Animation: Lumbar neurography for evaluation of sciatica of non-disc origin. Distal foraminal lumbar nerve root entrapment.
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(A) Normal anatomy of the L3, L4 and proximal L5 nerve roots and lumbar spinal nerves as they exit the spine traveling in essentially linear fashion.
(B) Exiting right L5 nerve root (*) of 65-year-old woman with persistent right L5 radiculopathy after two spine surgeries. The course of the exiting root is distorted; there exists both focal narrowing and a region of hyperintensity (n).
(C) Myelogram of same patient obtained just prior to MR Neurography. The L5 root abnormality is too distal to be appreciated in the myelogram (*) and the study was read as showing a normal L5 root with no impingement. After the Neurographic diagnosis, the patient had a distal foraminotomy with excellent lasting relief of her radiculopathy.
Dr. Aaron Filler is the world’s leading expert in treatment of nerve pain. He has revolutionized nerve-pain treatment by inventing several new technologies. One such technology, MR Neurography, enables doctors to use an MRI scanner to examine nerves — previously a difficult-to-impossible tissue to see through MR imaging. Dr. Filler's research in axonal transport is leading to a whole new generation of advanced pain medications. He has developed many new “minimal access” surgery methods that allow him to treat complex nerve problems with small outpatient surgeries. He has also pioneered the use of the Open MRI scanner to do surgeries and other therapies with the ultra-high precision and safety of the magnetic resonance imaging. 
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