STMSS05 - Dr. Eugene Lipov - Stellate Ganglion Block for PTSD

Seeking the Military Suicide Solution

About Today’s Guest:

Dr. Eugene Lipov is board certified in Anesthesiology and Pain Management and has been practicing in the field of pain medicine since 1990. He completed Northwestern Medical School in 1984, Anesthesia Residency at University of Illinois in 1989, and Advanced Pain Training in 1990.

Dr. Lipov pioneered adaption of a sympathetic block in the neck called Stellate Ganglion Block (SGB) for treating Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and hot flashes. Considering current efficacy of PTSD treatment is under 30 percent, using pharmaceuticals and psycho therapy, SGB’s success rate of 85 percent is a major game-changer.

So far, he and his team have treated over 200 veterans. Their foundation has covered the cost of treatment and travel of 100 veterans. They have also treated several hundred civilian patients with diagnosis of PTSD from all over the world. They have successfully treated military-related PTSD, Military Sexual Trauma (MST), PTSD due to being a first responder, non-military sexual trauma, pediatric sexual trauma, and PTSD from other traumatic events.

Additionally Dr. Lipov treats pain patients at Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center, and at his private practice, Advanced Pain Center.

Links Mentioned in this Episode:

List of Mayor's and Governor's Challenge Partners

Dr. Lipov's websites:

www.sgbptsd.com

Erase PTSD Now

Episode Sponsor:

milMedia Group

Shauna's latest book: Beyond the Military: A Leader's Handbook for Warrior Reintegration

Duane's latest book: Military in the Rear View Mirror: Mental Health and Wellness in Post-Military Life

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Many thanks,

Duane and Shauna

Episode Transcript:

Duane France (00:00):

Welcome to Episode Five of the Seeking the Military Suicide Solution podcast brought to you by the Military Times. I'm Duane France.

Shauna Springer (00:07):

And I'm Doc Shauna Springer.

New Speaker (00:08):

And we'd like to thank you for taking the time to learn more about suicide in the military affiliated population. I'd like to thank our sponsors, milMedia Group. milMedia Group is a proven web design and digital media agency specializing in supporting organizations focusing on the military population. Find more about them at www.milmediagroup.com.

New Speaker (00:34):

Thanks again to everybody for joining us to listen to the conversation about service member veteran and military family suicide. Our guest today is Dr. Eugene Lipov Shauna, what would you like to tell us about Gene?

Shauna Springer (00:45):

Yeah. So Dr. Eugene Lipov is a board certified physician in anesthesiology and pain management who's been practicing in the field of pain management since 1990. He's an assistant professor of surgery at University of Illinois, completing medical school at Northwestern in 1984, was an anesthesia residency at university of Illinois in 1989, and advanced pain training in 1990. But Dr. Lipov, more than anything is a pioneer and he's really pioneered the adaptation of a sympathetic block in the neck called stellate ganglion block, SGB, as it's known for treating post traumatic stress. In the book Outliers. Malcolm Gladwell talks about this idea of the 10,000 hour rule, and he says that the key to achieving world-class expertise in any skill is to a large extent, a matter of practicing the correct way for over around 10,000 hours. And by that definition, Dr. Lipov is a master three or four times over when it comes to this.

Shauna Springer (01:50):

So he's been doing SGB over the course of his 30 years in the field and since he adapted it for use with PTS, he's done hundreds of stellate ganglion block procedures over 14 years with those who have served in the military. So because of this, his methods and his understanding are really light years ahead of anyone else in the field. In the past year, I've personally referred about 20 patients to him. And as you know, Duane, I'm not really a true believer by nature, but I have to say what I've observed is really compelling. His treatment with stellate ganglion block has transformed the lives of everyone I've referred to him. And he's literally saved the lives of a few of my prior patients. There are several who have called me in a state of suicidal crisis who are now feeling lasting relief from their symptoms, who view the future in a totally different way, much more hopeful now. So this may be one of the most important conversations we host on this podcast. But I'm excited to get into it. And you know, I really like brave people and so I'm honored that Dr. Lipov Is joining us for this conversation.

Duane France (03:00):

Well, I agree. As I often say to people is you know, suicide is not the problem to be solved. It's the symptom of an underlying issue. And for many veterans who are in a place of suicidal crisis, those underlying issues are suffering with things like post traumatic stress and the increased anxiety and the hypervigilance and things like that. And so Dr. Lipov is not someone who would normally be on a list of suicide prevention experts. He would be on this list of people that are treating one of the conditions that leads to suicide. This is what we wanted to do is bring somebody on the show that, look, this is a novel, unique intervention that is actually working that this can be one piece of the puzzle. So really appreciated my conversation with Gene. Let's get into that and we'll come back afterwards to pull out some of the key points.

Duane France (04:00):

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