April 28, 2023
The actual structural cause of lumbar thecal sac compression can vary in degenerative spondylolisthesis and stenosis. The culprits are commonly thickened ligamentum flavum or severe facet […]
March 13, 2023
After 25 years in practice, I still find it challenging, but quite rewarding: removing degenerative material off the dural membrane in the lumbar spine. Some people […]
October 6, 2022
Revision lumbar spine surgery is amongst the most difficult of surgeries, not just in spine surgery, but of all categories of surgery. I don’t believe many […]
August 23, 2022
Patients can present with all kinds of herniated discs that occur in many different locations in the lumbar spine. I tell patients that the disc is […]
July 22, 2022
Thoracic stenosis is far less common than lumbar stenosis. Whereas the symptoms of lumbar stenosis are usually well-defined, thoracic stenosis can act like a great mimicker, […]
July 2, 2022
People are obsessed with cysts! When you think about it, the body likes to form cysts. Why does this happen? Cysts can form just about anywhere […]
June 10, 2022
Patients sometimes have subtle anatomical abnormalities you discover as you investigate their problem. And sometimes these findings can answer the why and the how as to […]
May 27, 2022
Nervous tissue is soft. The thecal sac is surrounded by a rigid bony ring which forms the spinal canal. Any mass that fills the very small […]
May 11, 2022
Here is a tough case: This is a 72 year-old male who presented with several months of progressive neck pain without symptoms of the arms or […]
May 11, 2022
Patients who are morbidly obese are particularly challenging to manage with spine pathology. When these patients have low back pain and concurrent severe lumbar degeneration, it […]
May 11, 2022
This week was frantically filled with interesting spine cases that illustrate important biomechanical principles and important common problems that we face as neurosurgeons. The first was […]
May 10, 2022
Another patient followed up who I initially had seen on our NSPC mobile van at her worksite. She was 52 years-old and complained of chronic intractable […]
May 9, 2022
Yesterday I did a terrific case with my trusty orthopedic spine surgeon, Dr. Richard Obedian, with whom I have been working with as a team for […]
May 6, 2022
This next patient was a 54-year-old female who had a long history of low back pain with radiation to both legs. She had a prior L4-S1 […]
May 2, 2022
Lumbar stenosis is a fairly common condition I see in my office. Patients develop lumbar stenosis or narrowing of the spinal canal as a result of […]
April 28, 2022
Lumbar degenerative scoliosis is a tricky problem. In most cases, you are dealing with patients who are 65 and older who often present with concurrent medical […]
April 26, 2022
This 52 year-old female presents with 4 months of progressive neck pain, numbness of both hands, and difficulty using her hands and buttoning a shirt. She […]
April 22, 2022
A 69-year-old male presents with chronic low back pain that seems to improve with sitting. The patient had had a prior laminectomy for severe stenosis […]
April 18, 2022
A 35-year-old female presents with severe low back pain and progressive left leg pain. She had initially presented nine months prior with mainly low back pain […]
