If you were not able to attend Indiana Spine Group’s continuing medical education conference, Back Talk | Comprehensive Concepts in the Diagnosis and Treatment of Spinal Disorders - educational sessions are now available on-line.
Educational Sessions include:
- The Fundamentals of Spinal Diagnostics | Kevin Macadaeg, MD
- Common Spinal Disorders | Paul Kraemer, MD
- The Uncommon and Difficult | Part One: Benign | Michael Stack, MD, PhD
- The Uncommon and Difficult | Part Two: Urgent | Kenneth Renkens, MD
- The Basics | Spinal Imaging | Thomas Reilly, MD
- Non-Operative Care: An Evidence-Based Overview | Jonathan Gentile, MD, and Jeff Hebert, DC, PhD (c)
- Minimally Invasive Spine Treatments | John Arbuckle, MD
- The Surgical Patient | Part One: Cervical | Rick Sasso, MD
- The Surgical Patient | Part Two: Lumbar | Kenneth Renkens, MD
To view these continuing education sessions, click here. Additionally, if you would like to receive continuing medical education credits for viewing theses sessions, visit the St.Vincent Distance Education Site and view from there. Registration is free.
(A very special thank you to St.Vincent Spine Center for making these videos possible.)
Indiana Spine Group participated in the annual golf tournament sponsored by the Indiana State Chiropractic Association. In addition to bei
ng a hole sponsor, minimally invasive spine specialists
Kevin Macadaeg, M.D., and
Jonathan Gentile, M.D., enjoyed a round of golf. Also included in the foursome were
Jodi Hettermann Blume, a physician assistant with Indiana Spine Group, and her husband Nate Blume, D.C.
(Pictured here: (left to right) Kevin Macadaeg, M.D., Jonathan Gentile, M.D., and Nate Blume, D.C.)
Last week Indiana Spine Group hosted their
third annual spine symposiu
m, continuing medical education program for physicians and health care practitioners. This conference provided the latest information on spine treatment - diagnostics, therapeutics and spinal surgery.
The keynote speaker for ths conference was Cheryl Angelelli. Cheryl is a paralympic swimmer and American record holder. At the 2008 Paralympic Games in Beijing in 2008, Cheryl won a pair of silver medals. Cheryl suffered a spinal cord injury when she was a teenager.
To learn more about her story, visit her web site -
www.untolddreams.net. On Friday prior to her keynote address, Cheryl was interviewed by Anne Marie Tiernon from WTHR. Additionally,
Kevin Macadaeg, MD, a minimally invasive spine specialist with Indiana Spine Group was interviewed. To watch the story,
click here.
A few weeks ago, Anne Marie Tiernon - news anchor with WTHR, interviewed me about the recent FDA-approval of the Bryan™ Cervical Disc. This story aired on June 9, and here is the link to this story.
As mentioned in previous blogs, I have been involved in the clinical trials for this device, and implanted the first Bryan Cervical Disc in the United States. This procedure was done at St.Vincent Hospital, and was performed with Kenneth Renkens, MD. Dr. Renkens is a neurosurgical spine surgeon, also with Indiana Spine Group.
Additionally, cervical arthroplasty patient Kevin Wacasey was interviewed in this story. Kevin received the first Cervical Disc in the United States in 2002. Today, he is doing great! He enjoys spending time with his teenage son, golfing, fishing and other hobbies.
Indiana Spine Group has three minimally invasive spine specialists treating patients with back and neck pain. The goal of minimally invasive spine specialists is to diagnose the cause of a patient’s neck / back pain – and to treat this cause. Many times medical management and/or minimally invasive spine treatments can effectively eliminate a patient’s neck or back pain.
To learn more about our minimally invasive spine specialists, Kevin Macadaeg, MD, Jonathan Gentile, MD, and John Arbuckle, MD, visit their biographies. Additionally, their videos provide insight into their treatment philosophy and expertise.
For more information about Indiana Spine Group or to schedule an appointment call: (317) 228-7000 or toll-free (866) 947-7463.
On Monday, Anne Marie Tiernon - news anchor with WTHR, interviewed Dr. Rick Sasso about the recent FDA-approval of the Bryan™ Cervical Disc. This 
story aired on June 9, and here is the link to this story.
Dr. Rick Sasso, a principal investigator in the Bryan Cervical Disc clinical trial, implanted the first Bryan Cervical Disc in the United States. This procedure was done at St.Vincent Hospital, and was performed with Kenneth Renkens, MD. Dr. Renkens, also involved with this clinical trial, is a neurosurgical spine surgeon with Indiana Spine Group.
Addi
tionally, cervical arthroplasty patient Kevin Wacasey was interviewed in this story. Kevin received the first Bryan Cervical Disc in the United States in 2002. Today, he is doing great! He enjoys spending time with his teenage son, golfing, fishing and other hobbies.
A second concurrent session at Back Talk, the continuing medical education symposium will focus on spinal fractures and the treatment options for spinal fractures. With the aging population, the incidence of age-specific spinal fractures is expected to increase. One study estimated that vertebral compression fractures 
affects 25% of post-menopausal women.
This session will be presented by Kevin Macadaeg, MD, a minimally invasive spine specialist with Indiana Spine Group. At this session, he will discuss:
- How to recognize the symptoms, assess and diagnose osteoporotic spinal fractures.
- Discuss the indications for medical management and interventional therapies.
- Highlight vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty for the treatment of vertebral compression fractures.
- Review the indications and treatment of sacroplasty for sacral fractures.
During the morning of the
Back Talk spine continuing medical education program,
presentation topics will discuss spinal diagnostics and disorders. One talk, entitled
The Fundamentals of Spinal Diagnostics, will provide practitioners the latest evidence-based guidelines for assessing patients that complain of neck and back pain. Kevin Macadaeg, MD, a minimally invasive spine specialist with Indiana Spine Group. will present this spinal diagnostic lecture.
During this talk, Dr. Macadeg will discuss the normal spine, and the normal degenerative cascading process of the spine. He will discuss evidence-based guidelines for diagnosing neck and back pain and review recommended spinal diagnostic testing. This review will also include identification of red flags that present as back pain. Additionally, Dr. Macadaeg will discuss the different minimally invasive diagnostic tests and their indications. This discussion will include selective nerve root injects, facet joint injections and discograms.
To learn more about how spinal cord stimulators are placed, click here – (when on the spine education page, then scroll down to "spinal cord stimulator", and click "procedure overview". Prior to the placement of a spinal cord stimulator, the patient will go through a trial period - where the spinal cord stimulator is temporarily placed. After the trial period, if the patient feels the treatment is effective to minimize their back pain, then the implant is placed underneath the skin.
Two manufactures of spinal cord implants are Medtronic and Advanced Bionics. To learn more about the spinal cord stimulators, here are links to their sites – Medtronic and Advanced Bionics.
Spinal cord stimulation, is one of the treatments that minimally invasive spine specialists perform at Indiana Spine Group to treat failed back syndrome. Minimally invasive spine specialists with Indiana Spine Group include Jonathan Gentile, MD, Kevin Macadaeg, MD, and John Arbuckle, MD.
For more information, call our office at (317) 228-7000
In January, Dr. Kevin Macadaeg will be co-presenting at the continuing medical
education meeting sponsored by the Indiana Academy of Family Physicians He will be giving a presentation on osteoporosis. This continuing medical education program, entitled Back to Basics, will be held in Indianapolis.
Dr. Macadaeg, a minimially invasive spine specialist with Indiana Spine Group will be speaking with Dr. Michael Stack. Dr. Stack is a rheumatologist with Diagnostic Rheumatology and Research.
During their talk on
The Osteoporotic Spine, a few key topics they will discuss are:
• The medical management of osteoporosis.
• Recognizing the patient presenting with an osteoporotic spine fracture.
• The nonoperative management of osteoporotic spine fractures.
• Understanding when to refer for vertebral augmentation (vertebroplasty / kyphoplasty).
• How vertebral augmentation is performed.
For more information, about this conference here is the
link to the Indiana Academy of Family Physician's continuing medical education page.
Physicians with Indiana Spine Group presented at the fall conference of the Indiana State Chiropractic Association this past weekend, on November 1 and 2.
On Saturday Dr. Kevin Macadaeg, a minimally invasive spine specialist, spoke on minimally invasive techniques used to help manage spinal pain. Additionally, he addressed diagnostic and therapeutic spinal injections. Spine surgeons - Dr. Thomas Reilly, Dr. Kenneth Renkens and Dr. Rick Sasso also spoke on Saturday. Dr. Reilly discussed when spine surgery is a potential treatment option. Dr. Renkens’ talk entitled “Understanding Lumbar Surgery”, focused on the lower back and reviewed spine surgery options and indications for the lumbar spine. Additionally, he discussed the different types of lumbar fusions and their applications. Dr. Rick Sasso focused on cervical surgery, and his talk was entitled “The ABC’s of Cervical Surgery”. In this talk, he discussed common cervical surgical procedures; including spinal fusion and cervical artificial disc replacement.
On Sunday, minimally invasive spine specialists Dr. Jonathan Gentile and Dr. John Arbuckle reviewed case studies of minimally invasive diagnostic and therapeutic techniques. Spine surgeons Dr. Thomas Reilly and Dr. Paul Kraemer also reviewed case studies of surgery patients.
For more information about this conference, click here.
Physicians with Indiana Spine Group are actively involved in research. The goals of the research that they participate in are to develop minimally invasive surgical techniques, and to identify and develop minimally invasive procedures that allow the patients to return to normal activities as quickly as possible.
A few research projects that Indiana Spine Group has participated in in
clude:
Lumbar Disc Implant – Drs. Rick Sasso (a spine surgeon with Indiana Spine Group) and Kenneth Renkens (a neurosurgical spine surgeon with Indiana Spine Group) participated in the FlexiCore lumbar disc study. Used to treat degenerative disc disease, the lumbar disc implant replaces the damaged disc. This procedure is an alternative to a spinal fusion.
Percutaneous Reference Frame (PRF) – Dr. Rick Sasso developed this devise that improves the capability for spine surgeons to perform minimally invasive spine surgery. By the use of an infrared camera and the PRF - this allows spine surgeons exact placement of spine surgical instruments – with less of an incision. This technology has been referred to as “global positioning of instrumentation” – and it works similar to the GPS technology used in cars.
Cervical Artificial Disc – Drs. Rick Sasso and Kenneth Renkens also participated in the study for the Bryan Cervical Disc, and performed the first cervical artificial disc implant in North America in 2002. This cervical artificial disc has received preliminary approval from the FDA last summer.
Electrothermal Disc Decompression (EDD) and Intradiscal Elctrothermal Therapy (IDET) Studies – Dr. Kevin Macadaeg, a minimally invasive spine specialist with Indiana Spine Group, participated in this study that evaluated the effectiveness of EDD and IDET to treat lower back pain and sciatica. These treatments use a heat coil, which is inserted via a catheter in the disc of the spine.
Another breakout session, at this continuing medical education symposium for physicians and health care practitioners, will address injuries incurred by athletes and the weekend warrior. With the increased number of sports activities and programs, unfortunately this also includes an increase in back pain and injuries. 
During this session, Kevin Macadaeg, MD, and Nate Blume, DC, will provide the latest information for the prevention and diagnosis of spine-related sports injuries. Additionally, they will discuss when spine problems should be evaluated by a spine specialist and what the more serious warning signs are; i.e. stress fractures.
Kevin Macadaeg, MD, is a minimally invasive spine specialist with Indiana Spine Group. Nate Blume, DC, is a chiropractic physician with Lakeshore Chiropractic, PC located in Indianapolis
Another special interest symposium for this continuing medical education program is entitled, “The Osteoporotic Spine”. Co-presenters for this session are Kevin Macadaeg, MD, and Michael Stack, MD. Dr. Macadaeg is a minimally invasive spine specialist with Indiana Spine Group, and Dr. Stack is a rheumatologist with Diagnostic Rheumatology & Research, PC.
Osteoporosis has been identified as a major health concern, and the National Institutes of Health predicts that one in two women and one in four men over the age of 50 will suffer from a vertebral compression fracture. Many times, not diagnosed until there is a fracture – this session will highlight the latest screening and diagnostic guidelines and recommendations. Additionally, there will be a review of the recommended treatments including anti-osteoporotic medications and vertebral augmentation (vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty).
For a complete medical education /symposium agenda click here.
Indiana Spine Group is participating in a multinational, multi-site investigational study for chronic low-back pain (CLBP).
Investigators with the study include Dr. Kevin Macadaeg (minimally invasive spine specialist) and Dr. Rick Sasso (spine surgeon). They are assessing the effectiveness of a study drug in reducing pain levels experience by adults who have had chronic low-back pain for more than six months. Chronic low-back pain, affects 80 percent of the population at some time in their lives.
A minimally invasive spine specialist is a physician that specializes in the treatment of patients with spine disorders. The focus of their patient care is to diagnose the cause of the spine problem, and then to treat the specific cause of the problem which will usually alleviate the symptoms; i.e. back pain.
A physician who is a minimally invasive spine specialist is usually board-certified in anesthesia as well as pain management. Other terms used for this specialty include pain management, interventional spine specialist or minimally interventional spine specialist. Regardless of the term used, key is physician’s board certification.
At Indiana Spine Group, there are three board certified minimally invasive spine specialists. They are Kevin Macadaeg, MD, Jonathan Gentile, MD, and John Arbuckle, MD.
On Friday (August 22), there will be an in-depth review of spinal diagnostics. One session entitled, The Essentials of Diagnosing 
Spinal Pain will be presented by Kevin Macadaeg, MD. Dr. Macadaeg is a minimally invasive interventional spine specialist with Indiana Spine Group.
Neck and back pain are common symptoms of many underlying spinal problems. Key to diagnosing the cause of this pain is to have an understanding of the overall spinal mechanics and also what is “normal”, in respect to degenerative changes of the spine.
The objectives of this presentation include:
§ Define the normal aging process and common degenerative changes of the spine.
§ Identify common spinal problems that cause lower back and neck pain and key indicators for diagnosis.
§ Review the evidence-based guidelines for the diagnostic triage of lower back pain, including appropriateness and use of invasive diagnostic testing.
§ Identify the “yellow” and “red” flags that present as back pain.
Today, the Indianapolis Star published a story about the spinal cord stimulator. The patient highlighted in the story had a spinal cord stimulator implanted in March 2007. Prior to the spinal cord implant, the patient was side-lined from normal actvities as a result of her back pain. Since the procedure she has taken up ballroom dancing. Here is the link to the story.
This procedure, spinal cord stimulator implant, was performed by Dr. Jonathan Gentile. Dr. Gentile is a minimially invasive spine specialist with Indiana Spine Group. Other minimially invasive spine specialists at Indiana Spine Group are Kevin Macadaeg, MD, and John Arbuckle, MD.
Indiana Spine Group is a center of excellence for the treatment of spinal disorders and abnormalities. Located in Indianapolis - with offices in Kokomo and Anderson, we provide comprehensive spine care – including interventional pain management treatments, nonsurgical spine treatments, minimally invasive spine procedures, minimally invasive spine surgery and spine surgery. Treating both adults and children, some common diagnoses that we treat include degenerative disc disease, spinal stenosis, herniated cervical disc, failed back syndrome, osteoporosis and scoliosis.
Physicians with Indiana Spine Group include:
§ Ken Renkens, MD (neurosurgical spine surgeon)
§ Rick Sasso, MD (spine surgeon)
§ Kevin Macadaeg, MD (minimally invasive spine specialist)
§ Thomas Reilly, MD (spine surgeon)
§ Jonathan Gentile, MD (minimally invasive spine specialist)
§ John Arbuckle, MD (minimally invasive spine specialist
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