“After surgery, I could feel my legs again—they were not numb at all,” says Cuneo. “I never had the original pain come back, and I feel like I’m 40 years old again.”
Courtesy of Peter Cuneo
Peter Cuneo, known as one of the greatest turnaround CEOs in the country, had severe pain in his legs to the point where they would fall asleep while he was outside walking, forcing him to sit on the ground or a nearby fire hydrant to avoid a fall. His condition worsened, and after three years of receiving injections that wouldn’t last long enough to keep him moving, he knew he needed to seek another option.
At NYU Langone Orthopedics, he found Jeffrey A. Goldstein, MD, who performed less-invasive robotic spine surgery to successfully resolve the condition.
“Robotic surgery allowed us to do a less-invasive approach with increased safety,” said Dr. Goldstein, clinical professor, Department of Orthopedic Surgery at NYU Grossman School of Medicine, and an orthopedic spine surgeon at NYU Langone Health’s Spine Center. “Recovery was faster, and it was complete. He has no limitations at this point.”
Cuneo helped rebuild the home of Spider-Man, Iron Man, X-Men, and many other superheroes after its bankruptcy.
Cuneo felt better right away.
“I had a miracle experience. Immediately when I woke up, even though I had surgical pain, I could tell all the leg problems were gone,” said Cuneo, who played a lead role in the turnaround of Marvel Entertainment and many other companies, notably leading Marvel out of bankruptcy to its prominence today.
Cuneo is now walking without pain, about to get back to playing golf. He said he even gained back an inch of height due to the surgery alleviating the compression on his spine.
“After surgery, I could feel my legs again—they were not numb at all,” said Cuneo, 81, who hosts the Superhero Leadership podcast. “I never had the original pain come back, and I feel like I’m 40 years old again.”
Experts at the Spine Center understand that neck pain and back pain can disrupt someone’s entire life. It’s why more than 25,000 adults and children come to NYU Langone Orthopedics each year for nonsurgical and surgical treatment of degenerative spine conditions of the neck and back, such as herniated disc and spinal stenosis, and spinal deformities, including scoliosis and spondylolisthesis.
About NYU Langone Health
NYU Langone Health is a fully integrated health system that consistently achieves the best patient outcomes through a rigorous focus on quality that has resulted in some of the lowest mortality rates in the nation. Vizient Inc. has ranked NYU Langone No. 1 out of 118 comprehensive academic medical centers across the nation for three years in a row, and U.S. News & World Report recently placed nine of its clinical specialties among the top five in the nation. NYU Langone offers a comprehensive range of medical services with one high standard of care across 7 inpatient locations, its Perlmutter Cancer Center, and more than 320 outpatient locations in the New York area and Florida. The system also includes two tuition-free medical schools, in Manhattan and on Long Island, and a vast research enterprise.
Media Inquiries
Marlene Naanes
Marlene.Naanes@NYULangone.org
