Continuing Medical Education

In a prior blog entry, I highlighted a few of the talks I participated in at the annual Scoliosis Research Society meeting. The acronym for this annual continuing medical education meeting is IMAST, and stands for International Meeting on Advanced Spine Techniques.

This international meeting brings experts on spine surgery from all over the world to discuss the latest surgical techniques, devices as well as it provides a forum to provide the latest on research in progress.

The overall educational objectives of this meeting are listed below.

At the completion of this program, participants should be able to:

1. Assess the most recent advances in surgical techniques for the treatment of spinal disorders and when to use them, in the interest of providing optimal patient care.

2. Analyze the indications and potential complications for various spine fixation systems including spinal arthroplasty.

3. Recognize emerging technology that has the potential to improve patient outcomes for specific indications and populations.

4. Understand when it may be appropriate to use biologic options to enhance spinal fusion.

At a recent annual continuing medical education meeting sponsored by The Scoliosis Research Society, I was an invited instructor. This conference was the 17^th International Meeting on Advanced Spine Techniques and was held in Toronto. This educational meeting is considered one of the premier international spine meetings held annually for spine surgeons, and it is an honor to be asked to be one of the limited faculty members.

At this meeting, I presented the results of a spine research study for an investigational device that I am participating in. This study is related to the cervical spine and deals with cervical motion technology. A few other continuing medical education activities that I participated in included:

·         Gave a presentation on occipitocervical fixation and biomechanics.

·         Moderated a round table discussion on cervical reconstruction.

·         Participated in a fundamentals session on the cervical spine and discussed posterior cervical decompression and fusion.

• Dedicated patient and visitor areas, with a visitor's cafe.
• Ambulatory spine surgery center
• Imaging suite
• Osteoporosis treatment center
• Physical therapy suite
• Medical academic learning center with a bio-skills cadaver training lab and 65-seat amphitheater. 

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PLEASE JOIN US for Indiana Spine Group's 4th annual continuing medical education  symposium, Back Talk | Comprehensive Concepts in Spinal Disorders and Abnormalities.

Back pain continues to be one of the most common reasons patients seek medical care. According to the North American Spine Society, one out of three Americans suffers from back pain. This conference is ideal for physicians and health care practitioners to help them effectively care for their patients with back and neck pain and disorders.  

Back Talk will provide the latest information for the diagnosis and treatment of spinal disorders, injuries and abnormalities.

 

Early bird registration through July 30.

Register today and save $20!

Date:  September 10 and 11, 2010

Location:  The Westin Indianapolis | 50 S. Capitol Avenue | Indianapolis, IN  46204

For more information or to receive a conference brochure, call (317) 228-7000 or visit the links below:

• Registration Form
• Conference Brochure
• Accreditation

Saturday’s continuing medical education sessions will include three concurrent sessions with nine different topics for conference attendees to choose from.  This blog entry will highlight those sessions available in “Concurrent Sessions Three” that will be on Saturday morning (9/11/10). 

These sessions will include:

The Anatomy of the Exam - This is a clinical workshop that will be co-presented by minimally invasive spine specialist Kevin Macadaeg, MD, and nurse practitioner Alta Skelton, RN, MSN, NP-C.  This workshop will provide an in-depth look at the patient exam and will utilize a live-model to demonstrate the critical components of the physical exam.  What is normal and abnormal during the cervical and lumbar exam will be discussed, as well as a review of the neurological exam.  Additionally, this session will also discuss multiple problems that present as back or should/neck pain and will review clinical algorithms. 

Active and Injured | A Look at Sports Injuries – This session, presented by chiropractic physician Tony Origer, DC, ATC, will highlight common sports injuries related to popular recreational activities of adults, e.g. golf, tennis, weights/fitness training and running.  This continuing medical education session will review the anatomical and physiologic functional changes of the spine that result with aging, and the effects of sports on the spine.  Additionally, the patient assessment of patients that present with spinal pain and injuries from sports-related activities will be discussed, as well as appropriate levels of care and red-flags. 

(Tony Origer, DC, ATC, is a chiropractic physician with Performance Chiropractic and Sports Rehabilitation.)
 

The Workplace | Back Pain and Injuries |  This continuing medical education concurrent session will be presented by Marc Duerden, MD, FAAPM&R, CIME.  Dr. Duerden is a physical medicine and rehabilitation physician with Rehabilitation Associates of Indiana. 

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, it is projected that annually more than one million workers injure their back representing one out of five work place injuries.  During this session Dr. Duerden will review common workplace spinal injuries and their contributing factors to back pain.  Additionally, the short- and long-term effects on the worker’s status will be reviewed.  Spinal conditions and physical attributes that predispose an individual to back injuries will be discussed as well as the indications and treatment options for low back pain.  

For more information about Back Talk, or to register click here, or call (317) 228-7000.

The Nutritionally Healthy Spine – This continuing medical education session, presented by Lori Petrie, RD, will continue to focus on a healthy spine and the importance of nutrition in achieving and maintaining a healthy spine. This session will provide important nutritional recommendations for a healthy spine.  In addition to diet and lifestyle other factors that will be addressed for a healthy spine will include popular over-the-count medications, and a review of herbal, vitamin and nutritional supplements. Ms. Petrie is an outpatient nutritional counselor with St.Vincent Hospital.

Back Pain | Chronic and Failed – It is estimated that approximately 40% of individuals that undergo back surgery continue to have back pain.  Jonathan Gentile, MD, a minimally invasive spine specialist with Indiana Spine Group will address this ongoing issue.  In this educational session he will address both chronic back pain and failed back syndrome and will discuss the differentiation factors, and the diagnostic perils.  Additionally, Dr. Gentile will discuss the treatment options, indications and patient selection for various treatment options.  One treatment option that will be highlighted will included the spinal cord stimulator, used as an option for failed back syndrome. 

For more information about Back Talk, visit our web site, or call (317) 228-7000.

Back Talk, Indiana Spine Groups continuing medical education symposium, will provide concurrent sessions in addition to the two educational tracks (general and in-depth) and general sessions. These concurrent educational sessions will provide conference attendees a wide array of topics related to spinal conditions and treatments. A few of the concurrent sessions include:

Myths and Realities | Treatment of Vertebral Compression Fractures – This session, which will be presented by Indiana Spine Group minimally invasive spine specialist Kevin Macadaeg, MD, will highlight the symptoms, diagnosis and treatment indicators for vertebral compression fractures. Vertebral compression fractures have been identified as one of the most common fragility fractures in the U.S. During this educational session, two common treatment procedures for vertebral compression fractures will be discussed – this includes kyphoplasty and vertebroplasty.    

The Wellness Paradigm – Presented by chiropractic physician Nate Blume, DC, this continuing medical education session will apply the concept of functional medicine to spine health. The role of functional medicine in spinal health looks at contributing factors such as genetics and lifestyle. In this session, how to apply a wellness model to patient care and the role of functional medicine to improve the quality of a patient’s back health will be discussed. 

(Nate Blume, DC, is a chiropractic physician with Lakeside Chiropractic.)

Osteoporosis, also called the silent disease, has been estimated to affect 10 million Americans.  Another 34 million are projected to have low bone mass, according the National Osteoporosis Foundation. Needless to say, this critical topic will be discussed at Indiana Spine Group’s annual continuing medical education symposium Back Talk. This talk entitled The Silent Disease | Osteoporosis Updates will be presented by William Schmalz, MD, an internist from Bloomington, Ind.

During this talk, Dr. Schmalz will discuss the latest screening, diagnostic and treatment algorithms for osteopenia and osteoporosis, including the recommendations for various demographic groups, e.g. teenagers and young adults. Additionally, Dr. Schmalz will review the indications and contra-indications of medications and hormone replacement therapy in the prevention and treatment of osteoporosis – and will address the menopausal and post-menopausal life stages. 

One general session that will be given at Back Talk, Indiana Spine Group’s continuing medical education symposium, is entitled Making the Diagnosis| Differential Factors in Spinal Diagnosis. This presentation will be given by neurosurgical spine surgeon Kenneth Renkens, MD, FACS.

During this presentation, Dr. Kenneth Renkens will discuss the differential diagnoses of lower back and extremity pain. The importance of identifying coexisting conditions affecting spinal pain and treatment will be reviewed. Additionally, Dr. Renkens will discuss spinal infections and inflammations that present as back pain neck pain.  

Following the educational tracks for Indiana Spine Group’s annual continuing medical education symposium Back Talk, we will then feature the keynote speaker. As previously blogged, our keynote speaker joins us from Salt Lake City, Utah. James McGreevy, MD, is a trauma surgeon and Professor of Surgery at the University of Utah Medical Center and Chief of Surgery for the Salt Lake City VA Medical Center. Additionally, he is a Colonel in the United States Air Force Reserve and the Commander of the 419^th Medical Squadron.

During Dr. McGreevy’s keynote address he will discuss medicine on the front lines – as he talks about his experiences in Iraq. A few things that will be discussed include the operations of the Balad Air Force Theater Hospital, the level of trauma care available to wounded military personnel and civilians. Additionally, he will discuss the common occupational health hazards associated with fighter types of operations in a deployed environment. 

Dr. McGreevy was deployed in 2005 and 2007, and has served as a flight surgeon in Balad at the Balad Air Force Theater Hospital. This is one of the largest U.S. military hospitals in Balad, a multi-specialty trauma hospital that treats soldiers, military personnel, civilians and sometimes insurgents.

Paul Kraemer, M.D., a spine surgeon with Indiana Spine Group, presented at the annual continuing medical education meeting of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons.  (Highlighted in a previous blog entry.) Dr. Kraemer was a co-faculty member for the session entitled, “Cranio-Cervical: Stabilization Techniques, Surgical Approaches and Indications.” 

This session was a practical clinic and it included the evaluation of craniocervical anatomy and pathology, as well as the development of a treatment plan.  In addition to the presentation, this clinic also included a hands-on demonstration.  The objectives of this session were, to:

• Formulate craniovertebral junction surgical approaches
• Classify and differentiate craniocervical lesions
• identify current techniques and strategies in occipito cervical fixation

In early May, physicians with Indiana Spine Group attended and spoke at the annual meeting of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons. This included neurosurgical spine surgeon Kenneth Renkens, M,D., F.A.C.S., and spine surgeon Paul Kraemer, MD. This annual continuing medical education meeting for neurosurgeons was hosted in Philadelphia.  

At Indiana Spine Group’s Back Talk continuing medical education symposium, as highlighted in a previous blog entry , there are two educational tracks that will be available for conference attendees on day one.  In addition to the general track discussed in the prior blog, there is a more in-depth track entitled, More Specifics | Spinal Diagnostics and Treatment. 

In this education track there will be a few sessions focusing on the diagnosis of spinal disorders and abnormalities.  One session titled Spinal Imaging | Technology and Diagnosis, will be presented by Stephen Pomeranz, MD. Dr. Pomerance is a radiologist. In this session, Dr. Pomeranz will provide an in-depth look at spinal imaging technologies and highlight the latest developments in spinal imaging technology and their applications in spinal diagnostics.  Additionally, using case studies, he will review radiological finds and diagnostic indicators. 

The second session of this educational track will focus on The Electrodiagnostic Evaluation, and will be presented by physical medicine and rehabilitation specialist Dr. Shashank Dave.  During his presentation, Dr.Dave will discuss the role and application of electromyography in the diagnosis of spinal disorders and diseases.  Additionally, he will review case studies which utilize electromyography and identify specific diagnoses. 

Another session presented for the in-depth track will focus on Diagnostic and Therapeutic Injections of the Spine.  This will be presented by minimally invasive spine specialist John Arbuckle, MD.  During this session Dr. Arbuckle will review and differentiate between the different type of therapeutic injections and will review the treatment efficacy of injections, the clinical protocols, indications and expected outcomes. 

The last session of this continuing education track will highlight spine surgery, and is entitled Surgical Perspectives | Fusion vs Arthroplasty, presented by spine surgeon Rick Sasso, MD.  During this session, Dr. Sasso will provide a detailed analysis of spinal fusion and arthroplasty and he will discuss motion preservation modalities for the treatment of generative disc disease.  He will highlight lumbar and cervical artificial discs as well as review research studies and discuss patient selection, indications and expected outcomes. 

Planning continues for Back Talk | Comprehensive Concepts in Spinal Diagnosis and Abnormalities, Indiana Spine Group’s 4^th annual spine symposium. For this year’s conference there will be two educational tracks. One track will provide more general information and one in-depth. These tracks will be held the morning of day one. 

The general track is entitled: Spinal Care Boot Camp | Diagnostics and Treatment. There will be a session on spinal anatomy, entitled Spinal Anatomy 101, presented by minimally invasive spine specialist Kevin Macadaeg, MD.  During this session, Dr. Macadaeg will discuss the functional anatomy of the spine, normal aging process, the spine’s degenerative cascading process and normal and abnormal spinal anatomy.

Another general session which will be presented by minimally invasive spine specialist John Arbuckle, MD, The ABCs of Spinal Diagnostics. In this session, the etiology of spinal pain and common spinal disorders that cause back pain will be reviewed. Additionally, Dr. Arbuckle will discuss the indications and applications of spinal testing, evidence-based guidelines for the diagnosis of lower back and neck pain, and he will highlight the red flags of spinal pain. 

Two other sessions in this track include Understanding Spinal Therapeutics and The Spine Surgery Patient. In the spinal therapeutics session, presented by minimally invasive spine specialist Jonathan Gentile, MD, he will discuss the pharmacological management of acute and chronic back pain, review common noninvasive and minimally invasive spinal therapies and their indications. Spine surgeon Paul Kraemer, MD, will discuss the spine surgery patient and will provide an overview of common spine surgery procedures, their indications and expected outcomes. Additionally, Dr. Kraemer will discuss the applications and limitations of spine surgery, and when referral to a spine surgeon is indicated. 

For a complete Back Talk agenda, link here. 

Registration is now available for Indiana Spine Group’s continuing medical education spine symposium Back Talk | Comprehensive Concepts in Spinal Disorders and Abnormalities.  This conference is for anyone who treats patients with spinal problems.  Conference attendees will learn the latest as speakers present the most current evidence-based information about the diagnosis and treatment of spinal disorders and abnormalities.

For the latest information about Back Talk, visit Indiana Spine Group’s web site:

Accreditation / Continuing Medical Education Information

Conference Agenda

Registration Form

While at the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeon’s annual continuing medical education meeting, I also gave a few other talks/podium presentations.  These presentations were:

"Does smoking have an impact on fusion rate in single level ACDF with allograft and plate fixation?"

“Does early return to work following arthroplasty and ACDF

result in adverse outcomes?"

• American Academy of Family Physicians
• Indiana State Medical Association
• Indiana State Nurses Association
• American Academy of Nurse Practitioners
• Logan College of Chiropractic
• Commission for Case Manager Certification
• American Society of Radiologic Technologists

While at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) in New Orleans, in addition to presiding as President of the Federation of Spine Societies spine specialty day, I also gave a few talks on cervical radiculopathy.

The first session that I moderated was on the current concepts in cervical radiculopathy.  The objective of this continuing medical education session was to provide the most up-to-date information on the pathophysiology, diagnosis and treatment of cervical disc disorders, including the role of selective nerve root sleeve injections and artificial disc replacement.

Another session that I served as a faculty member for was the spine instructional course lecture entitled, “The Degenerative Cervical Spine: What You Need to Know.”  This presentation provided an overview of cervical degenerative diseases and addressed the patient evaluation and treatment options, including anterior, posterior and non-operative options.