Here we present challenging spine cases, including history,
physical exam, and images. We then suggest various treatment options
and ask for your suggested treatment.
physical exam, and images. We then suggest various treatment options
and ask for your suggested treatment.
The patient is a 75-year-old male, who is status post laminectomy and fusion at C2-C5. His pain has worsened and other symptoms have led to his inability to ambulate.
The patient rates her pain as 7/10 and exhibits decreased active lumbar range of motion in all planes. She has not been responsive to epidural and facet injections.
The aftermath and treatment of a patient who sustained a traumatic lumbar bullet injury.
Although the patient has reported intermittent low back pain during years past, now her pain has become constant but does not radiate.
The patient is a truck driver who presents with a new onset of low back pain two years after spinal fusion.
The patient is a 62-year-old make with a three year history of low back pain that prevents normal activities. Although leg pain is minimal, it is increased with activity and decreases when lying down
The patient is taking oral morphine and hydrocodone for pain control. However back and radicular leg pain persists.
After prior lumbar microdiscectomy procedures (years ago), both at L5-L6, the patient presents with chronic low back pain.
This 60-year-old female presents with neck pain, hand numbness, radiculopathy, and hyper-reflexia.
Two years ago, the patient underwent L5-S1 recurrent disc excision that provided relief of radicular pain. She now presents with worsening low back pain.
The patient, a 44-years-old female and professional water skier, presents with 80% low back pain and 20% leg pain in a L5 distribution.
The patient is a 57-year-old male with progressive cervical myelopathy who has been ambulating with a walker during the past four weeks.
The patient, a 59-year-old female, presents with neck and arm pain that was not effectively relieved by interlaminar epidural steroid injections and physical therapy.
This 14-year-old patient presents with neck pain and headaches for five months. She recently experienced upper and lower extremity weakness.
The patient previously underwent lumbar microendoscopic discectomy two years ago and was doing very well until he fell down a flight of stairs.
This young man's chances for a professional career as a basketball player is jeopardized by low back pain.
This young female presents with a rapidly progressive large scoliosis and significant cardiopulmonary disease.
The patient is a 21-year-old male daycare teacher who presents with intermittent right greater than left back pain. His symptoms are aggravated with bending, sitting and rising from a seated position
The patient has subluxations at L3-L4, fixed tilt at L4-L5, and disc degeneration at all lumbar levels. Spinal stenosis is noted at many lumbar levels.
The patient was referred by a spine surgeon for a definitive reconstructive procedure to treat her progressive lumbar deformity.
The patient is a 13-year-old girl with progressive lumbar / thoracolumbar idiopathic scoliosis who failed bracing.
This case illustrates the complex nature of sagittal spinal imbalance including a shift in her center sacral line secondary to multi-level degenerative lumbar discs.
This case of a middle-aged female, who underwent non-instrumented fusion to treat scoliosis, illustrates classic flatback syndrome.
Atlanto-occipital dislocations continue to be associated with high morbidity and mortality rates. The authors report on how early detection and good communication among disciplines can favorably impa
The patient is a 74-year-old pediatrician who upper extremity symptoms have progressed over a 6-month time period.
The patient is a 15-year-old boy with neurofibromatosis who fell while skateboarding and suffered temporary quadriplegia.
The patient presents with a 1-year history of axial low back pain and primarily, right leg sciatica. He describes his pain as 50% back pain and 50% leg pain.
This 76-year-old female presented with debilitating back pain, sagittal imbalance, and neurogenic claudication.
The patient presents with a 2-year history of neck and bilateral arm pain, right greater than left.
After a minor fall, the patient presents with severe sacral area pain and urinary incontinence.
Previous surgery relieved the patient's left leg pain but, postoperatively, he experienced new right leg pain described as radicular and electric in nature.
In this case, a young male sustains a cervicothoracic fracture dislocation and profound spinal cord injury.
This elderly female previously underwent a T10-S1 fusion at another institution and presents with postural change and increased back pain.
A 70-year-old female presents with significant back and leg pain. Overall, her sagittal imbalance is fair and she is unable to maintain posture.
This 26-year-old male, who previously underwent discectomy for radicular leg pain, now presents with progressive back pain.
The patient is a 44-year-old female diagnosed with adjacent segment degeneration after prior Harrington rod treatment.
The patient is a 76-year-old male whose gait is broad-based and unsteady; he cannot tandem walk.
This 67-year-old male presented with neck pain with mild radiation into both shoulders. He had slight difficulty with tandem gait.
Presenting with a 10-week history of left leg and back pain, this 42-year-old male described his pain as posterior left thigh, calf, and ankle.
The patient is a 51-year-old male who presents with lumbar and leg pain secondary to lumbosacral neuritis and post-laminectomy (failed back surgery) syndrome.
This older patient presented with a 4-year history of increasing back and severe leg pain with bilateral quacricep weakness.
This 16-year-old football player presents with severe neck pain and transient quadriparesis following a tackle.
The patient is a 32-year-old who underwent in situ fusion for grade II spondylolisthesis at age 16. She now presents with increasing low back pain with radiculopathy.
The 44-year-old's cervical radiographs indicate degenerative changes and loss of disc space with segmental kyphosis.
Periodic flare-up of low back pain in the past was resolved with abdominal exercises, which now hurt instead of help.
This 29-year-old former college football player presented with sharp stabbing pain in the upper lumbar spine.
The patient is a 45-year-old male with a 3-month history of neck, shoulder and arm pain.
The patient is a 24-year-old woman, who was a rear passenger (properly restrained) in a high-speed motor vehicle accident.
A case involving progressive cervical myelopathy with pannus at C1-C2 level with significant cord compression and subaxial spondylosis with cord compression.
A 5-year-old male, with an uncharacterized congenital myopathy, presented for increasing spinal deformity.
This is an unusual case of a 30-year-old male diagnosed with SAPHO.
A 24-year-old male with back pain that radiates to the left buttock, leg and great toe, rates his pain at 7/10.
During the course of treatment, this 63-year-old man developed severe low back pain, recurrent fevers, and intermittent bacteremia.
This relatively young man (34-years-old) is diagnosed with cervical spondylotic myelopathy with associated left C7 radiculopathy.
Case about a 32-year-old female equestrienne with incapacitating low back pain unresponsive to non-surgical care.
This case is about a 79-year-old man whose fall caused an L1 burst fracture. Case details, treatment, and discussion included.
This case study details treatment of a 16-year-old female with a grade 3 spondylolisthesis.
The 55-year-old patient suffered an L1 burst fracture in an ATV accident.
Doctors Daniel K. Park and Howard S. An present primary chondrosarcoma; a rare condition and few reports exist beyond this case.
A 17-year-old male soccer player, who landed awkwardly during a game, presented with a 6-month history of increasing low back and buttock pain. Presented is the patient's history, physical exam, diag
The patient is a 90-year-old male with a long history of intermittent low back pain that was well-controlled for years after a L3-L5 laminectomy. During the past 9-months, the patient’s low...
The patient is a 59 year-old male, non-smoker, and of acceptable weight level. The patient presented in 2006 with severe, “unacceptable” low back pain, and early fatigue marked by diminished...
This 30 year-old female presented with low back pain that started 6 months ago. Activity makes her pain worse. She reports back pain as 8/10 and thigh pain as 5/10 without pain distal to the...
This 70 year-old female presented reporting increasing neck and periscapular pain over several years. The patient underwent a C5-C7 ACDF 11 years earlier. Her pain intensified and radiated...
The patient is a 31-year-old male with back and right lower extremity pain. His pain started 6 months ago and is unrelated to trauma. He feels the pain is 20% back-related and 80%...
The patient is a 13-year-old male who feels mid-thoracic pain. An active junior high student who enjoys playing basketball, 7 months ago he woke up with back pain. Since then, the pain has...
A 53-year-old, nonsmoking woman came to the clinic with increasing back and right leg pain despite undergoing an L4-S1 Transforaminal Lumbar Interbody Fusion (TLIF) and lateral mass fusion with...
A 65-year old male with multiple medical problems reports a long history of low back and leg pain with difficulty walking upright, especially during the last several months.
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This information is not designed to replace a physician's independent judgment about the appropriateness or risks of a procedure for a given patient. Always consult your doctor about your medical conditions or back problem. SpineUniverse does not provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Use of the SpineUniverse.com site is conditional upon your acceptance of our User Agreement
This information is not designed to replace a physician's independent judgment about the appropriateness or risks of a procedure for a given patient. Always consult your doctor about your medical conditions or back problem. SpineUniverse does not provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Use of the SpineUniverse.com site is conditional upon your acceptance of our User Agreement
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