer to my prayers. I can take showers, and I can function normally. It's been a great relief. I would highly recommend Dr. A as he genuinely cares. Not only is he a skillful Physician, but you can tell he cares. He was always candid and transparent with me. The surgery was a success, and I'm so grateful beyond words. Dr. Aguila and Total Pain Solutions https://www.totalpainsolutions.net/ And on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/TotalPainSolutionsbyHealingHandsofNE
Postherpetic Neuralgia of the Face
04:13

Postherpetic Neuralgia of the Face

Pat struggled with Postherpetic Neuralgia (PHN) of the Face after Shingles for four years. The headaches and pain were constant and she could no longer travel or go out with friends. Through a Facebook support group she found Dr. Demetrio Aguila, a pain-focused peripheral nerve surgeon. Her anatomy was unusual and her case complex but Dr. Aguila was able to completely eliminate her pain. Watch her story and learn more about relief for PHN. PAT It was so worth it. I hope that anyone who has Postherpetic Neuralgia of the face will find Dr. Aguila because your life is going to change dramatically. I am Pat from Windsor, Colorado. Dr. Aguila: Pat originally came to us due to Postherpetic Neuralgia of the Face. She had chronic pain in her face from Shingles. She was miserable. What made her case unusual is that it didn't just involve the forehead or just one area, but it seemed to involve right around the eye and all the way up to the top of the scalp. She searched for help and saw five different doctors and tried many treatments. Nothing worked so she searched online. That's when she found her answer. PAT I went to Facebook to look for a support group and up popped a testimonial from one of Dr. Aguila’s patients. I was nervous and excited at the same time when I saw how many cases of PHN he had successfully treated. Dr. Aguila: When I saw her originally, I said OK let's go after the low-hanging fruit. Let's see if it's the most common nerve that is involved, the supraorbital nerve. I did a block, and she got about 80% relief. But she still had pain. It’s a possibility and in some patients that you get overlap in this area from branches of the supraorbital nerve and supratrochlear nerves coming up and overlapping with nerves coming out of the ear called aural temporal nerves so I said OK let's block that and see if that does the trick. Dr. Aguila had an intuition that her case was complex. I wonder if there's a variation in anatomy and so I said, let me go to the next common place for that nerve to pop out, which is a hole in the bone above the eyebrow and she said OK and we did that. And she had complete relief of all her symptoms. I am thankful to my mentors who taught me the variations in the location of the supraorbital nerve. Pat was able to do the procedure under local anesthesia in the office. Here she is on day one after the procedure. PAT I feel great. I was anticipating pain, but I did not have any. I am excited now that I have a whole new life. I just pray that anyone who's going through this situation can find Dr. Aguila and get relief. Dr. Aguila and Total Pain Solutions https://www.totalpainsolutions.net/ And on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/TotalPainSolutionsbyHealingHandsofNE

How can the Dr. Aguila team help you?

Demetrio J. Aguila III, MD, FACS is a diplomate of the American Board of Plastic Surgery, as well as the American Board of Otolaryngology. 
Our team at Total Pain Solutions can help patients suffering from unexplained nerve pain or other chronic pain. We urge everyone to not ignore symptoms when solutions may be possible. Take the first step to feeling better, come and see us about solutions for chronic pain, allergies, and reconstructive surgery.

Call us at 1-402-370-9515 or fill out the form on this page to set up a consultation to determine your best options.

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Total Pain Solutions

New Location

701 Pinnacle Drive Suite 107 Papillion, NE 68046

+1-402-370-9515 | Phone


+1-402-227-8245 | FAX
info@totalpainsolutions.net

West Holt Medical Office

West Holt Medical Services

406 West Neely Street, Atkinson, NE 68713

(402) 925-2811 

www.westholtmed.org

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Practice Hours

Mon-Thur: 8am-3pm

Friday: 8am-2pm

Saturday & Sunday: closed 

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