Dr. Elizabeth Laura Lord, MD

Dr. Lord is an outstanding physician in every respect who has rescued my quality of life from the ravages of my own aging process. My feelings about this cannot be overstated. Dr. Lord performed two separate surgeries on me. The first was a disc fusion in C5-C6, and the second was the removal of a large lipoma from the back of my neck. I could not be more grateful for her skills, expertise, and compassionate care. Dr. Lord and her excellent staff took the time to listen to my concerns, evaluate my condition, and develop a surgical strategy. The first surgery, the disc fusion, was performed perfectly, and the results quite possibly saved my career as a freelance photographer. I had been experiencing severe numbness in the fingers on my right hand, which prevented me from feeling the controls on my camera. I also had two spells of searing pain from my neck to my right shoulder, each lasting several weeks. The numbness has completely disappeared, and the pain has not returned. I am… back to work full time with zero challenges. The second surgery, the removal of a large lipoma, was equally successful. The lipoma was getting so big that it was starting to look disgusting. I was embarrassed to wear tee shirts. I had consulted with other surgeons prior to Dr. Lord who were too scared to operate on it because of the proximity to my problematic C spine. Dr. Lord had the courage and skills to take on both surgeries (spaced three weeks apart). Due to the importance of cosmetics on the lipoma surgery, she brought in a plastic surgeon to close. The results are fantastic. The contours of my neck were returned to normal, and I am finally free from this embarrassing growth. As a bonus, with all of these “moving parts,” she got both operations scheduled and completed prior to year’s end so that I had only one deductible/max out of pocket. In addition to her exceptional surgical skills, Dr. Lord is a warm and compassionate physician who truly cares about me. Of course her expertise in the field of spine surgery was evident, and her confidence in her approach put me at ease. But more specific to me, she immediately saw the urgency of my needs due to my career as a photographer. She also recognized that photography is not just my way of earning a living – it is my life’s passion. I was in jeopardy of losing both, and she protected me from this peril with her excellent hands. When she told me in her office that she would do both surgeries, after getting turned down and given the runaround by other doctors, I cried. Literally cried. And she was ready with a tissue. I am in physical therapy now, and it is going far more quickly than expected. This is obviously because Dr. Lord performed the surgeries with such exceptional skill. I am following the advice of Dr. Lord and my physical therapist and continuing the process. But I feel so good that the physical therapy feels like a mere formality.