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”
Category Archives: Revision Spine Surgery
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”
The Hybrid Cervical Construct: Disc Replacement After a Prior Fusion
Anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) is among the most commonly performed and most successful procedures in spine surgery. But like any fusion, it has a known long-term consequence: the segments directly above and below the fused level are exposed to increased mechanical stress, and over years to decades, a portion of patients develop symptomaticContinue reading “The Hybrid Cervical Construct: Disc Replacement After a Prior Fusion”
Why Revision Spine Surgery Is More Complex
Why does revision spine surgery require so much more planning than a first operation? Here is what actually makes these procedures more complex — and why preparation matters.
What Is a Pedicle Subtraction Osteotomy — and When Is One Needed?
Among the most technically demanding procedures in all of spine surgery, the pedicle subtraction osteotomy — commonly called a PSO — is also one of the most transformative. For patients with severe flatback deformity or sagittal imbalance who cannot stand upright, a well-executed PSO can restore the ability to stand straight, walk without pain, andContinue reading “What Is a Pedicle Subtraction Osteotomy — and When Is One Needed?”
Case Study: Spondylolisthesis with Failed Prior Treatment — Surgical Correction and Recovery
A three-part case study of a 55-year-old woman with lumbar spondylolisthesis and stenosis whose symptoms worsened after a Vertiflex procedure elsewhere. Dr. Sardar performed L3-S1 reconstruction with TLIF, restoring her ability to stand upright without a walker.
Case Follow-Up: Severe Sagittal Malalignment Corrected with Pedicle Subtraction Osteotomy
Follow-up on a case of severe lumbar sagittal malalignment treated with T12-pelvis posterior fusion, TLIF at L5-S1, and pedicle subtraction osteotomy at L5. The patient regained the ability to stand upright for the first time in decades.