Can anybody tell me what would needed to be done to fix the following complications of shunting of NPH? And also which ones would result in not being able to be shunted again? My family member is getting one and I’ve reading up on it, but I really want to know what happens if there […]

For my story.. I originally developed mild back pain in the summer of 2000 in Airborne School for the United States Army. At the time i just figured it was from the constant jarring motion and repetetively striking the ground feet first from a height of 3-4 feet. The pain was managable but pretty severe. […]

my wife (28) and i (37) were involved in a motor vehicle accident last thanksgiving. we hydroplaned and stuck a concrete highway divider at high speed, ~50 mph. we both suffered compression fractures of L1, my wife also had ligament damage to T12 along with a dislocated and fractured right foot. neither of us had […]

My sister has a brain abscess that originally was located in the center of the brain and she developed spinal meningitis. A week ago, the CAT scan showed the abscess had moved to the “right ventricle”. The doctors are puzzled about the bacteria and are unable to find out what the bacteria is and have […]

Hi,
On Christmas Day I was suddenly hit with a head pain that my husband had to help me to a chair ..I was holding my head i could not scream the pain was bad!!! But then my left arm had a shooting pain that made me unable to use my hand was like paralized.My husband […]

I had been experiencing joint pain for over 6 months and in December the doctor precribed 5mg of predisone 3 times a day. I started taking the predisone on Dec 18th and on Dec 20th I started to have a very strange sensation which I thought was a reaction to the drug. I was feeling […]

Dear Dr. Joshua, I had surgery 12/04 to remove a benign choriod plexus papilloma in the fourth ventrical. I now suffer from double vision, lack of coordination (left side) and poor balance. All of which have improved slightly, can I expect further improvement after two years?
How often should I have follow-up MRI’s? […]

After suffering an injury in October,2006, I had an MRI done. The results of the MRI were:
At the C5/C6 level, there is a bulging disk which is asymmetric to the left. This is superimposed in bilateral uncinate hypertrophy and results in mild to moderate central and bilateral neural foraminal stenosis.
At the C6/C7 level, […]

By way of brief background, I am young (24 year old male), athletic (former personal trainer), do not smoke, use drugs or drink heavily, and have no medical history of any clinically significant illness or injury. I have been taking low doses of Adderall (10mg or less) occasionally for the last 3 years. […]

Hi Doctor Joshua
please can you give me some advice, Im having a second cranioplasty operation in a few months to fill a defect which I was left with after a tumor removal in 1999 when I was 16. In May last year ( o6) I had a titanium plate fitted to the side of my […]

Dear Dr. Joshua,
I have been experiencing very severe pain starting in my neck, and radiating across my shoulder, down my arm and into my thumb. This started just before Christmas. I have been seeing my Chiropoactor who suggests that I have a “C6 impingement”, but based on my pain level, he suggested I go to […]

I have had neck/back pain since a young child. I am 31 now. I had whiplash from being startled by a spider in June. I started doing Yoga which helped until Sept. when I started having severe muscle cramps in my legs and feet. My hand began to “wobble” back and forth when I would […]

I was in a bad car accident 15 months ago and still have burning and tingling in my left arm down to my thumb and shoulder pain. Two orthopaedic dr’s said nothing wrong with arm and that the only damage to my discs is normal degenerative damage not caused by accident and though an MRI […]

Hi Doctor, in july I underwent a radical procedure where my inguinal nerve was cut without my prior consent.
I am wondering if it is possible for a neurologist to get back in there and reconnect it? and if so is there any deadline from the surgery for it to remain a posibility?
Thank you.
Doctor Sinuhe […]

I am a 26 year old female who suffered a compression fracture of my L1 vertebra approx. 6 weeks ago due to a MVA. I was pain free after two weeks discontiuned use of my TLSO back brace a few days ago, which was recommended for me to wear for three months. Some information I […]

Let me start by saying, off and on for most of my adult life (I am 35) I have had passing out spells and migraines…sometimes together, sometimes totally unrelated to one another. In the past couple of years I have started having what my husband believes to be seizures. I always have a horrible headache […]

My wife, 51, began experiencing tingling/numbness in RT hand and arm … MRI showed stenosis at c4-5, c5-6, c6-7 … neurosurgeon performed “anterior cervical discectomy and interbody fusion, c4-5, c5-6, c6-7 with bone grafts from the right iliac crest.” Immediately when she awoke in recovery she couldn’t feel her legs. Stat x-ray and […]

Dear Dr. Joshua,
I had a full brain MRI and was told I have hydromyelia of the middle of my spinal canal. it is a smaller syrinx and and I have had this for 4 years but it has gotten a little larger now. I am experiencing tingling, numbness fingers, toes. I have burned […]

Does saddle area numbness resolve over time? My understanding is that numbness and muscle weakness are both caused by nerve compression. I had surgery to decompress the nerves and my muscle weakness is improving, but the numbness has not changed. If both symptoms are caused by nerve compression and the surgery decompressed […]

This question and answer has been moved to the new Spinal Fusion Surgery informational site.
Spinal Fusion Surgery Systems: Dynesys

Degenerative Disk Disease - Spine MRI explanation - Degenerative Disc Disease
Hello I am 44 yr old woman who has multiple sclerosis. I suffer from horrible chronic back pain. Below is results from my mri. Does anyone recognise what any of it means??? Looks greek to me! Does it seem like surgery would fix any of […]

> I have cervical fusion at my c5-c6 and c6-c7 with
> metal plate. my last surgery was in 2001 on my c6-c7.
>
> I had an MRI done April of 2006 which shows at my
> c4-c5 a large broad-based posterior disk osteophyte
> bulge with mild bilateral neural foraminal narrowing
> and severe canal stenosis. There is herniated […]

Dr. Joshua - can you please tell me how to research the new minimally invasive surgerys? The longevity etc. - If they really work etc in the long term, or do we know yet?
I talked to the spine institute in florida, and they will review my MRI for a second opinion. The next day they […]

I have cervical fusion at my c5-c6 and c6-c7 with metal plate. my last surgery was in 2001 on my c6-c7.
I had an MRI done April of 2006 which shows at my c4-c5 a large broad-based posterior disk osteophyte bulge with mild bilateral neural foraminal narrowing and severe canal stenosis. There is herniated nucleus pulposus,centrally. […]

Please forgive the length of this post, I want to make sure I give you all of the information. Also, my wife is a neuro nurse, so I know just enough to be dangerous.
4 weeks ago, my friend complained to his wife that he thought he had the flu. Over the next two days, he […]

I have been diagnosed with Pseudo Tumor Cerebi roughly 2 years ago (due to my weight and being on bith control). I had an MRI (which was normal) and a spinal tap(which they said was in the higher, normal range). I was prescribed Diamox 500mg. They worked wonders (but the manufacturer has […]

Dr Joshua-
I am a 27 year old male with a huge concern. I am worried about a brain tumor. Now, I rarely get headaches and I don’t think I have gotten a migraine in my life that I could remember. No vomitting or anything like that. Vision is ok as well.dizziness though one day like […]

I have been having shoulder problems for many years. For the last couple of months, the top of my shoulder blade hurts. I can push in between the joints and feel the pain. But, the last couple of days the pain runs from my shoulder to by elbow and into the joints […]

My daughter will be 3 in Dec, however she has been experiencing strange illnesses for over a yr.Last yr she woke “zoning” out, but awake,put in bath to pep her up and I noticed her feet and legs were blue.I dressed her,assuming she was cold,brought her down to her high chair when I noticed her […]

Hi, I am a 36 year old female. I am having major problems and really want to find relief. My injury began 17 years ago,giving birth to my son, herniated L4L5 S1. Was bad off couldn’t walk etc. Neurosurgeon refused surgery, said I was to young (19) I went through extensive therapy, work hardening and […]

I have chronic pain at T8 area which never moves and wraps around to the end of the rib on the right side. i have had MRI/CT scans, which shows a disc bulge at T2 and a hemangioma at T8. I have had 2 injections, one in the fascia around the vertebrae at […]

I am female and 47. I have weakness in my left leg and have been progressively having more pain walking. I also have occasional pain in my left knee. An MRI reveals a pinched nerve at L2. My neurologist would like me to have a myelogram. I am deathly afraid of the epidural involved. 15 […]

How valid is a CT scan result? Isn’t it possible that if , let’s say an aneurysm, is very tiny it may not show up? I have a metal clip, so MRI’s are no good for me. I had an AVM removed years ago. I had a migraine last year that was the worse I […]

Dear Doctor, 
 
I am 24 years old and I am involved in a number of active and extreme sports. I have not had any problems with my back up until now but I have been adviced not to do certain sports and I wanted to know the reason for this. 
 
My friend has informed me that bungee […]

I have severe scoliosis, 70 degree curvature. I would like to know where and who I should see in the USA to have this problem corrected. Who is the best surgeon in this field?
Dr.Sinuhe Answers:
Dear Janice,
Thanks for your question.
Who is “the best” is impossible to say, since that obviously depends on the definition. In […]

My father who is 55,undergone a surgery for blood clot in brain almost a year back (it was a very sudden operation).Operation was very successful and he recovered within 15 days.During this operation we came to know,that he had High blood pressure and Sugar(diabetics) too (may be they where from longtime ,but we did’nt tested […]

I am a 37 year old female from Kentucky. For the past two years I have been suffering from a constant headache, pain in the back of my neck, tingling in my left arm and leg, dizziness, buzzing tongue, facial pain, visual disturbances, and cognitive problems (short term memory loss, trouble finding words, etc.) […]

Dear Dr. Joshua,  I’m 34 years old. I’ve been experiencing tingling/ pins and needles in my hands - pinky and ring fingers, and a bit up the forearm. It started about 3 years ago, while I was pregnant, and just came on if I fell asleep on my back. The tingling is now constant, worse […]

This question and answer have been moved to:
Chronic Back Pain and Spinal Surgery

Hi Doctor: I am a 39 yr old RN and I have an important question to ask you. 
 
In 2002, I had C6-C7 fusion with plate and screws. Now I have a herniation at C5-C6 with radicular pain. My question, is it common for disks above or below a fusion to herniate?
Dr. Joshua’s Answer:
Thank […]

I’m a 50 year old male in good health and never been hospitalized. About 6 days ago I was having trouble raising my right arm over my head. I realized I couldn’t even flex my bicep, and I couldn’t raise the arm at all. A week before that my right shoulder was aching near my […]