Lower back and lumbar spine.
In patients’ words.

Could not have been treated better. All the nurses - Veronica, Linda, Cassie and Mary - were terrific. Same with Dr Michael Port, who was delightful, knew his stuff, and genuinely wanted to help me get rid of my lower back pain. What’s not to like?

Michael Port, MD

For almost half of my life, pain was not something that happened to me. It was the backdrop against which everything else happened. I am 23. Since I was 13, I cannot remember waking up without stiffness/pain in my back. Pain has a way of changing shape over time, beginning as a symptom but becoming part of your identity. Somewhere along the way, I stopped hoping to feel better and accepted it as part of my life. As a former UCLA Division I tennis player who has always loved being active, I spent years searching for an answer: physical therapy, massage, cupping, acupuncture, strengthening, injections, imaging, and countless evaluations across the world. I never got a clear diagnosis despite seeing several orthopedists, and was told to consider chronic pain syndrome, with exploratory spine surgery as a last resort. Every opinion carried the same message: learn to live with it. Meeting Dr. Prem Ramkumar was the first time someone wasn't just listening to my symptoms; he was trying to understand my story, asking why instead of accepting the limits of what had already been tried. As a former D1 athlete, I'd worked with plenty of physicians, but he treated me with the same precision I've learned he gives medal-winning Olympians and Stanley Cup champions he treats professionally. I felt like one of his VIPs. It changed everything when he diagnosed me with hip impingement after a careful battery of tests, since my presentation was atypical. It was the first time I had an answer, and a solution. What will stay with me forever is not just the surgery itself, but the morning after. I sat on my bed and waited for the familiar stiffness in my lower back. It never came, and to this day, it still hasn't. I biked 130 miles the first day after surgery!! I began physical therapy on day three at his office, and weaned off my crutches and brace within a week. Since then, I have moved through daily life without pain. The absence of pain has been remarkable, but what surprised me even more is everything that was restored: I sleep through the night, my mind feels quieter, and the constant background noise chronic pain creates has disappeared. My mood and energy are better, and I'm standing taller. My wearable's resting heart rate and sleep scores reflect it too: my body is finally healing, not merely enduring. It isn't just excitement, but disbelief; my brain keeps searching for the pain it's so accustomed to finding. Then, little by little, I realized it isn't temporary relief. It's freedom, for the first time in a decade. People often think surgery changes your body. With Dr. Ramkumar, it also changed my relationship with the future. For years, every decision carried an invisible calculation: could my back handle this, would I wake up unable to move? Pain quietly dictated where I went and who I believed I could become. I didn't realize how much space it occupied until it was gone. Today, I believe this surgery will make me a better athlete than I was. So many others told me this wasn't possible. Dr. Ramkumar never accepted that answer. That speaks to his character: his persistence, his curiosity, his genuine commitment to patients who've spent years searching for someone willing to keep looking. He treated me as a person whose story deserved to be understood, not another MRI. As someone who now works in medicine, I've learned he believed in me when no one else would. Medicine is often described as restoring function. Sometimes it restores possibility. No review could fully express what he gave me: mornings I had forgotten were possible, confidence in my body, and a future no longer defined by limitations. If you have spent years searching for answers, feeling unheard, or wondering whether anyone will look beyond the obvious, I cannot recommend Dr. Ramkumar enough. My experience changed the course of my life, and I will always be grateful he refused to stop asking why, and fixed me. Additionally, Margo, his NP, matches that same excellence. Her clinical sharpness was matched only by the genuine care she brought to my recovery.

Prem N. Ramkumar, MD, MBA

Very efficient office staff. The office is very clean and maintained. Dr. Bhalla has been my orthopedic surgeon for more than 10 years. He has done my total hip replacement and lower back spinal surgeries. I highly recommend him for orthopedic issues.

Amandeep Bhalla, MD

My back was always sore and there was always numbness in my left leg. Doctor Ortega performed a lumbar fusion and now I feel 20 years younger. Back pain and leg numbness is gone. The procedure went so smooth and everyone in the office is so nice. I highly recommend!!!!! This is a life/ game changer. Thanks Dr Ortega!!!!!!

Brandon A. Ortega, MD

I unfortunately had a series of lumbar procedures with the last two being very problematic. I was referred to Dr Brandon Ortega by my primary physician. It was the luckiest day I’ve had with regards to my lumbar issues. Dr Ortega performed a combination anterior and posterior lumbar fusion with vascular surgeon Wang Teng and the results of their collaboration have been amazing. Dr Ortega is knowledgeable professional and top tier in his field as my results confirm. His dedication to his patients is sincere, there’s an impressive authenticity to his commitment to his patients. Always patient and available for questions and always concise and accurate with his answers. His skill and integrity will allay any anxieties a patient may be experiencing. You will be assured that his driving focus is the the patient’s best resolution to their condition. I recommend him to anyone that requires help with orthopedic issues. You will be impressed and sure that you have made the best decision in your health care journey.

Brandon A. Ortega, MD

Thank you Dr Bae and Bernadette for the best experience I could have possibly had having lower back surgery . You and your staff were so kind and made me feel very comfortable and heard ! Thank you for getting me back to being able to walk again without pain ! The pre-operative care and after care I received was by far the best I’ve ever experienced ,and it was truly a miracle I found this clinic ! I can’t thank you enough wishing you and everyone there a very happy new year !

Hyun Bae, MD

Dr. Khurana is an incredibly generous and gifted neurosurgeon. He has gone beyond normal protocol to help me get some urgently needed surgery. He is kind, patient, thorough, and incredibly gifted. I'm very grateful that I was able to have him do the cervical fusions and lumbar decompressions that I urgently needed.

Sanjay Khurana, MD

Dr. Bhalla performed both Cervical and Lumbar Surgery and I trust him totally.

Amandeep Bhalla, MD

Just an artist at what he does precise in detail and pride. My hips had collapsed totally he replaced them both with the latest technique robot assisted. And now the sever pain is completely gone .walking normal and my back pain is also gone ! Used to suffer from sever muscular pain lower lumbar for years bad sclerosis but once I got my new titanium hips back pain gone my bad hips where causing severe pain in my back , I am so grateful for this genius of a surgeon. THANK YOU ERWIN VELA

Prem N. Ramkumar, MD, MBA

Overall, I had a great experience. Dr. Bhalla is an excellent and caring physician who patiently listened to my concerns about my lower back pain and recommended the solution. The office staff were also very friendly and helpful.

Amandeep Bhalla, MD

Dr. Ramkumar is an excellent and highly knowledgeable physician! I came to him after spending 6 months at physical therapy working on my lower back pain with no relief. After just one visit with the doctor, he immediately diagnosed me with hip impingement (it wasn't even my back after all this time spent at PT!). He reviewed all treatment options, and I made the decision to proceed with conservative management. My physical therapists began to focus on hip exercises and within just a few months, all of my pain subsided. I am so grateful for Dr. Ramkumar for his knowledge, patience, and dedication to the field of Orthopedics!

Prem N. Ramkumar, MD, MBA

I am writing to express my sincere gratitude for the life-changing surgery you performed on June 17, 2025. As you know, I had emergency laminectomy surgery on May 30, 2024, in Wisconsin, which left me with significant numbness in both legs, limited toe mobility, and intense pain from my hip to my left knee. A specialist in California informed me that these issues could become permanent if they persisted for six months after the surgery. I suffered with this condition for a year, and it took me four months to even begin walking without assistance of a walker o cane after the surgery in Wisconsin. When I came to see you in Santa Monica in April 2025, you offered hope that you could correct my desperate pain and numbness. The results of the spinal surgery you performed on vertebrae 3, 4, and 5, where you also placed two screws in vertebrae 3 and 4, have been nothing short of incredible. Just ten days after surgery, I was able to walk without the help of a walker or cane. Now, two and a half months post-surgery, the improvement is profound. I can walk for up to an hour without any leg pain, and I experience only minimal discomfort in my lower back. I went from being unable to walk for more than eight minutes due to unbearable pain (level 8) to being able to walk for an hour without problems. Dr. Bae, your professionalism and that of your staff are truly extraordinary. I feel blessed that you performed my surgery and have changed my life from one of frustration and pain to one without pain at all. Thank you for everything. God bless your heart.

Hyun Bae, MD

Dr Sanjay Khurana is an amazing spine surgeon. He did my lower lumbar spinal fusion surgery 7 weeks ago and I am very happy with the results. It has been a true pleasure having Dr Khurana as my surgeon. He is so talented, kind, smart, and professional. A real class act! UPDATE: Just recently on August 14 of 2025, it was one year since my back surgery with Dr. Khurana. I feel amazing! I’ve been going on 7 mile hikes with steep inclines in the mountains for the last three months. With no discomfort or pain whatsoever. I’m training and working out like I always did. Every day I’m grateful for how successful this surgery has been for me. And that’s why I came on here to add to my review. I followed all my preop and postop protocol precisely. I do eat super healthy and I know that helped my body heal well. I also started walking regularly as soon as I could following my surgery. I’m forever grateful to Dr. Khurana. He literally changed my life! I’m so happy! 🙏🏼

Sanjay Khurana, MD

Terrific office. Dr. K is top of the line. His assistant is also the best. I am looking forward to a lumbar decompression procedure and know I am in good hands.

Sanjay Khurana, MD

I am 74 year old. For a long time I had severe pain in right hip and leg due to the pinching of the sciatic nerve between 4 and 5 vertebrae of the spine. Physiotherapy and multiple pain relief injections did not help me. On the advice of doctors Zalkinder and Kievsky I contacted with doctor Leonel Hunt for concultation. Doctor Hunt explained to me in great detail how the surgery would be performed to free the nerve from the pinching. On July 18th this year doctor Hunt did surgery of LUMBAR LAMINOTOMY/FORAMINOTOMY, after which pains in my right hip and leg disappeared. Now I can walk freely, do housework, I will be able to walk with my dog after full recovery and look to the future with optimism and hope.I thank doctor Leonel Hunt from my heart. I wish him success in his work and advise everyone who has problems with spine to contact him for help. I'm saying it again thank so much.

Leonel Hunt, MD

My most recent visit at the Westlake office left me a bit dissatisfied. Dr. Kamrava was obviously rushed and distracted due to an earlier personal matter. He did not seem to be as prepared as in previous appointments, even insisting I had received an ablation treatment I had not. He did finally agree to schedule an ablation treatment on my back and suggested on for my neck in the future, but failed to review my MRI to justify his decision. He did show concern for the amount of Advi I regularly took to relief my lower back pain and prescribed a 30 pill prescription of Tramadol as an alternative, with the instructions to take one to two pills daily. 45 days later with 10 pills to spare I asked for a refill but it took over 10 days for the pharmacy to finally get the doctor's approval after the request. I have an ablation scheduled for July 22, 2025. I hope it proves to be helpful.

Evish Kamrava, MD

Dr.Bae is the 4 th surgeon I consulted with for my cervical and lumbar issues.He gave me the least invasive, cutting edge and advanced surgery options with the quickest recovery! Hopefully the results will follow 🙏🙏 very impressive Dr.

Hyun Bae, MD

It was a long surgery on fusing L4/L5 and several other corrections. The result was so successful that I was walking the next day. After four months now, I am walking much more than before without any pain. Physical therapy and support team instructions were very helpful. I recommend Dr. Khurana to everyone having lower back pain.

Sanjay Khurana, MD

I met Dr Bae ten years ago when i jas travelled Europe trying to find a solution for my back pain that didn't involve fusion in my cervical and lumbar spine I flew to LA from London to me Dr Bae Dr Bae gave me solutions and more. For the first tine in ten years i was able to dance with my husband at a wedding and he jas neen there for me online whenever I have needed him Ten years later as my back degenerates further Dr Bae is there for me with options and support There is no one i trust more He is years ahead ! Innovative yet always kind. He will never recommend a treatment purely for the fees One of a kind surgeon and person.

Hyun Bae, MD

Dr. Bhalla is very attentive and is in no hurry. Surgery is the last option in his book. For my lower back he referred me to specialists that got me back on my feet. Moving forward I will not hesitate to see him again if needed.

Amandeep Bhalla, MD

Dr. Bae is the best! I have had 2 lumbar surgeries and 1 cervical surgery on my neck. He is a pioneer in spine surgery and has invented several new parts to aid in the benefit of spinal surgery. I wouldn’t go to anyone else!

Hyun Bae, MD

I went to see Dr. Khurana to talk about the low back pain I’d been having but while I was there he wanted to get x-rays on the two cervical disc replacements I’d had done 3 years ago. He found that one of them was failing. He got me in within a few days, removed the replacement and fused that level, feels great now but could have been bad news had he not been on top of things and ordered the x-rays. His attention to detail is second to none and his team and staff are always incredible!! There is no one I would trust more with my spine!!

Sanjay Khurana, MD

Dr. Brandon Ortega, my Orthopedic Surgeon, whom I love and respect, is a shining example of compassion and precision. In my entire life, I have never met a Doctor so genuinely caring and meticulous. He was a divine blessing in my life. In 2023, he performed a Lumbar fusion decompression on my spine. He performed an Anterior Cervical Discectomy and Fusion (ACDF) on my neck on 5-12-25, and I'm looking forward to feeling much better again.🙌 On 5-12-25, my surgery was a resounding success, he repaired the disc in my neck, and I'm now embarking on a transformative journey of healing, strength, growth, and freedom from pain!!!🦋 I'm ecstatic to share that Dr. Ortega has done it again, surrounded by his exceptional staff in a radiant healing atmosphere filled with light and professionalism! As I closed my eyes, I was serenaded by "Everything is going to be alright"! And that was uplifting vibrations. Again, thank you, Dr. Ortega, you're a blessing to the world! Ms. Sherry Pruitt 💛

Brandon A. Ortega, MD

Excellent surgeon- had lower back surgery 13 months ago(anterior lumbar inter body fusion L-5 S-1) after experiencing severe pain. I am now pain free and back to enjoying normal activities. I highly recommend Dr. Bhalla.

Amandeep Bhalla, MD