Did Luigi Mangione's Back Pain Surgery Go Wrong? What We Know

Luigi Mangione, who is facing charges over the shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, reportedly suffered from back pain that could have led to a negative experience with the health-care system.

Since the shooting of Thompson on December 4, there has been significant speculation over the motivation for the attack. The bullets that killed Thompson were found to have phrases critical of the health-care industry engraved on them, leading authorities to suspect the killer was someone who disliked the practices of Thompson's company.

Now, as more information about Mangione comes to light, there is further evidence about his possible motivation.

Luigi Mangione's Back Pain

According to reports from Forbes, Mangione posted on Reddit about pain in his back in the months before the shooting, writing: "my spondy went bad on me last year, it was completely devastating as a young athletic person."

According to the Washington Post, friends of Mangione said that the reason he moved to Hawaii, which is his last registered address, was to get better health.

Mangione posted an X-ray of his spine to social media, with the image appearing to indicate a case of spondylolisthesis, a condition caused by vertebrae slipping out of place, which can cause chronic pain.

In analysis of the images, neurosurgeon Tyler Cole said that surgery Mangione received appeared to be "suboptimal," and that he would likely have continued to experience nerve pain after the operation.

"The lack of good ALIF along with subsidence likely worsened the L5 radicular pain by not restoring disc height and causing neuroforaminal compression," Cole said. "You can fuse with continued misalignment as long as disc height is restored and foramen are open. But the overall point is valid, looks like suboptimal surgery."

Responding to Newsweek's coverage of Mangione's research history, neurosurgeon Betsy Grunch said that back pains often led to rejected claims from insurance companies, describing the process as "a constant battle."

In analysis of the X-rays, Grunch said: "This could potentially mean he even suffered from a failed spinal fusion. A failed spinal fusion could lead to chronic lower back pain and could necessitate an individual to file a lot of claims with their insurance company that could be denied.

"I take care of these kinds of patients all the time and it is a constant battle with the insurance companies trying to get these patients what they need to help them deal with their pain."

Mangione, who has not yet been found guilty and remains a suspect, was arrested at a McDonald's in Altoona, Pennsylvania, on Monday. Police found a three-page document on him, which was later published by journalist Ken Klippenstein on his Substack blog.

The manifesto, written by Mangione by hand, claims that he was working alone, and that he was sorry for any "strife or trauma" caused by his actions.

"Frankly, these parasites simply had it coming. A reminder: the US has the #1 most expensive healthcare system in the world, yet we rank roughly #42 in life expectancy," Mangione wrote. "United is the [indecipherable] largest company in the US by market cap, behind only Apple, Google, Walmart. It has grown and grown, but [h]as our life expectancy?

"No the reality is, these [indecipherable] have simply gotten too powerful, and they continue to abuse our country for immense profit because the American public has allowed them to get away with it."

Newsweek contacted the authorities in New York for more information on the proceedings against Mangione via email.

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Update 12/11/24, 9:06 a.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.