Spine Surgery Puts Tennis Player Back on Court

An avid athlete and tennis player, Keith experienced unimaginable pain suddenly one day driving home from a tennis tournament. The pain became so excruciating, he could barely make it home. Keith's pain grew in intensity until he screamed out to his wife at 4am to take him to White Plains Hospital's emergency department.

What he thought was a leg problem was quickly diagnosed by Dr. Andrew Casden, Chief of Orthopedics, as a serious back problem. A large piece of disk was pressing on a major nerve in his spine.

The potentially alarming news was lessened after learning that Dr. Casden had already successfully performed the needed procedure, a discectomy, on more than 600 patients." Keith says, "I wanted a long-term solution, not a short-term kind of fix." The next day, he had surgery. Dr. Casden and his colleague Dr. Brandoff used a microscope to carefully find and then remove the crushed disc in his spine, immediately dissipating his pain. "I was in and out of the Hospital in just 6 hours. I had no more pain, and I've had no pain ever since."

Keith started his rehab as soon as possible with Adam Cohen, practice manager of WPHPA Rehabilitation Services and a physical therapist at Burke Rehabilitation Hospital which, along with White Plains Hospital, is a member of the Montefiore Health System. "Everything was so well-coordinated, and Adam was just phenomenal," he enthuses.

One afternoon on the tennis court, Keith and his friend Nathan started comparing back-surgery stories. Each was convinced they'd had the better experience—until they laughed at the coincidence that Dr. Casden had performed both of their surgeries. "I would recommend him to anyone," Keith says with a smile.