A Long Journey with a Happy Payoff

Years ago, Kevin was an active fitness buff whose life was suddenly upended by a diagnosis of congenital spinal stenosis. Increasingly unable to exercise, he went to a local neurologist who advised that, if he didn't have surgery soon, he could be paralyzed.

A referral to Dr. Andrew Casden, who today is Chief of Orthopedic Surgery and Spine Surgery at White Plains Hospital, confirmed the necessity of surgery. "Dr. Casden has this cut-and-dried way of explaining things," Kevin says. "He did not sugarcoat the severity of my case. He told me I had to make decisions in real time because the changes for me were so rapid."

Surgeries in 2008 and 2011 resulted in significant improvement, and Kevin soon resumed his lifestyle. Three years later, with the compression again progressing, he underwent another procedure with Dr. Casden, allowing him to regain his strength and mobility once again.

Eight years after that, Kevin was struck by a car and his painful spinal journey began anew. He underwent physical therapy, as well as acupuncture and spinal injections, but nothing helped.

Surgery at a New York City facility provided only temporary relief; nearly 18 months later, he was still in constant agony and was once again developing weakness in his legs and difficulty walking. Desperate, the Long Island resident reconnected with Dr. Casden.

Worth the Drive

Dr. Casden quickly assembled the expert colleagues needed to handle the complicated case, including neurosurgeon Dr. Kaushik Das, the Hospital's Director of Neurosurgery in January. "I had this whole team of superstars in the system, providing me with personal attention," Kevin marvels.

Drs. Casden and Das determined that residual compression from the last surgery was causing Kevin's pain and weakness. They performed a laminectomy – removing some of the bone covering the spinal cord in the back of the neck while also revising the existing screws and rods – and utilized intraoperative neuromonitoring (IONM) to perform surveillance of their patient's spinal cord, which was at risk during the surgery.

Today Kevin says he "feels amazing and stronger," thanks to the care he received at White Plains Hospital. "Kevin traveled from Mineola to White Plains Hospital," Dr. Casden notes. "That says a lot about the level of care you'll find here."