At first, Ruth Kunstadter thought that the lower back pain that was causing numbness and loss of reflexes in her left leg and foot could be managed with physical therapy. But, as time wore on, the pain worsened. If she walked for any length of time, her right leg was also affected.
Ruth learned that damaged nerves in her spine were contributing to her severe discomfort. “Initially, I thought I would do anything to avoid back surgery, but I started hearing about people that had success with it,” Ruth said. She sought Arash Emami, MD, a nationally known orthopedic spine surgeon and the Chairman of Orthopedics at St. Joseph’s Health.
“I had a million questions, and he answered every one of them,” Ruth said. “He was fantastic. I felt very comfortable scheduling the surgery.”
At age 66, Ruth needed a two-part procedure, a spinal fusion and a laminectomy. The fusion involved removing a portion of a disc so that Dr. Emami could decompress and stabilize two vertebrae that were misaligned. This prevented motion in that area and eliminated pain. A laminectomy, which involves removing all or part of the bony arch that covers the spinal cord, enlarged the spinal canal to ease pressure on Ruth’s spinal nerves.
“Ruth faced severe pain, which greatly impacted her daily life,” Dr. Emami said. “In under three hours of surgery, we were able to get her back to living her normal life.”
Ruth said the surgery went better than expected – and with less pain. Physical therapists came to her bedside the day after the procedure and had her up, walking and climbing stairs. She went home two days later and remains grateful to Dr. Emami and the St. Joseph’s Health team who assisted in her recovery.
Five months after her surgery, Ruth said she’s back to living her life fully and without any pain. “I can walk as long as I want,” Ruth said. “But the best part is that I can pick up my grandson again.”
