Treating Spondylolisthesis: What Should The Spinal Canal Look Like?
Pretty good is a great adjective until it falls before the word "spondylolisthesis." In the spinal canal, when the nerve roots start to curl before the lesion, you know it's…
Treating Spondylolisthesis with a Laminectomy
The theme today is tight. (And unfortunately, by "tight" I don't mean "cool".) This young and active octogenarian has spondylolisthesis – where a vertebra slips forward onto the vertebra below…
Treating Spondylolisthesis in 2025 (Part 2/5): Spinal Fusions
(Part 2/5) When I was a young spine surgeon in the late 1980s, a patient with degenerative spondylolisthesis typically ended up with a laminectomy and spinal fusion. Cue the controversy.…
Treating Spondylolisthesis in 2025 (Part 1/5)
(Part 1/5) I'm looking at an MRI and Xrays for a patient who had an endoscopic transforaminal decompression. This active professional led a vigorous lifestyle until excruciating sciatica, spondylolisthesis, and…
Spondylolisthesis: Standing Scans vs Supine Scans
Performing multiple studies isn't just good to see how a spine problem worsens over time, it's also good for comparing scans when a patient is standing vs supine (lying on…
Add TLIF to Your Spine Surgery Toolbelt
(Part 4/4) Here's a new acronym to add to your spine surgery toolbelt: TLIF! Let's break this term down as I dive into the last of four cases – a…
Lifting in the Gym and the OR!
I don't only lift in the gym, I also lift in the OR! For this patient with spondylolisthesis at L5-S1 with noticeable modic signs, I performed an interbody posterior fusion…
4-Level Anterior Cervical Fusion
This patient has advanced cervical spondylolisthesis – where one vertebrae slips forward out of alignment onto another – resulting in horrible neck pain and headaches. Check out this before and…
Minimally Invasive Spinal Fusion
Numbness and tingling in the legs combined with lower back pain is usually a sign of a problem. In this case, it turned out to be a herniated disc at…
Treating Spondylolisthesis (Part 2/2)
(Part 2/2) 3D spins allow me to get a complete view of the spine to confirm a surgery has been completed as intended. For this patient suffering from spondylolisthesis and…