The most important conversation I have with a patient is not the one where I explain the anatomy of their deformity or describe the surgical technique. It is the one where I try to make sure they understand, as clearly and honestly as I can make it, what they are actually agreeing to — andContinue reading “What I Tell Every Patient Before Major Spine Surgery”
Author Archives: Dr. Zeeshan Sardar, MD, MSc, F.R.C.S.C
How Do I Know If My Flatback Is Severe Enough to Need Surgery?
If you have been told you have flatback deformity, you have probably been given some version of the same answer when you asked whether you need surgery: it depends. That is true, but it is not useful. What it depends on is specific, measurable, and worth understanding — because knowing it will help you haveContinue reading “How Do I Know If My Flatback Is Severe Enough to Need Surgery?”
Scoliosis Surgery at 30, 40, 50: Is It Too Late?
A significant number of adults with scoliosis fall into this category: diagnosed as a teenager, told the curve was mild enough to watch, given a brace they wore inconsistently or not at all, and then released from follow-up when they stopped growing. For years — sometimes decades — life was largely normal. Then, somewhere inContinue reading “Scoliosis Surgery at 30, 40, 50: Is It Too Late?”
My Scoliosis Surgery Was 20 Years Ago and I’m Not Doing Well — What Should I Do?
You had scoliosis surgery years ago — maybe as a teenager, maybe as a younger adult. At the time, it went well. You recovered, you moved on, and for a long stretch of years life was largely normal. But somewhere along the way things shifted. The back pain that was manageable has become harder toContinue reading “My Scoliosis Surgery Was 20 Years Ago and I’m Not Doing Well — What Should I Do?”
At What Cobb Angle Does Scoliosis Need Surgery?
If you have spent any time searching for information about scoliosis and surgery, you have almost certainly encountered the same number: 40 to 50 degrees. That is the Cobb angle, measured on a standing X-ray, that most sources cite as the threshold at which scoliosis surgery is typically recommended. It is a real and meaningfulContinue reading “At What Cobb Angle Does Scoliosis Need Surgery?”
I Had a Harrington Rod and My Back Pain Is Getting Worse — What Now?
Worsening back pain years after Harrington rod surgery is not simply aging. Flatback deformity, adjacent segment disease, and hardware failure are specific, diagnosable causes. Here’s what to do next.
Adding-On After AIS Surgery — When the Scoliosis Curve Continues to Progress Below the Fusion
Adding-on is a term used by spine surgeons to describe a specific pattern of scoliosis progression after surgery: new curve development below the lowest fused vertebra. A patient who had a thoracic scoliosis corrected with fusion to L1, for example, may develop a progressive lumbar curve below L1 in the months to years after theirContinue reading “Adding-On After AIS Surgery — When the Scoliosis Curve Continues to Progress Below the Fusion”
Still Off-Balance After Scoliosis Surgery — Understanding Coronal and Sagittal Imbalance After Fusion
One of the most distressing experiences after scoliosis surgery is looking in the mirror and seeing the same imbalance you expected the surgery to correct. Your shoulders are still uneven. Your trunk still leans to one side. Or you stand upright for the first time after surgery and find that your posture, while different fromContinue reading “Still Off-Balance After Scoliosis Surgery — Understanding Coronal and Sagittal Imbalance After Fusion”
Pseudarthrosis After Scoliosis Surgery — Why Bone Sometimes Doesn’t Fuse and What Can Be Done
Pseudarthrosis is the most common reason patients require revision surgery after scoliosis fusion, yet it is also one of the most frequently unrecognized complications of spinal surgery. Patients with pseudarthrosis are often told for months or years that their X-rays look fine — because on plain X-rays, they often do. The fusion mass can appearContinue reading “Pseudarthrosis After Scoliosis Surgery — Why Bone Sometimes Doesn’t Fuse and What Can Be Done”
Cervical Kyphosis: A Different Kind of Neck Problem
Most patients familiar with cervical spine problems think of disc herniation, nerve compression, or stenosis. Cervical kyphosis is less widely known but represents a distinct and clinically important problem: the neck loses its normal inward curve and develops a forward bend instead, placing the spinal cord under progressive stretch across the kyphotic apex and creatingContinue reading “Cervical Kyphosis: A Different Kind of Neck Problem”