Dr. Bray has been featured in two articles about his work with National Hockey League (NHL) star Tyler Johnson. These articles delved into how Dr. Bray was able to help get Tyler back on the ice performing at full capacity by conducting an Artificial Disc Replacement procedure.
Chicago Sun Times
The Chicago Sun Times, one of the largest newspapers in the country, featured an article about Tyler Johnson's journey through his debilitating neck pain, treatment at DISC, and recovery. The author of the article, Ben Pope, provides context about Artificial Disc Replacements and how the procedure has proved to be especially effective in getting professional athletes back in the game.
In the piece, Pope describes how Tyler made his decision, with the help of his agent Pat Brisson:
"...Johnson felt most comfortable with Bray — who had actually performed a different surgery on Brisson years before — after gathering the necessary range of medical opinions. Johnson credited Bray for making the options easy to understand, with no “mumbo-jumbo” included."
Ben Pope, Chicago Sun Times
Read the full article, "Pioneering ADR in the NHL" by clicking here.
Becker's Spine Review
Writer Alan Condon also covered Tyler Johnson's journey, though from a different perspective. In Becker's Spine Review, Condon discussed the history and evolution of spine treatment within the NHL:
"Historically when a player injured their neck, the only thing that was allowed was a spinal fusion, and there have been about a dozen fusions performed in active NHL players over the years," Dr. Bray told Becker's Spine Review. "They have a fairly good return, but not all of them returned to play."
Alan Condon, Becker's Spine Review
Further into the piece, Condon explains how successful Artificial Disc Replacements performed on NHL players will have lasting impact:
"This gets a lot bigger than just hockey. These procedures will be used as hallmark cases. They have set a precedent for high-intensity, contact athletes in pro leagues in the U.S. to be considered for disc replacement," Dr. Bray said. "It's also opening up the realm of a safe, alternative, biomechanically-proven procedure with great outcomes across high-level functioning athletes, and it's putting options on the patient's table that didn't exist before."
Alan Condon, Becker's Spine Review
Read the full article by clicking here.
About the author
discmdgroup DISC Sports & Spine Center (DISC) is a national leader in minimally invasive spine surgery, orthopedic surgery, and sports medicine care. Our spine surgeons set the standard in artificial disc replacement, spine fusion, discectomy, microdiscectomy and the full spectrum of spine procedures. The group’s orthopedic surgeons advance the state of joint preservation surgery and total joint replacement, including total knee replacement as well as total hip replacement. Our flagship surgery centers based in Newport Beach, Marina del Rey, and Carlsbad serve patients local to Los Angeles, Orange County and San Diego, as well as the rest of the country. Read more articles by discmdgroup.
