Gloria Gaynor, best known for her disco-era hits including “I Will Survive” and “Never Can Say Goodbye,” had experienced debilitating back pain for over 20 years due to a traumatic spine injury. She had multiple spine surgeries performed by other physicians that resulted in debilitating pain. She underwent extensive complex spinal reconstruction and fusion of her thoracic to lumbar to correct her spinal alignment, as performed by Dr. Hooman Melamed.

GLORIA’S STORY: Gloria Gaynor, 68, suffered a traumatic spine injury in 1987 when she fell backward over a monitor, becoming immobilized from the waist down. She had surgery with another surgeon, which yielded positive results for about ten years until she eventually suffered from pain again due to parts of her spine weakening and having a domino effect on one another. She resorted to surgery again with a different surgeon, which relieved her pain initially, but prevented her from standing up straight due to a flat back deformity.

Over time, due to this improper spinal alignment, she eventually developed excruciating pain, which is when her manager researched top orthopedic spine surgeons and quickly found Dr. Hooman Melamed. In January of 2018, Gloria underwent a 4-Stage Revision Spinal Reconstruction, as performed by Dr. Hooman Melamed in Marina Del Rey, California. The procedure took place over the course of 2 days with stages 1-2 on the first day and stages 3-4 on the second day. The 4-Stage Revision Spinal Reconstruction Procedure Included: + ALIF (anterior lumbar interbody fusion) + XLIF (extreme lateral interbody fusion) + PSF (posterior spinal fusion with instrumentation) + Osteotomies + Revision Decompression. Post-surgery, Gloria is now walking upright and pain-free, just as she did 20 years before her accident.