Billie Eilish recently told Vogue she’s been suffering with chronic pain since she was nine years old. She said for years she’s felt like she’s at war with her own body.
Jamie Stern, a 39-year-old mom and breast cancer survivor, also knows what it means to live with chronic pain. After undergoing a double mastectomy she developed lymphedema, a frequently overlooked condition that left her with weakness in her arm. For more than two years she saw doctors but was unable to find an effective solution.
Both stories reflect a larger issue: chronic pain is a worldwide epidemic disproportionately affecting women, yet largely ignored by the medical community.
The Invisible Epidemic of Chronic Pain
According to a recent article in The New York Times Magazine, approximately 100 million Americans experience chronic pain—more than those affected by diabetes, heart disease and cancer combined. Globally, that number reaches two billion people. Women bear the brunt of this burden, making up 70% of chronic pain sufferers.
Despite its prevalence, chronic pain remains a low priority within the medical field. Issues like nerve pain, numbness and lymphedema significantly impact a patient’s quality of life, yet many sufferers are dismissed because their symptoms are not considered urgent or are difficult to diagnose. The medical industry’s standard of care is to “manage” pain rather than cure it—a reality Stern refused to accept.
ARSA: Pioneering a New Approach to Chronic Pain
Dr. Andrew Elkwood, a double board-certified general and plastic surgeon with an MBA from Columbia University, is the founder of the nation’s largest plastic surgery practice specializing in complex reconstructive procedures. Through his work, he identified a critical need for a more comprehensive approach to treating chronic pain. After working to support advanced research and specialized surgeries within his own practice, Dr. Elkwood realized the potential for a broader network of like-minded surgeons—and thus The Advanced Reconstructive Surgery Alliance, or ARSA, was born.
ARSA is an alliance of more than 80 specialized surgeons from across the country, all of whom are skilled in microsurgical techniques required to cure complex conditions that often arise after primary treatments. ARSA provides its doctors with the administrative, operational and research support they need to focus on what they do best – advance research in their fields and heal their patients. And importantly, the alliance is run by Elkwood himself, a practicing surgeon.
A Commitment to Cures, Not Compromise
While Dr. Elkwood primarily specializes in conditions involving pelvic nerves, ARSA practitioners specialize in a wide range of other conditions including joint pain, migraine headaches, neuropathy and neuralgia. In most cases, the patients come to ARSA after having already been told their problems can’t be fixed.
Lymphedema is another overlooked condition that ARSA physicians address. Lymphedema is common after mastectomy surgery and the lymphatic fluid buildup can be painful. According to The New York Times Magazine, 40-60% of mastectomy patients develop severe chronic pain, often comparable to the pain experienced by amputees. ARSA’s Dr. Joseph Dayan is working to change that.
“It’s not just about treating the cancer—but about living and thriving after the cancer treatment,” Dr. Dayan says. His affiliation with ARSA has allowed him to collaborate with scientists and medical technologists around the world, leading to important advances in microsurgical techniques.
Dr. Dayan is also pioneering the use of GLP-1 receptor agonists (commonly known as Ozempic, and similar weight-loss drugs) to help treat lymphedema. Stern was one of the first patients to benefit from this new approach. Having been told by other doctors that her condition was inoperable, Stern worked with Dr. Dayan to find a solution. “There was something in the GLP-1 injections that made my lymphatic channel visible and workable,” she says. This breakthrough enabled Dr. Dayan to perform a lymphatic bypass surgery, and the results are promising. While only a few months post surgery, Stern already has more mobility and strength in her arm.
Academy Award winner and two-time cancer survivor Kathy Bates also suffers from lymphedema. She calls the condition “a souvenir you definitely don’t want.” “I really felt that life was over for me,” she told People of her initial lymphedema diagnosis. Now she advocates for others. She and Dr. Dayan recently joined forces in Washington, D.C. to advocate for insurance coverage for patients with lymphedema and funding for lymphedema research.
Providing Elevated Specialized Care to Chronic Pain Sufferers
Chronic pain sufferers are frequently gaslit or dismissed, with patients often falling into “the mystery bucket”, according to The New York Times Magazine’s Jennifer Kahn. “Chronic pain requires individualized treatment plans and ongoing support,” Kahn said. Being able to provide this individualized, patient-centric care is what attracted breast surgeon Dr. Anjeanette Brown to ARSA.
Dr. Brown says hospital systems impose rigid referral networks on their doctors. “If I’m the head of breast surgery at a hospital, I know my marching orders,” Dr. Brown explains. “I need to send my patients to the hospital’s medical oncologists, radiation oncologists and plastic surgeons, even if I know someone else would be a better fit.”
By contrast, ARSA allows her to collaborate freely with other doctors and researchers and customize her treatment plans based on patient needs. Dr. Brown sees this as a game-changer, allowing her to provide the kind of highly personalized, innovative care that is typically only available at pricy concierge practices.
A Future Without Chronic Pain
“For me, and for everyone else who has lost months or years or decades of their life to pain, the future can’t come soon enough,” wrote Kahn. ARSA’s doctors are rewriting the future for millions of chronic pain sufferers. Their work offers more than just hope—it’s delivering real solutions. For those who have been told their pain is something they must simply endure, ARSA’s innovations prove that relief is possible, and a future free from chronic pain may be within reach.