Flatback Syndrome
A 52 year old gentleman had several surgeries to treat an L4-5 degenerative spondylolisthesis - a common form of arthritis that causes low back and leg pain. After multiple failed surgeries, he presented to Dr. Rinella with extreme back and leg pain, and he was unable to stand up straight. A lumbar spine myelogram (an xray with special contrast so we can see the nerves) demonstrated the level above the fusion collapsed, and there was significant pressure on the nerves. Dr. Rinella performed a pedicle subtraction osteotomy and was able to take the pressure off the nerves, and restore the normal curvature to his lumbar spine so he could stand up straight.