Patients may be surprised to find out that neurosurgeons spend a lot of time on the phone trying to convince insurance companies that patients need MRI scans. Insurance companies usually don’t approve scans for patients who are only having low back pain. While serious problems like tumors are rare occurrences, sometimes they present with symptoms of low back pain only.
Here is such a case. The patient was very appreciative that we argued with the insurance company to get the MRI of her lumbar spine done. Shortly after the MRI, she began having numbness in her legs in addition to the back pain, and surgery to remove the tumor was necessary.
Knowing about the problem in a timely fashion made all the difference for this patient. Because she was treated early, she made a full recovery and was back to work within a couple of weeks!
