A Spine Surgeon’s Journey: Seeing the Operating Room From Both Sides What happens when a spine surgeon becomes a patient? In this powerful episode of Get Back To It, Dr. David Polly shares his deeply personal journey of moving from the surgeon’s chair to the patient’s bed. After years of treating complex spine conditions, Dr. Polly experienced firsthand what it’s like to navigate pain, uncertainty, and recovery from the other side of the operating room. Through honest reflection, he explor...
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A Spine Surgeon’s Journey: Seeing the Operating Room From Both Sides What happens when a spine surgeon becomes a patient? In this powerful episode of Get Back To It, Dr. David Polly shares his deeply personal journey of moving from the surgeon’s chair to the patient’s bed. After years of treating complex spine conditions, Dr. Polly experienced firsthand what it’s like to navigate pain, uncertainty, and recovery from the other side of the operating room. Through honest reflection, he explor...
Silver Alkhafaji’s journey through chronic back pain began when she was a teenager and intensified during her PhD studies at UCSF. Misdiagnoses, escalating symptoms, and delayed imaging prolonged her suffering until an MRI finally revealed L5–S1 spondylolisthesis caused by a bilateral pars defect. After conservative care failed, Silver underwent a spinal fusion with laminectomy in December 2023. Recovery was far from linear—marked by setbacks, medication trials, physical therapy challenges, a...
Get Back To It
A Spine Surgeon’s Journey: Seeing the Operating Room From Both Sides What happens when a spine surgeon becomes a patient? In this powerful episode of Get Back To It, Dr. David Polly shares his deeply personal journey of moving from the surgeon’s chair to the patient’s bed. After years of treating complex spine conditions, Dr. Polly experienced firsthand what it’s like to navigate pain, uncertainty, and recovery from the other side of the operating room. Through honest reflection, he explor...
