Although the impetus to become an orthopedic surgeon came from his father’s injury, finding his niche in spine surgery came years later for Dr. Kukkar as a result of his experiences in fellowship training under Dr. Freitag and from his personal experience with spine trauma. “I used to do mountaineering trips,” he shares. “In 2000, a couple weeks before my final board exams, I was doing this trip and there was a lot of rain and mud and our jeep got stuck. Trying to be Superman, I tried to get the jeep out of the mud by lifting it, which turned out to be a big mistake, and led to a disc herniation. My leg went numb, I couldn’t walk, and my foot was paralyzed. It took me six months to recover.”
“Because of that disc herniation, I absolutely understand what pain feels like. I feel strongly for people who undergo back pain, because I underwent it myself.” With this understanding, Dr. Kukkar works hard to assess and diagnose his patients’ pain and discomfort, and he continues to train in advanced procedures to reduce pain, reduce surgical trauma, and speed up recovery. According to Dr. Kukkar, 85 percent of all spinal surgery in the U.S. is still done traditionally, involving more tissue disruption. The minimally invasive methods performed by Dr. Kukkar are gaining traction but do require extensive training, which he feels is more than worth it because of the benefit to the patient.
Dr. Kukkar brings with him the most modern and advanced techniques for treating the spine. “Many of the spinal disorders I see done traditionally can be addressed through a portal or endoscopic approach,” he says. “For many procedures, we make less than a centimeter incision, and with the aid of a camera and small instruments, can clean up the discs and shrink or remove tissue around the nerves. All of these procedures and techniques are measures to reduce the level of pain the patient feels.
His practice offers the most advanced treatments that minimize pain and speed recovery for people of all ages. “I do some minor endoscopic procedures with the patient awake,” Dr. Kukkar adds. “It sounds very silly — that patients are awake during spine surgery — but I’ve done them in this town and have had great results with them.” The incision area is made pain-free and the scope is inserted in a way to avoid cutting the muscles, which speeds recovery. “Through the endoscope we can see the painful areas of the spine and use modalities like an underwater Bovie or lasers to bring relief to the patients. They go home within an hour,” he continues. “And all of these newer procedures are unique to this area.
Dr. Kukkar‘s professional philosophy has always been to enjoy his work. “If you want to get better at your work, you need to enjoy it. And if you want to enjoy it, you have to be good at it,” he shares. “Every single morning, I wake up and I tell myself, ‘Learn something new, do some good, and strive to become better.
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