Pain and Infection after Spine Surgery
It is tough to be the adult in the room. Most people only want to hear about the benefits of spine surgery. Spine surgeons chuckle about the reactions some patients have about their outcomes. If there is a good outcome, it is a miracle, a religious experience, or luck. If the outcomes are poor, […]
Do Disc Herniations Cause Pain?
Do Disk Herniations Cause Pain? The answer is maybe. There has been plenty of research on this topic, and while the exact mechanism of pain can still be debated, in general most agree the cause of pain, discomfort and radiations are secondary to three factors: 1. Chemical irritation. When a disk herniates, the soft inner […]
What is Elective Spine Surgery?
People are often confused by the term Elective Spine Surgery. The most broad definition indicates a choice to pursue surgery. So let’s try to define it in a way that everyone can understand. Naturally, there may be some nuanced differences among some stakeholders of the definition. We will try to stay within the mainstream of […]
Back Pain After Golf
Do you have Back Pain after Golf? Our practice is in Florida. And Florida has a great number of golf courses, and players. On an almost weekly basis, I will see a patient that hurt the back while playing golf. For many players, golf is their only form of exercise. So why do so many […]
Diabetes and Back Pain
Yesterday, I was asked if there is a relationship between diabetes and back pain? The short answer, in my opinion is yes. But just so we can all have a general understanding, we must first review diabetes and its effects. As many of you know, there are two forms of diabetes. Type I diabetes usually […]
I’m Stopping the Use of Discography
For many chronic back pain patients, a technique called discography has been used to determine the need for surgery. The procedure has been controversial, and a hotly debated topic by spine specialists. The procedure usually means a small needle is introduced into a disk, and chemicals (usually saline, contrast dye, and some lidocaine) […]
Recurrent Herniated Nucleus Pulposus
Statistically, Recurrent Herniated Nucleus Pulposus occur more commonly than hoped. When you have a Herniated Nucleus Pulposus, the outer fibers of your disk, or the annulus has weakened allowing a tear, and subsequent rupture of the soft nucleus material out of the disk. We can debate the cause of the weakening of the outer annulus, but usually, it […]
Surgery for Recurrent Disk Herniations
Unfortunately, even after successful lumbar discectomy surgery, there is between a 5% and 15% chance of a recurrent disk herniation at the same location. The reason is secondary to the nature, and size of the lumbar disk. Most disk herniations are pieces of annulus, endplate, and or nucleus elements of the disk. The fragments, however, are only […]
Anterior Cervical Discectomy and Fusion Results
How are the Results for Anterior Cervical Discectomy and Fusion? General consensus by most surgeons and patients report a 95%-98% success rate in terms of relief of arm pain. That statistic is very important for everyone to understand. Cervical Discectomy Surgery is successful for ARM PAIN. Unfortunately, that does not mean neck pain, or headaches. Just […]
The Cost of Medicare Spine Surgery
In this age of Healthcare cost transparency, few people really know what the US Government is really paying the doctors. In 2013, Bedlani et al published a fascination article called The Patient Perceptions of Physician Reimbursement for Spine Surgery. In the study, 200 consecutive patients of an outpatient clinic were provided an anonymous survey […]
