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Spinal Case Study Library

Each of our cases provides a patient's history, exam and imaging, treatment, outcome and peer discussion.
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15-year-old Male Football Player with Severe Neck Pain After Spear Tackle

Presented by:
Todd Albert, MD

The patient is a 15-year-old male football player who presents with severe neck pain after a spear tackle.

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Type II Odontoid Fracture in 85-year-old Man

How to Treat? Cervical Collar? Halo Vest? Surgery?

Presented by:
John G. Heller, MD

An 85-year-old male patient has neck pain related to an isolated injury from a car accident. He also has significant cardiac history. The patient lives independently and is sharp and well-educated.

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C1-C2 Instability in Patient with Rheumatoid Arthritis

Presented by:
Howard S. An, MD and Thomas D. Cha, MD, MBA

A 50-year-old female presents with a chief complaint of neck pain. The pain is in the base of the neck with radiation to bilateral posterior shoulders. It worsens with movement.

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T5 Burst Fracture from MVA

Can the patient ever return to farming?

Presented by:
Richard G. Fessler, MD, PhD

The patient is a 52-year-old female. Six months before presenting in the clinic, she was involved in a motor vehicle accident (MVA). She now can’t work her farm because of her back pain.

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T3 Burst Fracture after Motor Vehicle Accident

Presented by:
Lali Sekhon, MD, PhD, FAANS, FACS

A 32-year-old woman presented to the emergency room after a rollover motor vehicle accident. She was instantly paralyzed in her lower extremities. She had no sensation below the clavicles, and she had severe neck pain.

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L4-L5 Grade II Spondylolisthesis: Failed Laser Spine Surgery

Presented by:
Juan S. Uribe, MD

A 52-year-old female with a long-standing history of low back pain and radicular pain initially presented with a grade I spondylolisthesis. She received extensive medical treatment, but it failed to control her pain. She then had “laser” surgical decompression, but her pain persists and her spondylolisthesis has progressed to a grade II.

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Cervical Myelopathy: Progressive Problems with Balance and Handwriting

Presented by:
Jeffrey C. Wang, MD

A 54-year old male with a prior history of a herniated disc at C5-C6 had an ACDF 8 years ago for arm pain and radiculopathy. In the past 8 months, he has had problems with balance and handwriting and clumsiness with his hands. He was found to have adjacent segment disease and cervical stenosis leading to cervical myelopathy.

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Congenital Kyphosis and Difficulty Walking

Presented by:
Paul E. Kraemer, MD and Shyam Kishan, MD

A 17-year-old male with mild developmental delay has increasing back pain over the last year. He has a long standing deformity, and he and his parents think it has worsened. In the past few months he has begun to have some difficulty with walking quickly.

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Thoracolumbar Junction Osteomyelitis with Kyphotic Deformity

Presented by:
Ali A. Baaj, MD, Juan S. Uribe, MD and Donald A. Smith, MD

The patient is a 54-year-old woman with a prior history of IV drug abuse. She was hospitalized in 2007 with spinal osteomyelitis at T11-T12. This was treated with IV antibiotics. She was admitted multiple times in the last several months for chronic refractory osteomyelitis (MRSA on biopsy) at T11-L1 despite prolonged courses of antiobiotics.

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Mild Lumbar Scoliosis and Spinal Stenosis

Presented by:
Tyler Koski, MD

A 60-year-old woman with a history of longstanding back pain and bilateral extremity pain that both improve with sitting and lying down has had symptoms for more than 3 years. She was found to have lumbar scoliosis and spinal stenosis.

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