I have a question regarding anesthesia for surgery. I underwent a small volume liposuction surgery and was promised ‘Twilight Sedation’. I was told I would feel very sleepy and that I would not remember anything about the surgery. I also was told that this was better than General Anesthesia, safer and more comfortable and without […]

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. […]

I partially ruptured my tibia tendon on the posterior side, right at the ankle bone in 2005. My ankle was immobilized for 25 days. I was still experiencing pain after, so I took oral steroids, and then received cortisone shots (3). I was then diagnosed with tarsal tunnel syndrome. I had tarsal tunnel decompression surgery […]

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 […]

for several years now, i have been getting SEVERE cramps that go down my left side, from my hip down, I have very painful periods in the vaginal erea, it gets so bad I cant walk, ive went to several doctors, most have treated me like im just after pain pills and have told them, […]

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, […]

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 […]

My son was in a car accident a few months ago. He had his spleen removed. 6 Broken ribs and puntured lung. Then after a week. His incision got infected. The incision goes past his bellybutton because of exploring the other organs for internal bleeding. So anyway after it was infected they opened the incision […]

I was wondering if there is any relationship between breast fibroadenomas and spinal hemangiomas. I began having fibrocystic changes and the MRI showed one fibroadenmoa and a second MRI shows two fibroadenomas and a T8 spinal hemangioma. Anything concerning there? There is no follow-up just a mammogram in a year. thanks
Doctor Sinuhe Answers:
Thanks for your […]

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 […]

My father passed away on 9/30 of colon cancer, we were really close and I am depressed but getting out of it. I am on Lorazepam for the anxiety. Since his death I have had a little discomfort almost right on the bottom part of the left rib. If I stand or lay down absolutely […]

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 […]

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 […]

I’m 28 years old and here recently I have been seeing blood in my stool. Should I be worried?
Doctor Joshua’s Answer
There can be basically three types of blood in stool:
1) Bright red blood. By far the the most common reason is hemorrhoids (piles). Anal fissures are also typical causes. There are also other, more […]

hi .. i am 15 years old , i was 14 at the time .. i had pains in my stomach and it got real bad and i had been vomiting all night. so i went to the emergency room they didnt do nothing , they said i had something else. i went to my […]

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 […]

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. […]

I have a sore on my inner thigh. It normally shows up every 3 months with my cycle. It is always painfull and hard. It starts out looking like a skin blemish and then grows from there. There is pus and redness. I have no medical insurance at this time and am concerned of what […]

My husband is an amputee and he has had a terrible time with pain and the nerves balling up in his stump. It has been 5 years. He runs fever many times a nite or day then may go a day or two without. Im trying to find a great hospital or doctor who knows […]

Hello there, I am a 23 year old Military Police Officer at Ft. Bragg, NC. I have been in the army 4 1/2 years, and participated in the Iraqi invasion in 2003, to give you a little background.
In Special forces training (PLDC/BNOC to be specific) I had a very heavy rucksack about a year ago, […]

Failure to Diganose, failure to treat fractured fibula, accident injury
I have been involved in a motor vehicle accident five six weeks ago where i was struck by a car. I as admitted to the emergency room where they failed to diagnose my broken fibula. I then got a second opinion where the fracture was overlooked […]

I fell 20 years ago and was told I bruised the shin bone on my left leg. It is now hurting in the same spot. I can actually see a very faint red mark, like an old bruise. It sometimes hurts up into my knee and wakes me up at night. […]

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 […]

Hi, i’ve had heartburn for about 10 years, but it went untreated for so long because of my age. i recently changed Dr’s and he put me on Protonix for about a year now, which allowes me to eat w/out the burning, but i have to stay on it. in the past month, […]

Every time I eat I have a bad stomach ache. It’s in a strange spot higher up than most stomach pain and it is very sharp. It is very different from gas pain so I already know it isn’t that. It happens EVERY time I eat and it has been going on […]

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 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 […]

Hello,
I sprained my ankle 3 days ago.the pain is so bad is not going down. I feel a click in the joint. Now the bruising is everywhere and my foot is getting numb especially my toes. Help!
Dr. Joshua’s Answer
It’s possible that you have a fracture. It’s not possible to entirely rule out a fracture without […]

Dear Dr. Joshua, 
 
I am a twenty seven year old woman that had gastric bypass surgery over 
three years ago. I have been experiencing some severe cramps in the right  
side of my abdomen. Also, I have been having more migraine headaches alot  
more often.The pain from both are so bad that I can no longer tolerate […]

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 […]

My husband recently had an MRI on his neck. His primary care physician told him he has a 100% blockage on the left side in his carotid artery. The right side is fine. He then made an appointment for him to see a vascular doctor in February of 2007. I’m worried about the appointment being […]

I am a 51 year old white female I am 5 feet and 3 and 1
half inches tall. When I was a teenager I had exploratory surgery
and they cut me up and down and I have no muscle control in my
stomach. I have tried diets and excersize and nothing helps. I
looked deformed […]

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 […]

Two days ago I fell pretty hard (shoved by a patient) at work and bruised my left shin. Because it happened at work I was sent to the local hospital. Dr. in ER poked and prodded here and there and did not feel an x-ray was necessary. There is an abrasion (which is numb […]

How much should I weigh?

Weight is one of the most significant factors that affect your health, and, even more importantly, this is one factor you can actively do something about.
Below you can find a simple calculator. Use it to calculate your Body Mass Index (BMI). Enter your height and weight, then look at the […]

Hello. I am a 21 year old male, white, about 5′10″, around 125 lbs. I am not sexually active. I have experiencing several worrisome symptoms that have been occurring since last fall. Some of these symptoms occur on and off, while other symptoms are more constant. First of all, I […]

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 […]

August 2, 2006 
Hi, 
I need help!  I have been having swallowing problems and now experiencing weight loss.  I do not have an appointment with a gastro doctor until August 28, 2006.  I had a barium swallow test done and it showed that my neck bones are pressing on my esophagus.  Is this problem for a gastro […]

My question to you is:  I’ve been having some problems with constipation for about 3 years now. However, I’ve been diagnosed with IBS about 2 months ago(irritable bowel syndrome) and I started taking Zelnorm, which helped me greatly. I”m no longer on the medication and the only thing I take right now is Metamucil, […]

Three years ago, I got a blood test and it showed a ggt score of 135, I just took another on and the score is 128. All of my other blook scores are in normal limits. I have never drunk alcohol. Can you tell me what is going on?
Dr. Joshua’s Answer:
Gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase (Gamma-GT, GGT) may […]