Ibrahim, Zaki G

This is cautionary information about Dr Zaki G. Ibrahim of South Denver Spine.
When needing surgery, research your doctor’s background thoroughly because you may learn they are not the doctor for you. Get a 2nd and even 3rd opinion early on.
Dr. Ibrahim is hands down the worst doctor I have ever had the misfortune to deal with. Initially, he came across as a compassionate Dr but it time it became apparent that this was not the case. Rather than reviewing my file before entering the office, he asked me every time where my pain was even after performing surgery on me, a surgery that was most likely not the correct surgery for my condition.
It clearly states on his site that he performs discectomies for patients with leg pain and back pain caused by a herniated disc. I questioned him as to why he was choosing to do a fusion surgery as most of my pain was in my leg and he stated it was because I had back pain. A family member in the healthcare field and her co-worker believed fusion was not the correct surgery. He unfortunately did not come to the conclusion that my back pain was in my sacrum, unrelated to the L4 disc herniation. He performed a fusion surgery in Feb of 2014 and by May of 2014 I was in unbelievable pain in my sacrum, a complaint I had been making since shortly after surgery. Additionally (although I did not know it by May 2014) the bone graft he used was beginning to grow outside of the fused area and was beginning to press on my L4 nerve. Once again he was not able to diagnose my sacrum pain and wanted me to see a primary care physician because I had lost so much weight. Weight that I had, in fact, lost due to pain and nothing else.
The pain in my sacrum had become so severe; I was forced to do just about everything on my knees because I could not bend over. Dr Ibrahim performed surgery on me and then hung me out to dry. The bottom line is that when the Dr. was unable to determine the source of my pain, he behaved as it was all in my head.
It only took 5 minutes for a doctor from CU to determine that my back pain was coming from my sacrum. Since then I have had CT scans showing arthritis on both sides of my sacrum. It was determined by a physical therapist that I had absolutely no movement in my sacrum. As the months went by and I continued intense PT for my sacrum, the bone graft used during the fusion surgery continued growing into my L4 nerve, causing excruciating pain. I was now in a situation that was worse than prior to surgery. My leg felt as if the nerve was being strangled. It was incredibly tight and truly unbearable.
In Dec of 2014 I had a complicated revision fusion surgery performed by an excellent CU DR. The bone growth from the original surgery caused nerve damage which takes anywhere from 6 months to two years to heal. At 7 months I suffer daily from leg pain.