Ken Anderson knows pain. As quarterback for the Cincinnati Bengals for 16 years, Anderson has taken hits that have traumatized his spine and left him without sensation for several minutes.
Since he injured his back while playing golf last summer, Anderson has come to know a different type of pain in his hips and lower back.
“The pain was disabling,” he said. “I would get out of the shower and get the towel around me and lay down on my bed to let the pain subside, so I could get dressed. I couldn’t do anything.”
“I really wanted a neurosurgeon to do it, rather than an orthopedic surgeon,” he said. “Dr. Curt came highly recommended.”
Anderson found relief after Mayfield Brain & Spine neurosurgeon Dr. Brad Curt fused two vertebrae together in his lower back in a procedure at The Christ Hospital in Liberty Township. The minimally invasive surgery allowed him to forego prescription pain medication soon after the January 19 procedure, and the next day he walked 5,000 steps in the hospital. Now, he says, “the pain is gone.”
The Bengals icon won’t be at the Super Bowl this weekend. He agreed with Dr. Curt that he was still recovering and that the constant activity that would be required in a trip to California wasn’t the best idea. After a drive with plenty of scheduled stops, he’ll be at his home in South Carolina, rooting for the Bengals as they face the Los Angeles Rams.
“After more conservative treatments didn’t give him lasting relief, we determined that this minimally invasive surgery was the best next step,” Dr. Curt said. “He should be able to get back to an active lifestyle, and we will continue to monitor the adjacent levels of his spine for any deterioration that might need additional treatment.”
The surgery is an example of the partnership between Mayfield and The Christ Hospital to serve patients throughout the region with advanced neurosurgical services, ranging from Anderson’s spinal fusion to complex brain tumors and spinal reconstruction.
After Anderson’s original injury, he tried three epidural injections to ease the pain, which only provided temporary relief. Even when he wasn’t feeling pain, he wasn’t able to ride the bike, work in the yard or play golf – all the things he enjoys. Another doctor recommended a fusion lower in his spine, which didn’t sound right to him.
Dr. Curt said the primary goals of the transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion surgery, or TLIF, are to decompress the severely pinched nerves and to stabilize the spine by inserting screws into the bone above and below the damaged disc.
“The fusion should relieve pressure on the L4-L5 levels of his spine and slow the deterioration that caused his symptoms,” Dr. Curt said.
Once he first saw Dr. Curt, Anderson continued on physical therapy and anti-inflammatory medications. He said he “liked the fact that Dr. Curt didn’t rush me into surgery just for the sake of doing surgery.” But by mid-November 2021, the pain had worsened and Anderson opted for decompression and fusion surgery at the L4-5 levels of the spine, and scheduled the surgery for The Christ Hospital.
After a delay for the pause in elective surgeries because of Covid, the January 19 date came available. Trusting the care they would receive at Mayfield and The Christ Hospital, Anderson and his wife drove to Cincinnati for the procedure.
Since the surgery, Anderson is wearing a back brace for most activity. Dr. Curt told his patient to “take it easy” for six weeks or so, with a lot of resting and walking. “He said, ‘Just because you’re feeling good, don’t forget to stick with the program,’” recalls Anderson.
As for the Bengals, Anderson admits to getting up and cheering enthusiastically. “I was a little bit excited,” he said. “But my brace was on, so I was fine.”
