Lanman H Todd, MD

This won’t come out as eloquent as I’d like, but it’s difficult to wrap up how thankful I am for being referred to Dr. Lanman and his staff. They are truly the best in Los Angeles. I knew having the surgery was my best option for relief after much research, injections, PT etc., but I was still nervous. This team completely put me at ease and guided me through the whole process. Dr. Lanman truly has a gift as a surgeon. He also has an excellent bedside manner, which I truly appreciate after seeing other doctors that were quite honestly, strange. I would never go to anyone else and I will truly recommend and insist that people consult with him before having surgery. I also loved the anesthesiologist, George Graf. I felt at ease when I saw his smiling face and his friendly spirit. This is the dream team! I’m now on my way to recovery and pain free life!

Dr. Lanman is as good as they get. Period. I would never trust anyone else with my back. Thank you!

Dr. Todd Lanman is the best he saved my life twice he repaired my cervical spine which gave me back my mobility giving me back my quality of life. Just recently he repaired my lower lumbar which had degenerated completely, causing me to be unable to walk without his expertise in cervical and lumbar surgery I am sure I would of been bed ridden he is not only an excellent surgeon, but has become a good friend as well because he deeply cares about his patients.

Dr. Lanman and his staff. Heather, Sara and Arlene are a dream team as well as a Dream come true after waking up to a nightmare of almost a year in pain. Tons of physical therapy, injections and false hope from an industry feeding on the weak… not making them better but simply sweeping the issues under the rug. But not Dr. Lanman’s office… they are pioneers in spinal health and healing.
Dr. Lanman is my hero.
Funny we take for granted turning our neck… wild, left to right loosing the ability to look over our shoulder or to look at our child on the right or left of us. We don’t stop to think that one day we will loose this ability.
Thanks to Dr. Lanman, his wonderful dream team and the clinical trial. I am now a pioneer to U.S. medicine with the M6 disc now in my C5/​C6. I am able to look over my shoulder both left and right. I am able to sit inside my home and turn my head to look through my window to see outside instead of turning my whole body to see through the window. I can now take a walk down the street and look around again observing my entire surroundings instead of what is in front of me. I feel I have gotten a second chance at a full life… not the half life I was willing to accept due to all the misinformation I was given out there.
I will forever be in debated to Dr. Lanman, Heather, Sara, and Arlene… each of them played a huge part in my health and recovery and for that I will always be thankful.
I wish I could give all of them a million stars for how amazing they all are… especially Dr. Lanman for being amazing at his craft. These words can’t possibly be enough… but I hope it transcends to someone reading that he is the right guy for you and so is his awesome staff.
I really hope I don’t have to ever have surgery again… but if it has to do with my spine… I would only go to Dr. Lanman. Forever grateful.

After being diagnosed with degenerative cervical discs two years ago and being told by doctors that fusion was my only option I stumbled onto Dr. Lanman. I had a friend who unbeknown to me was operated on by Dr. Lanman 7 yrs. prior. She raved about her outcome and about Dr. Lanman and his staff. I had two years of as much research that the internet could provide, physical therapy and submitting my scans to a few doctors with minimally invasive alternatives.
Dr. Lanman was like a god send to me. After meeting him and discussing my options I had two discs replaced a week later. I walked out of the surgical center 6 hrs later like a new man. Surgery was only 2 and a half hrs but it takes some time to register and come out of the meds. Also, three days later I was on a plane to Florida!
He took his time in our initial consultation and enlightened me with information that I had read about but then realized there was so much more to know. He then prescribed a CT scan, so he can get a better picture of my neck, something no other Dr. asked for but were ready to fuse my neck.
Luckily I had the option of cervical disc replacement and I’m exceptionally satisfied with the procedure. But even if I had to fuse my neck, there is no other Dr. that I would trust more to work on me. And I’ve had 3 shoulder surgeries on the same shoulder, so I’ve leaned the hard way the importance of picking the right Doc.
It’s important to do your research and never settle for one opinion. I just wish I would’ve found him at the beginning of my quest to get fixed two years ago! It would’ve saved me a lot of grief!
Oh, and the friend I mentioned earlier had four discs replaced at the same time! Two cervical and two lumbar! MIND BLOWING technology and skill! Dr. Lanman is badass:) Cheers!

Dr. Lanman and his staff were outstanding! My wife had a procedure for a cervical disc replacement done in May of 2015 and it couldn’t have been a better experience. Not only did they jump through hoops with dealing with our insurance (Military Tricare) but they were advocates for us at every turn.
Don’t believe the negative reviews some people have posted here. We went to several «specialists» from Washington DC to Miami to Los Angeles (everywhere we have been stationed the past 5 years) and he was the only one of 12 doctors we have seen that got it right and actually showed some compassion for my wife. Everyone else took 15 minutes, didn’t listen to a thing we said, and treated us like we were idiots even though my wife and I both hold Master’s degrees. She had two severely damaged disc in her neck that were clearly shown on her MRI and the first 10 doctors didn’t even look at the results and shoved us out the door saying «well it looks like you are managing so keep up the good work».
This is a doctor that really cares for his patients and has empathy for how they feel because he has had several of the same surgeries. My wife has one more surgery scheduled for this July and I wouldn’t trust anyone else to perform the procedure!
Thank you for helping to give my wife her life back.

Buyer Beware! You have to be your own advocate. All I asked was to make sure hospital was in network for my spinal surgery. Arlene assured us. The day before the hospital calls and says we’re out of network and the surgery will cost $ 50−90K, which we will be responsible for. We had to reschedule the surgery for a month later at another facility and I had to do it myself.
The contract had an underlined portion: «your maximum out of pocket will be $ 6500.» Under that they had fine print that if insurance didn’t pay they would then bill us for half the full amount charged (21K). They NEVER contacted the insurance company, never explained any of this. They Never pre-​authorized. Hence our insurance company rejected the whole procedure (artificial disc replacement) as experimental.
The artificial disc was completely unsuccessful. It made it worse and I was in bed for six months. Dr. Lanman then referred me to a pain management specialist and wrote an Rx for 70 pain pills with 3 refills. Sorry bud, you’re someone else’s problem now. And your wife isn’t allowed to call here anymore.
He was late 45 minutes to every appointment. And once their bill collector started harassing us for the new $ 5000 bill we got after the $ 6500 we paid, she informed us that we were lucky to be working with Dr. Lanman.
Thank goodness I found another surgeon who was caring, professional and not in it for the cash. His contract was completely above board, the whole surgery was pre-​approved and the hospital was in contract. Dr. Khurana removed the artificial disc.
I’m sure many are happy with Todd but he failed me and put me in bed and miserable for six months then charged me additional funds.
Spinal problems are no fun and no joke. Please make sure you take care of all the insurance. Do NOT rely on them!

Dr. Lanman is very gifted surgeon at the top of the game. My C6/​C7 was severely herniated all of a sudden and was pressing up on some nerves, causing a horrible pain to radiate down my right arm. I initially went to the ER, and then received an epidural for pain management from a doctor at USC Keck who recommended I get a disc replacement. Two days later, based off the referral of a friend, I went to Lanman and everything was different. He broke down my MRI with extreme detail, explaining everything that was happening, drawing angles, explaining the likely result of the several options. He recommended a more conservative discectomy (no fusion, no replacement) due to my young age and healthy condition. What’s more is that he fit me in later that week before his annual vacation, which if he had not would have left me in pain for up to a month, probably having to spend an ungodly amount on another epidural (needle injected into your spine, not fun) waiting for his return. The fact that he accommodated me so quickly is something for which I will be forever grateful. I am also grateful I avoided the more serious replacement procedure, which apparently wasn’t needed. Always get a second opinion people! And go with the experts, the first doctor I went to, while very educated, was a much newer surgeon.
Dr. Lanman definitely isn’t cheap but he is willing to work with his patients. And as with everything in life you get what you pay for, and in this case the premium is worth every penny. My physical therapist, who has been at it for 20 years, says that simply put for this type of cervical work Lanman is the best in the game and that he will be going to him as a patient whenever his own neck requires surgery in the future.

Dr. Lanman is the best neurosurgeon that I know of… I had extensive low back surgery from him in 2012 and am reaping the rewards!!! I was butchered by an orthopedic surgeon at another prestigious company, and Dr. Lanman had to fix it. Don’t listen to the bad review because if the guy had gone through with the surgery he would have a different opinion!!! If you read my reviews you will note that I don’t put up with a lot. And reaping the benefits of using a brilliant spine surgeon is worth all the waiting room time.

2 and a half stars. Three here just to be nice. This guy did great things for us before, doing some exceptional surgeries for my fiancé, but as of late has not been at all responsive to any phone calls/​e-​mails/​faxes we’ve sent his office. I don’t know if that’s him or more his office staff, but it can be very annoying.

Who Unilocal surgeons. Well this is the only site I know of that doesn’t allow doctors to buy «Likes». So here goes: Dr. Lanman is one of the easiest doctors I have found that I am able to communicate with and helps me to understand that the heck is going on. I visited Dr Lanman because I was looking for a neuro I could talk with and had decent bed side manners. I’ve seen 3 other Neuro’s. Chow, Saunders, Rovner no one came close.
Thank you to his vascular partner Dr Wagner for making a beautiful incision.
Dr Lanman’s office staff that need special recognition Dave, Arlene and Shannon you all made this scary experience manageable.
Thank you!

I wish I could give Dr Lanman more stars than 5. I am three months out from a four level cervical fusion. After 30 years of neck problems that were getting worse in the last few I am out of pain. My wonderful chiropractor recommended him after having a new disc and fusion in his own back with Dr Lanman. My chiropractor did his research and selected Dr Lanman and I benefited from that research. My chiropractor also was in severe pain prior to his surgery and is pain free. I would be in the chiropractor every week for years on end and I was starting to have constant pain. Now I can’t believe that it’s gone. I was very lucky to be guided to such a nice and very talented surgeon!

After battling low back and neck problems for 20 years, living on pain medication and basically just getting through life, I found Dr. Todd Lanman. Three years later, two artifical disc replacement surgeries, one in my low back and one in my neck, I am still 100% pain free. No medications. No Chiropractors. No Physical Therapy. No Steroid injections. No laying flat on my back all day due to pain. I go on long runs every single day. I can go on amusement rides with my son. I can lift and carry anything I want. In other words I can do whatever I want. Modern medicine at it’s best with a surgeon that knows what he is doing.