Ruth Nadler

I am 16 months post-cervical spine laminectomy & laminoplasty surgery and exactly 1 year to the date post-L2-L5 spinal fusion surgery. I will be forever grateful to Dr. Han Jo Kim, his staff, and my overall experience with HSS.

When my right hand became numb and continued with pins and needles, an MRI revealed that I had myelomalacia - a spinal cord injury - and was told that I needed cervical spine surgery. I immediately met with Dr. Han Jo Kim, who made me feel confident that he could stop the progression of this condition with a C3-C7 laminectomy and laminoplasty. I feel so fortunate to have had Dr. Kim as my surgeon as he was able to open up my spinal column and relieve the pressure on my spinal chord by going through the back of my neck and not having to perform a fusion.

After seeing my entire spine, Dr. Kim talked to me about my lumbar spine. I knew that I had degenerative scoliosis, spondylolisthesis, and stenosis. I could not walk more than 3 city blocks without having to sit down. I did everything with pain and was putting off surgery. Epidurals, PT and acupuncture stopped working for me. Dr. Kim recommended an L2-L5 spinal fusion and I had this done 4 months after my cervical spine surgery.

The recovery for both were difficult. As Dr. Kim and his staff told me, I would be able to return to all of my normal activities and lifestyle after several months. I followed all of their post-op instructions by the book and today I am living my active lifestyle without pain! I have returned to a regular exercise program including Pilates, biking, skiing, and golfing. I am able to walk miles without pain as my Fitbit records over 10,000 steps per day. Most importantly, I can play with my grandchildren!

Thank you from the bottom of my heart to Dr. Han Jo Kim, his staff and HSS!