After having read an article about Paul in a Swedish Newspaper in 1991, I have been following his work since then. I have visited him at his clinics in Tring and London and when he visited Sweden I also helped with some translational work. After having seen patients being pushed in in wheelchairs and walking out without them, I was absolutely fascinated by the work of Paul. Importantly, if Paul has the opinion that a patient requires conventional surgery or medical attention, he will communicate this to the patient.
We neurosurgeons can only do some of the work that Paul does, but with risks attached to the surgical procedure. At the peripheral nerve level, we as neurosurgeons cannot contribute to any decompressive surgery except ulnar and median nerve decompression. Paul however can treat peripheral nerve compressions and post-traumatic neuralgies with an efficacy and specificity that is unparalleled in the medical history.
I have been working as a Consultant in Neurosurgery at the University Hospital in Sweden since 2002 and while performing surgery in the Autumn of the year 2003, I suffered excruciating C7 nerve pain that was cuased by a slipped disc at the C6-C7 level and which made me completely incapacitated to work. As a Neurosurgeon myself I perform the anterior decompression technique according to Robinson-Smith, with insertion of cervical disc prosthesis. However I did not have the confidence to let a neurosurgeion perform this operation on me!
I travelled to Paul in excruciating pain and had a couple of days treatment after which I could stop my analgesic medication. It was truly a miracle that Paul could push in the disc and decompress the nerve canal. After this treatment I could start to work again. I eventually had an MRI scan which showed normal conditions at the C6-C7 level. My neurosurgical colleagues were in shock when they saw the normal MRI scans and asked “Who helped you?” I replied “I have friends in high places”.
I very much believe in helping alternative treatments into the health sector. However, the therapeutic alternatives that are offered for orthopaedic and neuralgic pains represent a jungle. I feel it is the responsibility for all practising doctors to get acquainted with some of the complementary therapeutic alternatives that are worthwhile to recommend to patients. Is is my opinion that Paul represents a truly unique, highly competent and efficient professional in the field of complementary medicine.
His knowledge of the human anatomy and the efficacy by which he treats peripheral nerve pains, especially in cervical and lumbar nerve compressions, is absolutely unparalleled. Paul is a highly skilled and compassionate therapist, with impeccable integrity and great concern for the well-being of people who suffer from chronic pain. These patients are normally seen as a great nuisance at the neurosurgeons outpatient clinic!
Dr Walter Fisher
