I would not recommend that anyone have surgery at ANY Laser Spine Institute clinic. Like so many, I have had debilitating acute low back pain since I was 28 years old. I was determined to find ANYTHING to help eradicate or even decrease that chronic pain. So, as desperate people will do, I believed that I had done enough research to validate the Laser Spine Institute as a legitimate medical facility and went to Scottsdale, AZ, for their surgical procedure. I want to tell you now that these facilities are ALL a scam.
I was fortunate that the universe was looking out for me and was spared from being harmed by these people. They claimed that my MRI showed that I was a candidate for the surgery. So I spent money and time flying to Scottsdale, staying in a motel and then attending the appointment at the institute. On that day, I met with a "anesthesiologist" instead of a doctor. He said that my previous MRI didn't clearly show what they wanted to see so that they needed to do another one. I am severely claustrophobic and require being put to sleep in order to have an MRI. I told him this and that my insurance would not pay for another MRI so soon. The anesthesiologist stared at me for a few seconds and then said he'd have to "confer" with the "doctors" before they could proceed and that they would call me the next day. At no point did I ever see a real doctor.
This behavior was suspicious and automatically sent up a red flag in my mind. You see, I am a retired nurse of 40 years. So I have the experience and expertise to recognize fraud and nonsense when I see it. The Laser Institute did not call me for 3 days. After not hearing from them on the 2nd day, I started making my own phone calls. First, I discovered that not one of their facilities has a direct phone number at which to contact them. They have four facilities now in four different states. I called the listed numbers for each clinic (that had a local area pre-fix) and EACH time the phone call was directed to the facility in Florida. I ended up speaking to my original pre-surgery facilitator in Florida after making all those other calls. My first question to him was, "Why are all of your clinic phone numbers directed to the Florida Institute?" His response was a flat rhetorical, "Yes. We answer all calls at this facility." THIS did not make sense and another red flag went up.
Here is the biggest red flag of all. I contacted my insurance. They pay their normal 80% for ANY surgical procedure, and I then pay the remaining 20%. There is no deviating from this. However, the Laser Spine Institute REQUIRED me to pay the FULL amount of $18,500.00, UP FRONT IN CASH, before they would do the surgery. They also stated that they would NOT refund the 80% (even if my insurance paid the 80%), and that that was THEIR financial requirement. This made no sense whatsoever, but I have learned from the insurance company that this practice is called "double dipping" and it's illegal. Furthermore, LSI also claims that they have stem cell therapies. According to the FDA (who REGULATES the medical practice laws), the ONLY legitimate stem cell therapy currently available in the USA is from cord blood. Period. If anyone claims they have "stem cell therapies" other than that, they are lying. By now, I was convinced this entire network was a huge scam.
I received a call from "someone" from LSI on the third day. The person quickly told me that they had determined I was NOT a candidate for the laser procedure because they believed I would not tolerate their spinal anesthesia. The final comment was that "they" were sorry they could not "help" me.
That was all. Nothing else was mentioned or said, and, at NO time did I ever speak to a qualified doctor. I might say do your research before using this alleged medical clinic, but I assure you that they are NOT legitimate in any way and that they are making millions off of pain-ridden people who are desperate for some relief. Please do not fall into their trap. They will do or say anything to convince you that they are legitimate. I cannot state enough how extremely fortunate I am for avoiding what could have been potentially disastrous to me both physically and financially. Please do extensive background research first on any medical facility and their doctors before letting someone treat you. It could just save your life.