The PLDD was invented by Prof. Daniel S. J. Choy (now Emeritus Professor of Medicine at Columbia University in New York) in the mid-1980s. The American Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the PLDD, after 5 years of investigations, in 1991. The first in vivo case of PLDD was performed in February 1986 at the Graz Department of Neurosurgery at the University (Austria) by Prof. Danil Choy and Prof. Peter Ascher (head of the same Department). Since then to date it is estimated that mre than  150,000 PLDDs have been practically all over the world. The first to introduce PLDD in Europe was in 1991 Dr. Johannes Hellinger (Munich, Germany).

Dr. Gian Paolo Tassi carried out 3 long time training sessions to learn PLDD at the Laser Spine Center in New York under the supervision of Prof. Daniel Choy (who retired in 2011 at the age of 85). Prof. Daniel Choy officially appointed Dr. Gian Paolo Tassi, in September 2007, as Director of the European Partners of the Laser Spine Center in New York (closed in 2011 when  Prof. Choy retired). Dr. Gian Paolo Tassi was the first to introduce PLDD in Italy (second in Europe) in December 2002. From December 2002 till today (December 2018), Dr. Gian Paolo Tassi has performed more than 4,000 PLDD and has the largest experience in the world after Prof. Daniel SJ Choy (8,200 cases) and Dr. Johammes Hellinger (11,000 cases) retired.

The official web site of Laser Spine Center, USA

Download The Professor Daniel Choy's recommendation letter to dr. Gian Paolo Tassi