Dr. Praveen Mummaneni, MD

Excellent care!

My answers describes my responses.

I have had two spinal surgeries with Dr. Mummaneni...2009 (cervical) and 2024 (lumbar). Both had excellent results. It's amazing when you wake up without pain. The whole experience was excellent. Dr. M, his Fellow and his PA listened carefully, explained everything fully and in detail, and responded quickly to any questions and or concerns I may have had (in person and via MyChart). He is a gifted surgeon. The bottom line is that he gave me my life back and I highly recommend him.

Dr mamenenni was much friendlier and patient than other doctors i've worked with

Dr.Mummaneni is professional, concise, frank, realistic. The fellow was also excellent.

I'll start by saying I never write reviews, either positive or negative. My disc herniation started 18 months ago while watching my son's basketball games. After all the usual treatments, chiro, PT, steroid injection, acu,, etc...I consulted with a few specialists. I was referred to Dr. Mummaneni by a family friend (ophthalmologist) who knew of Dr. M. From my initial consult to the surgery, he and his team have been extremely responsive, patient, and transparent throughout with my treatment. I was very fortunate to avoid any surgery in my life so the thought of finally having to go under the knife was terrifying. Dr. M. and team were so reassuring that I had the microdiscectomy in August of 2024. I was pain free with both my back and right leg 1 day after surgery. 2 weeks after surgery I was walking completely normal without pain for the first time in 18 months. It has been a transformative experience and for that I am immensely grateful to Dr. M. and his entire team.

A year ago I was referred to UCSF with chronic stabbing back pain at every move. I was seen by Dr. Mummaneni and his team. They reviewed my images & agreed the pain was a result of several issues involving 5 vertebrates. They came up with 2 surgical plans & a plan that involved injections. We tried the injections first with zero relief. That actually gave them more information, & they presented me with their final surgical plan. The plan was carefully & thoroughly explained to me, including risks & the chances for success. Six months ago I had the surgery. It was tough, but at 70 yrs old, I’m pretty tough too! I did everything Dr. M and my PT told me to do. Today, I have none of the relentless pain I had before! Many reviewers comment that they only had personal contact once with Dr. M after surgery. That was true for me too. I was disappointed because I was proud of how I did and wanted to thank D. Mummaneni personally, but I’ve had excellent attention & care from his team since!

Dr. Mummaneni and his team are super responsive and help clarify the patient concerns by providing a warm and comfortable environment. His guidance on the probable tests and procedures truly showcases the deep knowledge and expertise, all the while keeping the patient's choices at priority.

I am the only person in the world, as documented in the medical literature, to arrive alive at a medical facility after a very severe fracture of my C-2 vertebra: it was broken into three splayed pieces. I was flown by LifeFlight to UCSF Medical Center in 2017 at age 65, the day after my accident. Since no patient had ever survived this injury, there was no known surgical procedure to address my injury. Dr. Mummaneni consulted with other surgeons throughout the United States, as well as biomedical engineers, to devise the first such surgical procedure to stabilize my neck. The operation was a complete success in every way. I returned to an active life after surgery. Once my body had healed and my neck was fully stabilized seven months after the surgery, I returned to long distance cycling, ski mountaineering, rock and ice climbing, kayaking etc. I am 72 years old and have no physical limitations. I attribute my successful outcome to Dr. Mummaneni and his surgical team.

I had cervical surgery done by Mummaneni some years ago . The upshot was that I have not been able to breathe normally since . When I finally saw Mummaneni post surgery he offered me no concern , no advice about what to do regarding my breathing problem and no sympathy for my situation . He was only interested in explaining to me that the post surgery breathing problem could not possibly be his fault . Later , speaking to a number of doctors and specialists about this problem , every one of them without exception said the problem with breathing had been caused by Mummaneni and not a problem caused by the anesthesiologist as Mummaneni would have had me believe . This man is very dangerous as you can probably discern from reading a few of the other reviews . The fact that UCSF continues to allow this so called physician to work there and , in fact , maintain the position of the head of the Spine Clinic there is a terrible stain on the reputation of this institution .

My C6/7 fusion surgery with Dr. Mummaneni resulted in Horner's Syndrome, due to a nerve in my neck being damaged during surgery. I'm willing to accept that these things can happen- there's always some chance. And aside from a droopy eye, I am fine and mostly pain free. BUT, I was extremely disappointed about two things: 1. My wife ran into Dr. Mummaneni in the hospital cafeteria about one hour into my surgery. I understand the doctors have teams, but one hour into the surgery, I would expect him at least to be present in the OR. 2. Once I revealed my Horner's Syndrome to his staff during a followup visit, he never personally spoke with me again. His staff answered any questions very briefly and were no longer helpful or caring. It was really disappointing and depressing.

I was involved in an bad accident on 11/3/18 and was transferred to UCSF on 11/21/18 because the local hospital I was at (Level II Trauma) chose not to do surgery on me. The local doctor said he did not think I would ever walk again because of the injury to my spinal cord and told us we needed a specialist. He choose UCSF and Dr. Mummaneni. I had 11 broken vertebrae. Dr. Mummaneni preformed the surgery on 11/25/18 and fused me from T4 to L1. I was in a wheelchair.... then walker.... then cane and I have been "hands frees" since early May 2019. I am back to being a husband, father and back to work! We had a great experience with him and his PA. Getting to talk to someone in the office on the same day was challenging. We would recommend Dr. Mummaneni and his team to anyone.

I write this review as the Chief of Trauma Surgery at a Level 1 trauma center and Professor of Surgery in a medical school. I sent my father to Dr. Mummaneni for an elective laminectomy. The operation went well but he refused to return any of our phone calls. 2 months following operation, my father could not walk due to severe hip/leg pain. I called Dr. Mummaneni's office 3 times and he never returned my phone calls - I was only referred to his PA. I asked for a CAT scan and was denied, but then his partner told me that a scan was, in fact, warranted. The last straw was when his PA called me 2 months later to tell me that he was going on vacation to India and would "call me" when he returned. As a fellow surgeon, I'm shocked and disappointed at his lack of follow up and obvious lack of caring. I would fire any surgeon in my division if they behaved like this. I finally transferred my father's care to another hospital and won't refer patients to UCSF again.

My mother had her 11th back/neck surgery with Dr. Mummaneni, after 8 hours of a 13 hour surgery he stopped the operation due to a problem. She now is paralyzed from the chest down. In my opinion he should have broke the surgery up and not attempted to complete such a long surgery at one time. Also, he gave her false hope in believing that she would regain her legs. He continues to be evasive and not explain what went wrong.

I went to 3 other neurosurgeons for opinions & after consulting other surgeons it is my opinion he wanted to over operate. He was pushing a 6 level fusion. It would have had a life changing effect on my ability to work & even drive. I didn't feel he was forthcoming in explaining the surgery outcomes. I am glad I went to another surgeon @ a different hospital.

An excellent doctor who did my husbands very complicated back surgery without the use of blood. He was very professional, explained thoroughly what he was going to do and how he was going to do it. He also took personal interest in our wishes and worked with us to accomplish the surgery. We appreciate his professional attitude and skill as a doctor and highly recommend him!

Exceptional Surgeon, He's very professional and caring, takes the necessary time to explain issues in detail, answers all your questions. Fusion was very successful. Prior surgery with UC Davis, unsuccessful. UCSF, Doctors are much more educated, caring and provide Quality Patient Care. Thank you, Dr. Mummaneni