Welcome to the Spinal Diagnostics, Therapeutics and Surgery blog written by Indiana Spine Group. The main purpose of this blog is to provide an overview and highlight of procedures and treatments for spinal problems and deformities. For more information, visit our web site or call toll-free (866) 947-7463.
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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:
Congratulations to Rick Sasso, MD, a spine surgeon with Indiana Spine Group, who was just awarded his eighth patent! This is patent number 7,727,266 for a method and apparatus for retaining screws in a plate.
This patent is for an anterior cervical plate, now called Venture. This plate is used in spine 
surgery for patients suffering from a herniated disc or stenosis (disc degeneration), or after trauma, tumors or other conditions causing neck instability. The plate is used to stabilize the cervical spine after removing the disc.
Below is an abstract of this patent:
A retention system for maintaining a screw to a vertebral plate. One or more screws extend through apertures within the vertebral plate. A cavity is positioned adjacent to and overlaps into the aperture. A ring is positioned within the cavity and held in position by a cap. The cap attaches to the plate to prevent removal of the ring. The ring is deflectable between a first shape to allow the screw to be inserted and removed from the aperture, and a second shape to prevent screw back-out from the aperture. A method of using the system is also included and comprises positioning the ring within a cavity in the plate, maintaining the position of the ring to the plate by attaching a cap, inserting a screw through the aperture and attaching the plate to a vertebral member, and positioning the ring over the screw head and preventing the screw from backing-out.
For complete patent information, visit the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office website.
Recently Rick Sasso, M.D., a spine surgeon with Indiana Spine Group,
co-authored a book chapter for a medical textbook. This chapter was titled “Anterior Lumbar Interbody Fusion.” Anterior lumbar interbody fusion, usually referred to as ALIF, is a spine surgical procedure commonly used to treat discogenic low back pain - when non-operative measures are ineffective.
In this chapter, the historical background of anterior lumbar interbody fusion was reviewed. This spine surgery procedure was used as early as 1932 for the treatment of spondylolisthesis. Additionally, this chapter reviewed the biomechanics, patient selection, clinical studies, and imaging. To read this chapter, click here
Indiana Spine Group is hosting a fund raiser for The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society on September 11, 2010. This fund raiser is in honor of Kevin Macadaeg, MD, a minimally 
invasive spine specialist with Indiana Spine Group. Dr. Macadaeg was diagnosed with Grade 3A lymphoma in November 2009. All proceeds benefit The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.
You and your guests are invited to attend!
Date: September 11, 2010
Time: 7:00 p.m. – 11:00 p.m.
Place: The Westin Indianapolis | 50 S. Capitol Avenue
Guests will enjoy live music, dancing and a silent auction. Hors d’ oeuvres will be served, and a cash bar available.
Click here for more information, and to make your reservation or call (317) 228-7000.
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.
The following is a patient comment that was submitted on
Indiana Spine Group's blog:
Dr.Macadaeg is the most helpful doctor that I have come in contact with since my injury. When I first got hurt the doctors I saw told me I was fine and needed some PT and my neck would be ok. Upon my neck not improving they sent me to another doctor who also said the symptoms I had did not make sense to him. After getting a MRI and EMG he then realized there was a problem. I was so upset how everyone was treating me. I was sent to Dr.Macadaeg and he understood what was going on with me. His staff made me feel comfortable. He was forward to the point and caring, he did not doubt me the way the other doctors did. If every doctor could be like him; people who are in pain would feel like someone really cared. I'm so thankful for all Indiana Spine Group has done for me. Thank you!
JL
In July 2009, an article that Dr. Kenneth Renkens co-authored was published in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons. This article was entitled “A Phase 3b, Open-Label, Single-Group Immunogenicity and Safety Study of Topical Recombinant Thrombin in Surgical 
Hemostatis”.
This study evaluated the affects of a topical hemostat during surgery. (Note: a topic hemostat is used to control bleeding during spine surgery and other surgical procedures). For an abstract of this study background and conclusions, link here.
Dr. Kenneth Renkens is a neurosurgical spine surgeon with Indiana Spine Group.
A recent blog entry highlighted articles about the cervical artificial disc, written by Dr. Rick Sasso - a spine surgeon with Indiana Spine Group.
In this spine wellness educational video, Dr. Sasso discusses cervical artificial disc; the indications, overview of surgical procedure and the advantages of this procedure.
According to the National Osteoporosis Foundation one in two women and one in four men will sustain an osteoporotic fracture sometime in their lives. One of the most common fractures as a result of osteoporosis is a spinal fracture.
In this spine wellness educational video, Dr. Kevin Macadaeg discusses osteoporosis and vertebral compression fractures. Dr. Macadaeg is a minimally invasive spine specialist with Indiana Spine Group.
In May 2009, the Bryan Cervical Artificial Disc received FDA approval. T
his approval was previously written about in Dr. Sasso’s blog. The cervical artificial disc provides an alternative spine surgical treatment for cervical degenerative disc disease.
Dr. Rick Sasso, a spine surgeon with Indiana Spine Group, has been a principal investigator in the studies with this spine surgical device – the Bryan Cervical Disc. A few of abstracts of his published research studies regarding the cervical disc are available on the U.S. National Library of Medicine / National Institutes of Health web site.
These include:
One procedure performed by the minimally invasive spine specialists at Indiana Spine Group is vertebroplasty. Vertebroplasty is one of the treatment options for vertebral compression 
fractures.
During vertebrplasty,a very specialized orthopaedic cement is injected into the vertebral body. The advantages of vertebroplasty include: immediate fix of the fractured area of the spine, that area of the bone is stronger as a result of the cement and the patient has pain relief in 1-2 days.
To learn more about vertebroplasty, this video profiles minimally invasive spine specialist Kevin Macadaeg, M.D., as he discusses the procedure.
For the convenience of our patients’ the offices of Indiana Spine Group will be open during this holiday season. Our offices will only be closed as follows: 
- Christmas Eve | December 24 at noon
- Christmas Day | December 25
- New Year’s Eve | December 31 at noon
- New Year's Day | January 1
To schedule an appointment for our Indianapolis offices, call (317) 228-7000 or toll-free (866) 947-7463. For appointments at our Kokomo office, call (765) 236-8700.
Currently there is a scoliosis treatment study underway, entitled Bracing in Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis Trial.(BrAIST). The purpose of this spine study is to compare the effectiveness of bracing as a treatment to prevent further curve progression for adolescent idiopathic scoliosis. Bracing is the current standard of care. This study will compare the risk of curve progression in adolescents diagnosed with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis that wear a brace versus those that do not. This study will determine if there are factors that can predict the usefulness of bracing. Additionally, this study will evaluate the best dosing and bracing duration schedule, and how bracing affects the quality of life; including functioning and psychosocial issues.
This study will evaluate 500 adolescents aged 10 – 15 years of age, and conclude on August 2010. A sponsor of this study is the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases. For more information, visit the study site.
Earlier this year, Dr. Rick Sasso and I were asked to write a spine continuing education chapter on “Controversies in Cervical Spine Surgery”, specifically about a newer spine surgical technology known as dynamic plating for cervical fusions. Traditional plates, known as static plates, have a high success rate, but in reviewing the published reports of direct comparisons between the two plates, the dynamic plates have a slightly higher percentage which fuse. It may be even more beneficial in longer fusions.
I have switched my practice to essentially using only the dynamic plates for cervical spinal fusions. I have been very happy with the results. As with all new technology, it is important to carefully monitor results and compare them against established techniques. I'm keeping an eye on continuing trials even as I incorporate this technology into my own practice.
(This blog entry was written by Paul Kraemer, MD; a spine surgeon with Indiana Spine Group).
A recent blog entry discussed a spinal cord stimulator as a treatment for failed back syndrome. For additional information – here are a few links: 
And here are a few links about spinal cord stimulators from the manufacturers:
When an individual continues to have chronic back pain and/or leg pain following back surgery; it is referred to as failed back syndrome. A few treatments for this can include physical therapy or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medications (NSAID). If medical 
management is ineffective another treatment option available is a spinal cord stimulator.
A spinal cord stimulator is an implantable device that uses an electrical current to provide a tingling sensation that helps to mask the chronic pain. Dr. Gentile describes it as “a kind of pacemaker for pain.”
In this video, Dr. Gentile describes the procedure for implanting a spinal cord stimulator. Dr. Jonathan Gentile is a minimally invasive spine specialist with Indiana Spine Group.
This procedure is available at Indiana Spine Group. For more information, call 317.228.7000 or toll-free 866.947.7463.
Another condition of the lumbar spine is spondylolisthesis. Spondylolisthesis is the result of degenerative changes in the joints of the spine that cause a shifting of alignment. Generally the L4 (lumbar vertebrae) – will slip forward over the L5 (lumbar vertebrae).
Learn more about spondylolisthesis, the symptoms and treatments with this educational video by Kenneth Renkens, M.D. Dr. Renkens is a spine surgeon with Indiana Spine Group.
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