Finally Heard. Finally Healed.

University Hospitals Peripheral Nerve Surgery Center Helps Elyria Woman Find Relief After Decades of Debilitating Pain

Linda Baus, 66, of Elyria Township, has lived with severe nerve pain for as long as she can remember.

It began in her late 20s with carpal tunnel syndrome in both hands. A surgeon explained that her nerves were unusually fibrous, and surgery helped relieve the pain at the time. But it wouldn’t be the last time nerve pain disrupted her life.

“Nerve pain is very specific,” Linda said. “It’s a whole different beast of pain.”

About five years later, the pain returned – this time in both ankles and elbows. Doctors discovered her nerves were again compressed, and additional surgeries to sever the affected nerves brought temporary relief.

But the cycle continued.

Twenty years later, Linda began experiencing debilitating pain in her back. She underwent multiple procedures, including spinal fusion surgery, along with years of pain management treatments.

Neurosurgeon Michael Staudt, MD, the Lincoln Endowed Chair in Brain Health at University Hospitals, who specializes in pain intervention, first saw Linda at UH and implanted a nerve stimulator.

“Even with all these procedures, the pain just wouldn’t leave. I was so disheartened,” she remembered.

Linda eventually began reviewing her own medical history in detail and doing some research. She noticed a pattern: Her pain consistently appeared on both sides of her body. She identified a possible source – compression of the superior and middle cluneal nerves, which intersect in the lower back where her pain was concentrated.

These small sensory nerves travel over the top of the hip bone and across the lower back, supplying sensation to the skin. When compressed or damaged, they can cause deep, radiating pain, burning sensations and stiffness.

Dr. Staudt felt a neurectomy procedure would be a great treatment option and referred Linda to Stanley F. Bazarek, MD, PhD, co-director of the University Hospitals Peripheral Nerve Surgery Center and attending neurosurgeon at UH Cleveland Medical Center.

“My peripheral nerve fellow, Dr. Eric Herring and I saw Linda in clinic to see if we could help ease her pain,” Dr. Bazarek explained. “We agreed this procedure would be a good option, but felt the nerve distribution was ambiguous, so we sent her to UH Pain Interventionist Henri Vucetic, MD, first. He did an outstanding job localizing the pathology with selective nerve blocks. Then, we successfully performed a procedure that severs branches of the affected nerves, called a cluneal nerve neurectomy.”

The surgery was scheduled in two parts for April 13 and 20, 2026. Linda’s recovery was relatively quick – about a week of taking it easy. But the results were life changing.

“At University Hospitals, I felt like doctors were finally listening to me,” she said. “When I no longer had pain, I was so overwhelmed I just started sobbing. After so many years of pain, I am so thankful. I even gave Dr. Bazarek a big hug after my surgery.”

Throughout her healthcare journey, Linda credits her husband, Bryan, for his unwavering support.

“Whenever I started to lose hope, he promised we would find the right doctors,” she said. “He never gave up. He took me to so many appointments and tried everything – from different mattresses to a hot tub – just to help ease my pain and help me get a little bit of sleep.”

Today, Linda is experiencing something she hasn’t experienced in decades: true rest.

She can now fall asleep fully – and even remembers her dreams, something she had never experienced due to years of disrupted sleep due to pain.

Linda and Bryan, high school sweethearts, will celebrate 48 years of marriage this summer. Together, they have two daughters, four grandchildren and one great-grandson.

Now, Linda looks forward to spending time and traveling with her family – and is excited to be able to do it all pain-free.