Video Q&A With Dr. Aguila

Scott had two successful surgeries to relieve foot and ankle pain caused by neuromas after a trauma. Dr. Aguila resected the sural, deep peroneal, superificial peroneal and saphenous nerves. Now Scott is pain free. To show his gratitude and help others, he donated to the M25 Program. Watch and learn more.

Dr. Aguila explains why he shares post operative photos of patients after surgery for Postherpetic Neuralgia (PHN) of the face, He is hoping to educate future patients and make them aware of what they may look like after surgery. The surgery has eliminated pain for many patients with PHN of the face.

Jeff had excruciating pain and burning from Postherpetic Neuralgia of the face which he developed after Shingles. After years of suffering and trying different treatments that didn't work, he finally found help thanks to Dr. Aguila, a pain-focused peripheral nerve surgeon. Now he feels, "fantastic!" Watch his story and lean more about overcoming Postherpetic Neuralgia. “My name is Jeff Carlson, and I am from Colorado Springs Colorado. I developed Postherpetic Neuralgia after shingles. My eye was always itching and burning, and it felt like I had a weight in my eye all the time. Sometimes it felt like lemon juice, sometimes it was my eye burning or itching. I had sensitivity to the wind or the air conditioning in a car. I couldn’t wear a hat put on a T-shirt or anything that would irritate it. I had very little hope and every day was a struggle. I spent a lot of money on a lot of different treatments. You name it I’ve probably tried it.” After years of failed treatments, Jeff finally found Dr. Demetrio Aguila, a pain-focused peripheral nerve surgeon. He found Dr. Aguila through a YouTube video from another PHN patient Kathleen, who also lived in Colorado. Jeff made the trip to see Dr. Aguila in Omaha Nebraska. Dr. Aguila: “We did some diagnostic injections. We numbed up the supratrochlear nerve, which is right here, we numbed up the supraorbital nerve, and in his case, they’re also seem to be involvement of what’s called the infratrochlear nerve. We numbed up those nerves and he started to cry. For the first time his pain was gone.” Given the success of the diagnostic injections, Dr. Aguila moved forward with surgery. It was an in-office procedure done with general anesthesia. “Jeff had some unusual variance of his anatomy. Most people have one supraorbital nerve. Jeff had three. I wouldn’t have known that had not been doing the procedure and told me doc I can kind of feel something you’re doing over there. He should have been numb at that point but that clued me in that I should look over there and make sure that there’s not something hiding. And sure enough there was another supraorbital nerve in that area that was causing him pain.” Here is Jeff the first day after surgery. “Hey Dr. Aguila, I was walking from my hotel room to the car, and I noticed the breeze didn’t hurt. This used to hurt like hell this little breeze it’s blowing right now. This is the best I have felt in six years. I feel fantastic. My advice to anyone suffering from PHN of the face is don’t wait. The sooner the better so you don’t have to deal with this day and day out. Dr. Aguila and Total Pain Solutions https://www.totalpainsolutions.net/ And on Facebook.

Amy suffered for years with pain and tingling in both thighs. She was diagnosed with Meralgia Paresthetica, compression of the Lateral Femoral Cutaneous Nerve. Dr. Aguila is a pain-focused peripheral nerve surgeon who helps patients overcome chronic pain problems. In one surgery he gave Amy her life and her smile back. “My name is Amy, and I sought treatment with Dr. Aguila for a condition called Meralgia Paresthetica. I’m sharing my journey for a couple purposes. Number one to provide hope and number two validation for anyone who is struggling with chronic nerve pain. I had pain in both of my thighs. I also had numbness and tingling. I tried to deal with the pain, but eventually it became so overwhelming that I had to seek treatment because I was unable to drive, to sit for an extended period, unable to walk even short distances. My life revolved around pain and physical limitations. I eventually became homebound by choice because I was emotionally exhausted from the guilt and shame of failing. Finally, I had a doctor refer me to Dr. Aguila. Dr. Aguila is a pain-focused, peripheral nerve surgeon. This is a very narrow subset of physicians that have the degree of specialized training needed for precision in nerve surgery. I spoke to Dr. Aguila on the phone, and he seemed to understand my condition. He believed he could help me. I booked a trip from my home in Mississippi to see Dr. Aguila in Omaha, Nebraska. I spent my evenings and weekends leading up to surgery replaying over and over Dr. Aguila’s patient testimonials on YouTube. It gave me a high degree validation that I wasn’t creating this pain.” In the operating room, Dr. Aguila decompressed Amy’s lateral femoral cutaneous nerve on both sides. This surgery has a 95% success rate. “Immediately after surgery, I noticed significant changes and improvements as the pain I had anticipated with every movement was gone. I noticed that my husband began walking ahead of me instead of beside me, confident that I no longer needed his help. My confidence and my daily activities continue to build leading to more smiles and more engagement. I have so much gratitude for Dr. Aguila and his team.” Dr. Aguila and Total Pain Solutions https://www.totalpainsolutions.net/ And on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/TotalPainSolutionsbyHealingHandsofNE

Angie is back after a successful surgery with Dr. Aguila that eliminated most of her pain from Postherpetic Neuralgia. Her message for those still suffering - there is hope to get your life back. Watch to learn more. “I know how it feels to just want to die, and I have a life today, a very good life today because of Dr. Aguila and I am just so happy. My name is Angie, and I have Postherpetic Neuralgia. I had Shingles in March 2020 and once the rash went away, the pain never did. It was a level 8-9 pain every single day for the past 2 1/2 years.” That was Angie before surgery with Dr. Aguila. Dr. Aguila removed the affected nerves in her face causing Postherpetic Neuralgia. Now her life is completely different. “I can walk around the mall, I can travel, I can get up out of bed, I can shower, and I can get in and out of the car.” She has one remaining problem area of Postherpetic Neuralgia. She came back to see Dr. Aguila so he could give her a shot of Iovera. Iovera is a procedure that freezes the nerves thereby eliminating her pain and confirms the nerves involved for her next surgery. “I had it done in my abdomen myopic neurologist still exist a little bit. It was easy with no pain. It buys me time and it gives me hope, it shows me that this can be fixed.” Angie will have surgery soon. This will permanently eliminate the last of her Postherpetic Neuralgia pain. “I want people who have this disease to get help because I know how painful it is. I think back when I was in pain and now I am just so amazed and happy and very grateful.” Dr. Aguila and Total Pain Solutions https://www.totalpainsolutions.net/ And on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/TotalPainSolutionsbyHealingHandsofNE

In this video, we meet Mike another patient with Postherpetic Neuralgia of the face. Mike was in horrible pain and despite seeing dozens of doctors could not get relief from the PHN. He flew across the country to have surgery with Dr. Aguila, a pain-focused peripheral nerve surgeon. This interview is 30 days out from surgery and Mike is already 75% better. He calls this a miracle. “Hello, my name is Mike, and I live in Charlotte, North Carolina. My story began in October 2018 when I suffered a severe attack of shingles. Unfortunately, it took three visits to the emergency room before they were able to diagnose what the problem was, and my left eye was severely damaged by the shingles. I ended up having to have emergency cornea replacement in my left eye and suffered from PHN postherpetic neuralgia on my left forehead. Over the years I went to many different neurosurgeons and neurologists to try and get help. I tried every medication that you could possibly try and unfortunately it wasn’t getting any better. In fact, it was getting worse. Sometimes the side of my head would just be blood beat red, and I would get horrible headaches. Somehow YouTube figured out that I was interested in PHN and they sent me a video of Dr. Aguila in Nebraska. I looked at his videos and I was super impressed. He seemed like he was very empathetic and very knowledgeable and the fact that he was a veteran made me feel better also because I’m a veteran. In surgery Dr. Aguila removed the supratrochlear and supraorbital nerves. The procedure was done, and I immediately felt better. I knew I made the right decision. I’d say I’m about 70% of where I was prior to the procedure, which to me is a miracle. Dr. Aguila says it will progressively get better as time goes on. I can truly say this has been a life altering procedure for me. I don’t know what life would be like if I had to keep enduring the amount of pain I was in before the surgery. I would encourage anyone in my situation to go out and meet Dr. Aguila.” Dr. Aguila and Total Pain Solutions https://www.totalpainsolutions.net/

Here is yet another patient who overcame Postherpetic Neuralgia of the face thanks to Dr. Aguila. Amanda was in pain for more than a year and was struggling to keep up with her young kids. But a procedure done in the office under local anesthesia eliminated her pain. Watch her story. Postherpetic Neuralgia of the Face - A Young Mother's Story Here is yet another patient who overcame Postherpetic Neuralgia of the face thanks to Dr. Aguila. Amanda had been in pain for more than a year and was struggling to keep up with her young kids. But a procedure done in the office under local anesthesia eliminated her pain. Watch her story. “I am Amanda, and I am from Kimball, Nebraska. Dr. Aguila: “Amanda came to see us with postherpetic neuralgia (PHN) of the face. That is chronic pain after shingles just on one side of her face. In her case she had PHN that involves the supratrochlear nerve and the supraorbital nerve, and it was causing symptoms in her eyebrow and her forehead and all the way up her scalp and hair. We’ve seen lots of patients like her. As a matter fact in the last 12 months, we’ve seen a huge increase in the number of patients who have been coming to us with these kinds of problems. For Amanda, the pain affected all aspects of her life. “It hurt my relationship with my children and my husband. I went to try to see many different doctors and they would see me, and they would either tell me that they couldn’t help me or just give me another pill and push me out the door.” Then she found Dr. Aguila, and everything changed. Dr. Aguila: “She came to see us and I said I’m pretty sure I know what’s going on and I think I’ve got a good idea how we can help you with that. So, we did some nerve blocks that turned off those nerves temporarily. She started to cry because her pain was gone. Feeling confident after that diagnosis we decided to move forward with permanent relief. We were able to perform the procedure in the office under local anesthesia while she was wide awake. I was talking to her throughout the process making sure she was comfortable. We surgically removed the affected nerves. Amanda. “It was very calm, and I had no pain.” Here she is a day after surgery. “I woke up the next morning and I honestly felt good. I can go outside. I can do all sorts of things. My message to people is don’t give up and keep fighting and come see Dr. Aguila.” Amanda will be back soon for another surgery to further relieve her pain. Visit totalpainsolutions.net and https://www.facebook.com/TotalPainSolutionsbyHealingHandsofNE to learn more

Nancy suffered for years with Occipital Neuralgia pain. She had many different kinds of treatments and surgeries, but nothing relieved the pain. Then she found Dr. Aguila, a pain-focused peripheral nerve surgeon. Not only did Dr. Aguila eliminate her pain, but Nancy did not have to pay for her surgery. Instead she donated community service hours through the M25 Program. Watch her incredible story. “My name is Nancy and I’m from Houston, Texas. I’ve been suffering from occipital neuralgia for about seven years. It has been so difficult. I had surgery with another surgeon before meeting Dr. Aguila but only had relief for 18 months and then after that, the pain came back. I lost my job and it has affected my family life so much. I have been to see so many different doctors - pain management doctors, neurologists and so many others. They all had their opinion and I tried so many different treatments. I had surgery on my neck. I had fusion on my neck. Then I had shoulder surgery. There was nothing else for me. A doctor wanted to put a spinal stimulator in and that was going to be it. But I knew there had to be a better way. I found Dr. Demetrio Aguila through a Facebook support group. I flew to Omaha, and he spent two hours with me just talking to me about everything I’ve gone through and all the treatments I’ve tried and all the surgeries I’ve done. He was so compassionate. He listened to me, and he didn’t rush me.” In the operating room Dr. Aguila disconnected the greater and lesser occipital nerves on both sides, trading pain for numbness. “It’s only a few days after surgery, but I already feel so much relief compared to the other surgery. Also, Dr. Aguila doesn’t prescribe any kind of narcotics or opioids and I found comfort with that because I know with those medications there is a possibility of addiction. I am feeling a bit of nerve pain, but that is normal, and the nerves are getting settled. But I am progressing every day. Also, I did not have to pay Dr. Aguila anything because of the M25 program. I’ve never found a doctor that offered something like that where the surgeon fees are covered by volunteer hours. I have family and patients that I have seen donating hours towards my surgery. I appreciate Dr. Aguila so much for his surgical skills and his M25 program. If all goes according to plan and I feel very optimistic. I would love to donate towards that program once I start working again. I will be forever grateful for the M25 program and Dr. Aguila.” Dr. Aguila Facebook https://www.facebook.com/TotalPainSolutionsbyHealingHandsofNE Dr. Aguila Website https://www.totalpainsolutions.net/

Lynn suffered from a complex case of Postherpetic Neuralgia of the face after Shingles. Dr. Demetrio Aguila is trained as a plastic and reconstructive, ENT, head and neck and peripheral nerve surgeon. He offered her permanent relief from her pain with one surgery. Watch how. “I am Lynn Deary from St. Louis, Missouri.” Dr. Aguila: “Lynn came to see us because she had Shingles, and she later developed postherpetic neuralgia of the face. Now in her case, the symptoms were primarily in the cheek, the nose and the upper lip and inside the nose. That would most likely be the anterior interior superior alvea nerve. The reason I am familiar with it is because Dr. Lee Dellon n and I wrote one of the few papers in the medical literature specifically looking at the anatomy of that nerve.” Lynn went to dozens of doctors before she found Dr. Aguila. “My goodness I saw so many doctors. My primary pain management specialist and then another pain management specialist. I also went to a pain psychologist to try to deal with the psychological hackle aspects of chronic pain. The pain affected my life because I was basically a hermit. I did not want to go outside and be with people. We found Dr. Aguila in two different ways. My husband is very bright and did online research which led to Dr. Aguila. I also found him through a Facebook support group for people with postherpetic neuralgia. We decided to move forward with the surgery because we believed in Dr. Aguila. He is one of the few people trained to do this type of surgery. He has a tremendous bedside manner. He made me feel comfortable and I trusted him from the first time I met him.” Dr. Aguila: “We did an injection of the orbital nerve and the pain on her cheek got better but she still had pain in the nose. I said OK let’s go after that, so we didn’t injection for her pain towards the top of the nose and her pain got better. So, I said let’s go after the interior superior nerves, so I did an injection inside the end and she said the pain inside my nose is gone, but I still have this pain right here (inside the nose). You will have a hard time finding this nerve in most anatomy books. It’s called a lateral nasal branch of the anterior ethmoid nerve. We did an injection there and she said that was the spot we were looking for. In the operating room, I made an incision starting under the eyebrow going down along inside of the eye and the side of the nose all the way down to just the outside of her nostril. It’s a long incision. I was familiar with these nerves because I have done a lot of facial reconstruction during my training and my experience as an ear nose and throat surgeon. We did tons and tons of facial reconstruction like this in Afghanistan. I did tons of facial reconstruction like this as plastic and reconstructive surgery. As a Peripheral Nerve Surgeon, I was taught to pay attention to all the nerves in the body that we operate on. I found this supra orbital nerve, found the supratrochlear nerve and we found the infratrochlear nerve. We disconnected every single one of them and the pain is so much better. Lynn: “I want to get back in touch with friends and start doing more social activities. Thanks to Dr. Aguila!” www.totalpainsolutions.com https://www.facebook.com/TotalPainSolutionsbyHealingHandsofNE