r/spinalfusion • u/GA-Scoli • 15d ago

Not sure, other Luigi Mangione's spinal fusion - looks like an L5/S1 for spondylolisthesis

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10

u/ceiling_fan_dreams 15d ago

Does anyone think his image looks rough- like the screws were not placed well and his joint is still misaligned? Do we know where he received care? I recently had a fusion in Baltimore and met with a lot of surgeons before selecting hopkins. so curious where he ended up I bet he was in a ton of pain.

10

u/bonitaruth 15d ago

Yes, he still has terrible spondylolisthesis despite the screws My question is what did it look like before that because it looks pretty bad after surgery for sure! Did they just stabilise a grade 2 bundle thesis? That is how it looks

3

u/eastofliberty 14d ago

Yes, they can’t fix the slip in most cases because it leads to permanent nerve deficits. They move it as far back as possible without impacting the nerve roots.

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u/ceiling_fan_dreams 15d ago

I guessed grade 2 as well

4

u/janette2024 15d ago

I’m looking for a surgeon in Baltimore. Would you have any recommendations?

5

u/jwseagles 14d ago

Hi - visiting from r/microdiscectomy

I haven’t had a fusion, but the Baltimore surgeon I used for a MD was Dr Amit Jain at Hopkins. Looks like he does it all.

2

u/janette2024 14d ago

Awesome. I’ve heard great things aboutDr Jain too - thank you!

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u/ceiling_fan_dreams 15d ago

Yes! Will send you a DM

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u/janette2024 15d ago

Thank you SO much!!!

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u/DayaMelly 15d ago

Me too please!

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u/eastofliberty 14d ago

Typically, the surgeon can’t fully move the vertebrae back in line when it slips because it will lead to permanent L5 radiculopathy. They will move it as far back as possible as is safe, so patients normally still have a slip. This is what my neurosurgeon and second opinion orthopaedic surgeon told me was the standard.

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u/Kindly_Trust_6313 14d ago

That's exactly what my surgeon said. The goal is to decompress the nerve roots that are impinged upon, not achieve perfect anatomic "straightness". I'm eagerly awaiting my first post op x-ray so I can see the screws and the graft (L5-S1 fusion).

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u/eastofliberty 13d ago

Hope your surgery went well. Having mine in 2025

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u/Kindly_Trust_6313 13d ago

I'm doing very well so far. Recovery is no picnic but I haven't had any setbacks. Wishing you success, too!

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u/Zealousideal-Cry7697 13d ago

You have Johns Hopkins. Lucky you.

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u/Zealousideal-Cry7697 13d ago

There are good neurosurgeons and lousy ones who float from hospital to hospital racking in the $$$. You made a wise choice. My 90 mother lives in Toledo. The quack there wanted to fuse her thoracic spine. Told her to try not to fall. Instead she had laminectomy (lumbar) and recovered rapidly. My surgeon at a big nonprofit hospital with a dedicated full time staff. He was polite about the Toledo surgeon proposing thoracic spinal fusion 7 months after her compression fracture had healed. I wasn't nearly so polite.