Stenosis, Fear, and Facts: Navigating Spine Surgery with Dr. Allan Levi

For anyone who's ever been told their spine is "degenerating" or that they're a millimeter from paralysis, the fear can feel as debilitating as the condition itself. In this episode, Dr. Brent sits down with his own neurosurgeon, Dr. Allan Levi — Chairman of Neurological Surgery at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine and Chief of Neurosurgery at Jackson Memorial Hospital — for a full-disclosure conversation about lumbar spinal stenosis, one year after Dr. Levi performed the surgery that gave Dr. Brent his leg back.

Dr. Levi breaks down what stenosis actually is, why imaging findings so often don't match a patient's symptoms, and why some people walk around with "severe" degenerative changes on MRI and no pain at all. Together they trace the full continuum of care, from physical therapy and diagnostic epidural injections to the decision points around laminectomy versus fusion, and what recovery really looks like at each stage. It's a candid, myth-busting conversation for anyone facing a stenosis diagnosis or supporting a patient through one.

IN THIS EPISODE:

What lumbar spinal stenosis is and how degenerative versus congenital stenosis differ

Why MRI findings alone don't tell the whole story, and how symptoms guide treatment

The role of epidural injections as both a diagnostic and therapeutic tool

How surgeons decide between a laminectomy and a spinal fusion

What recovery timelines and movement restrictions look like after each procedure

Why waiting too long for surgery can lead to worse outcomes — and why urgency isn't always warranted

How to find the right spine specialist and know when a second opinion is worth seeking

RESOURCES MENTIONED:

University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Department of Neurological Surgery