Pain Management in Dawsonville, GA

Summit Spine & Joint Centers’ Dawsonville office is on Highway 53 East, serving Dawson County and its neighbors in Forsyth, Hall, Lumpkin and Pickens counties. Patients come from Dawsonville, Dahlonega and Cleveland, as well as communities like Dawson Forest, Gold Creek and Sweetwater Preserve, which keeps specialist pain care close to home in the North Georgia foothills.

Two physicians see patients here. Dr. Sri Mandyam is Summit Spine’s Chief Medical Officer and a double board-certified anesthesiologist and interventional pain physician. He earned his medical degree at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, completed his anesthesiology residency at the University of Texas at Houston, and trained at the University of Utah in neuromodulation, vertebral augmentation and radiofrequency techniques. Before joining Summit Spine, he served as Medical Director at Advanced Pain Care in Austin, Texas.

Dr. Oluwasegun Lijofi, who also sees patients at Summit Spine’s Johns Creek office, brings a family medicine background and an interventional pain fellowship from the University of Mississippi Medical Center. Having an anesthesiologist and a family-medicine-trained pain physician on the same team gives Dawsonville patients two perspectives on a difficult case, especially when pain involves more than one part of the spine.

Conditions

Dawsonville patients are treated for a wide range of conditions, including:

• Herniated Disc: a disc that has bulged or ruptured and is pressing on a nearby nerve.
• Degenerative Disc Disease: age-related wear on the spinal discs that can cause stiffness and nerve irritation.
• Lumbar Radiculopathy (Sciatica): a pinched nerve in the lower back that sends pain, numbness or tingling down one leg.
• Spinal Stenosis: narrowing of the spinal canal that squeezes the nerves inside it, often worse when standing or walking.
• Facet Joint Pain: inflammation in the small joints that let the spine bend and twist.
• Back Pain: lower or upper back pain that hasn’t eased with rest, medication or physical therapy.
• Post-Laminectomy Syndrome (Failed Back Syndrome): back or leg pain that continues or returns after spine surgery.
• Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS): burning nerve pain that persists long after the injury that triggered it has healed.
• Fibromyalgia: widespread pain and tenderness that often comes with fatigue and poor sleep.

Treatments

The Dawsonville office offers all 19 non-surgical treatments listed below:

• Lumbar Epidural Steroid Injection: an anti-inflammatory injection for lower back pain and sciatica.
• Lumbar Transforaminal Epidural Steroid Injection: steroid guided to the exact nerve root that is irritated.
• Cervical Epidural Steroid Injection: an anti-inflammatory injection for neck pain and pain that travels into the arms.
• Facet Joint Injections: medication placed directly into the small joints of the spine to reduce inflammation.
• Medial Branch Block: a diagnostic injection that shows which facet joints are behind the pain.
• Lumbar Radiofrequency Neurotomy: heat applied to the small nerves of the lower-back joints, with relief that can last several months.
• Cervical Facet Radiofrequency Neurotomy: uses heat to quiet the nerves serving painful joints in the neck.
• Radiofrequency Ablation (RFA): uses heat to interrupt a nerve’s pain signals.
• Rhizotomy: uses controlled heat to disable the nerve supply to a painful joint.
• Sacroiliac Joint Steroid Injection: treats pain where the spine meets the pelvis.
• Genicular Radiofrequency Ablation: targets the nerves that carry chronic knee pain signals.
• MILD: a minimally invasive outpatient procedure for lumbar spinal stenosis that leaves no implant behind.
• Vertiflex Superion: a small spacer implant that relieves stenosis pain when standing or walking.
• Discography: a diagnostic test that helps identify which disc is causing pain.
• Lumbar Sympathetic Block: an injection that can ease CRPS and other nerve pain in the legs.
• Stellate Ganglion Block: an injection for nerve pain in the head, neck, chest or arms.
• Celiac Plexus Block: a nerve block for chronic pain in the upper abdomen, including pancreatic pain.
• Intrathecal Pump Implant: a small implanted pump that delivers pain medication directly into the spinal fluid.
• Back Pain Treatment: a care plan built from the options above, matched to what is causing the pain.

Providers

Two physicians currently see patients at the Dawsonville office:

• Dr. Sri Mandyam: Summit Spine’s Chief Medical Officer, double board certified in anesthesiology and interventional pain management, with an ACGME-accredited fellowship from the University of Utah.
• Dr. Oluwasegun Lijofi: board certified in family medicine with an interventional pain fellowship, who splits his time between Dawsonville and other Summit Spine offices, including Johns Creek.

Full bios are linked above.

We accept all major commercial insurance carriers and Medicare. If you don’t see your plan listed, please contact our office at (844) 972-7752. The managed care health insurance market changes rapidly, and specific coverage questions should be discussed directly with your insurance company or our knowledgeable staff.