Visiting Professor at NYU

Friday, January 13, 2012 by Rick Sasso, MD
NYU

During the early part of December, I had the privilege of being a visiting professor at NYU. I lectured for the New York University Hospital Joint Division of Spine Surgery on the following topics: “Intraoperative Spinal Navigation” and “Upper Cervical Spine Trauma.”

Intraoperative Spinal Navigation is basically the GPS system in the operating room that allows us to see anatomical structures in 3 dimension on a computer screen and navigate or see our instruments in relation to anatomical structures.

The information given during the Upper Cervical Spine Trauma presentation included the diagnostic evaluation and treatment of upper cervical injuries for the occiput to C2.

IMAST Meeting Topics

Wednesday, January 4, 2012 by Rick Sasso, MD

In a prior blog entry, I highlighted a meeting the IMAST continuing education meeting that I participated in late this summer. (link to prior blog entry). At this meeting, a few talks/topics that I presented or facilitated discussion on included:

 

·         A paper that I co-authored on Cervical Spondylotic Myelopathy Study: Perioperative Complication Rates Associated with Surgical Treatment Based on a Prospective Multicenter Study of 302 Patients

·         At a debate on Multilevel Cervical Stenosis in the Straight Spine: Optimal Treatment, I presented the viewpoint of Anterior Decompression, Instrumentation and Fusion as the optimum spine surgical treatment.

·         I also moderated an instructional lecture on Options in Cervical Motion.

Spine Surgery Chapter

Tuesday, December 27, 2011 by Rick Sasso, MD

This November, a few chapters that I co-authored on spinal navigation were included in the Handbook of Spine Surgery published by Thieme Publishers. This book is a continuing medical education resource for spine surgeons. One chapter was on Spinal Navigation, which was included in the “Clinical Spine Surgery” section of the book. The other chapter in the “Surgical Techniques” section was on Facet Screw Fixation/Fusion. Book picture

 

This spine surgery educational book provides principles and techniques of spine surgery. Included in the book are sections on clinical spine anatomy, clinical spine surgery, spinal pathology and surgical techniques.

 

For more information or to order this spine surgical educational resource, visit this link.


Book Chapter

Monday, December 19, 2011 by Rick Sasso, MD

I recently co-authored a chapter on Cervical Arthroplasty. This chapter was included in the book Advanced Reconstruction: Spine edited by Jeffrey Wang and published by the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons and North American Spine Society.

 

This continuing medical education book highlights the way that spine surRick Sasso, MD - book chaptergeons handle complicated spine surgical cases. Chapters provide detailed step-by-step guidelines on spine surgical procedures. In addition to surgical guidelines for each procedure – this medical education resource also provides indications, contraindications, alternate treatment, results, surgical techniques and post operative information for the procedures.

 

In addition to the chapter on cervical arthroplasty, there are over 60 spine surgical procedures addressed. A few other spine surgical procedures in the book include Anterior Cervical Discectomy and Fusion, Cervical Laminectomy and Fusion and Posterior Lumbar Interbody Fusion. To review the complete table of contents, visit this link.

 

For more information or to purchase this book, visit this link.


Back Pain Interview - #2

Monday, December 5, 2011 by Indiana Spine Group

This blog entry is part of a series of interview responses provided by Kevin Macadaeg, MD, a minimally invasive spine specialist with Indiana Spine Group. Dr. Macadaeg was recently Kevin Macadaeg, MDinterview about back pain and spinal treatments.

 

What are some of the different causes or reasons for chronic neck or back pain? What would you say is the most common cause of back or neck pain?

 

The most common causes of chronic neck or back pain are degenerative disc disease and degenerative spondylosis (degeneration of the spinal joints, development of bony spurs, disc degeneration and calcification of spinal ligaments).

 

Other causes include herniated disc, spinal stenosis (narrowing of the spinal canal) and spondylolisthesis (slipping of a vertebra).

 

What are the different options available to treat this type of pain?

 

In general, active modalities are the best.  These include core strengthening, flexibility and aerobic exercises.  All other treatments are considered passive.  Simple analgesics including NSAIDs, acetaminophen and aspirin are first line medications.  Muscle relaxants and narcotic analgesics, if used, should only be used on a short-term basis. Minimally invasive procedures and spine surgery should be reserved for those who initially fail non-invasive spine treatments.



Grand Opening Celebration

Tuesday, November 22, 2011 by Indiana Spine Group
Indiana Spine Group ribbon cutting


This past weekend, physicians and staff at Indiana Spine Group celebrated the opening of their new spine facility. Opening activities included a ribbon-cutting reception, and a community/patient open house with tours and refreshments.  

In September, Indiana Spine Group opened their new Carmel facility. This facility provides comprehensive spine care in one centralized location. This includes patient diagnostics and treatment, imaging, outpatient surgery, physical therapy and more. For more information about the new facility, visit this link. In addition to their new Carmel location, Indiana Spine Group also has offices in Indianapolis, Kokomo and Anderson.

For more information about Indiana Spine Group, call (317) 228-7000 or visit www.indianaspinegroup.com

Please Join Us!

Monday, November 14, 2011 by Indiana Spine Group



Invitation

Please join us, as we celebrate the grand opening of Indiana Spine Group's
new Carmel facility. Thiscelebration will include tours, health information,
refreshments and giveaways.

 

November 19, Saturday | 2 - 5 p.m. | 13225 N. Meridian Street, Carmel, IN 46032

(located east of Meridian at W. Main and Pennsylvania Avenue)

 

Our new Carmel facility provides comprehensive spine care in one centralized location. This includes:

  • Patient diagnostics and treatment,
  • Physical Therapy,
  • Imaging Center,
  • North Meridian Surgery Center,
  • Medical Academic Center,
  • Cafe, and more.

For more information, call (317) 228-7000 or send an email to info@indianaspinegroup.com.


LSRS Annual Meeting

Monday, November 7, 2011 by Rick Sasso, MD

Earlier this year, I was asked to present at the fourth annual meeting of the Lumbar Spine Research Society.

 

At this meeting, held in Chicago, I facilitated the discussions on the following papers: 

  • the “Functional Outcomes and Height Restoration For Patients With Multiple Myeloma–Related Osteolytic Vertebral Compression Fractures Treated With Kyphoplasty”
  • “The  The Effect of the Alpha‐2 Agonist Brimonidine on Intraocular Pressure During Prone Spine Surgery”

 

Billing Questions

Thursday, October 20, 2011 by Indiana Spine Group

ABilling questions - telephone recent reader submitted a billing question about spine surgery.To have specific insurance, self pay and billing questions answered to please call (317) 228 -7000 and ask to speak to the billing specialist.

Dubai Spinal Meeting

Monday, October 17, 2011 by Rick Sasso, MD

In May, I had the honor of being an invited faculty member at the 4th Annual Dubai Spine Health Minister of United Arab EmiratesMasters continuing medical education program. This “Spine Trauma Masters Update” was held in Dubai, and included  spine surgeons from 70 different countries who are leaders in spinal trauma.


At this meeting, I lectured on the Rationale and Overview of Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery in Spinal Trauma, and Balloon Assisted Endplate Reconstruction (BAER) for TL Burst Fractures. I also moderated a case discussion on thoracolumbar spine trauma.

 

In this blog, I included a picture of the Health Minister of the United Arab Emirates. At this meeting, he gave the opening address and welcomed the attendees.

Patent Number 8.016,831

Wednesday, October 12, 2011 by Indiana Spine Group

Congratulations to Rick Sasso, MD, a spine surgeon with Indiana Spine Group, on hiRick Sasso, MDs recent patent assignment. This patent, filed in 2007 was approved in September 2011. US Patent number 8.016,831 is for” instruments and techniques for guiding instruments to a spinal column.”

 

This patent is related to spine surgery instrumentation and  techniques for anterior cervical discectomy and spinal fusion, as well as safely and accurately placing cervical artificial discs replacements into the intradiscal space. For more detail about this patent, visit this link.

Spine Universe Case Study - Paul Kraemer, MD

Thursday, October 6, 2011 by Indiana Spine Group
Paul Kramer, MD, a spine surgeon with Indiana Spine Group, recently had a case study Paul Kraemer, MDfeatured on Spine Universe.

This case was a 17 year-old male patient, who sought medical treatment for pain in his back when he walked. The patient was diagnosed with developmental thoracolumbar kyphosis, also called congenital dislocation of the spine.

This case study highlights findings from the exam, diagnosis and provides and overview of the selected spine surgical treatment.The technical description of the spine surgery he underwent is " all posterior single-stage T10 to T12 vertebral column resection with expandable cage reconstruction, and a T7 to L2 posterior spinal fusion." Post-operatively, the patient has less spinal deformity, no longer has pain in his back and legs and is able to walk pain-free.

To read the case study, visit this link.

Cervical Disc Replacement – Book Chapter

Wednesday, October 5, 2011 by Indiana Spine Group

Congratulations to Rick Sasso, M.D., Indiana Spine Group spine surgeon, for his reRick Sasso, MDcent publication of a chapter in Rothman Simeone The Spine – 6th edition. Dr. Sasso co-authored a book chapter on “Cervical Disc Replacement”.

The Spine provides spine surgeons a continuing medical education resource to help them achieve optimal outcomes in the clinical practice of spine surgery for adults and pediatric patients. This resource includes chapters contributed by international experts on spine surgery, and highlights state-of the-art treatments and surgical techniques.

For more information about this resource, visit .

American Association of Neurological Surgeons

Thursday, September 22, 2011 by Rick Sasso, MD

This past spring I had the honor of presenting at the annual continuing medical education meeting of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons / CNS Section on Disorders of cactusthe Spine and Peripheral Nerves. The focus of this medical education meeting, held in Phoenix, was Evidence-Based Spine Surgery in the Real World.

At this medical education program I was a faculty member for a section on cervical myelopathy, and presented on Myelopathy at the CVJ. This course reviewed and discussed the evaluation and treatment algorithms of cervical myelopathy and discussed surgical approaches. Additionally, etiology, pathogenesis and diagnosis of cervical myelopathy were reviewed. A few of the continuing medical education objectives of this session are outlined below.


Participants will be able to:

  •  Synthesize appropriate anatomy and biomechanics of the cervical spine.
  •  Differentiate the methods for diagnosis of neck disorders.
  •  Apply operative and non-operative treatment options for cervical spine       disorders. 
  • Recognize and respond to complications of surgical treatment, and more.

Cervical Disc Replacement – Book Chapter

Wednesday, September 14, 2011 by Rick Sasso, MD

I co-authored a book chapter on “Cervical Disc Replacement”, that has been recently puRick Sasso, MD book chapter The Spineblished in Rothman Simeone The Spine – 6th Edition.

The Spine is a continuing medical educational resource for spine surgeons and highlights state-of-the-art spine treatments and spine surgery techniques. In addition to the text, there is also a video resource for physicians highlighting different surgical techniques and procedures.

Some sections of this book include: Basic Science, Spinal Diagnosis, Surgical Anatomy and Approaches, Thoracic and Lumbar Disc Disease, Minimally Invasive Surgery, Spinal Stenosis, Spinal Fusion and Instrumentation and more. For more information about The Spine and a table of contents, visit this link.

New Carmel Facility | Now Open

Monday, September 12, 2011 by Indiana Spine Group
New spine centerCarmel Spine Center Now Open!
 
Indiana Spine Group is excited to announce that their new spine center is now open. This new facility will provide comprehensive spine care in one centralized location, including spinal diagnosis, education, imaging, treatment, physical therapy and outpatient spine surgery. For more information, see our prior blog post or visit this link.
 

New Location: 13225 N. Meridian Street | Carmel, IN   46032

 
With the opening of this new center, the Harcourt Road office has closed. In addition to the new Carmel location, the other offices will remain open. This includes our Indianapolis, Kokomo and Anderson offices.
 
To schedule an appointment for our Carmel, Indianapolis, Kokomo and Anderson offices call (317) 228-7000, and for our Kokomo office call (765) 236-8700.

Spinal Fusion Surgery

Friday, September 9, 2011 by Indiana Spine Group
In Colt's country, there has been speculation and news about Colts quarterback Peyton Manning and his neck injury. Yesterday, the Colts released a statement reported on Rick Sasso, MD interviewESPN that Peyton underwent a single level, cervical neck fusion.

To help viewers understand what this procedure is WTHR news anchor Anne Marie Tiernon interviewed Rick Sasso, MD, spine surgeon with Indiana Spine Group. During this interview Dr. Sasso explained what this spine surgical procedure is. To view this interview, visit this link.

Additionally, a later story addressed this spine surgery procedure and highlighted Scott Swan's prior spinal fusion performed by Dr. Sasso. To watch this story, visit this link.



New Carmel Facility

Thursday, September 1, 2011 by Indiana Spine Group
Indiana Spine Group is excited to announce that they will begin seeing patients at their new Carmel spine facility on September 12. This new center will provide comprehensive spine Indiana Spine Group new Carmel spine centercare in one centralized location - from spinal diagnosis to outpatient surgery. This new spine center is located at 13225 N. Meridian Street, Carmel, IN 46032.

Highlights of this new spine facility include:

·         Sixteen patient exam/treatment rooms.

·         Imaging suite that will include MRI and CT scanning.

·         Physical therapy suite, that includes equipment selected specifically for treating spinal conditions. In addition to physical therapy treatment, services will also include therapeutic exercise and other spinal-focused physical therapy programs.

·         Outpatient surgery center with three surgical suites specifically designed for spinal surgery, two minimally invasive procedure rooms, and associated support and recovery areas.

·         Medical Academic Center (MAC) that will include a dedicated, state-of-the-art, bio-skills lab with ten fully-equipped work stations. This lab will provide both a local and national resource to physicians and health care professionals for hands-on medical procedure training. Additionally, the MAC will include a 65-seat auditorium, multi-purpose area for receptions/meetings and conference/board rooms.

·          Multiple patient waiting areas, which will include a library / video room, children’s area, and a café.

·         Administrative support areas that will include corporate administration and staff offices, physician offices, medical records, medical research and more.


Other Indiana Spine Group Office Locations
When this new Carmel facility opens, the Harcourt Road office will be closed.
 
In addition to the Carmel office, patients can be seen at their Indianapolis (8040 Clearvista Pkwy, Suite 400, Indpls 46256) , Kokomo (307 S. Berkley Rd, Kokomo, 46901) and Anderson (2101 Jackson St, #203, Anderson, 46016)locations.

For more information about this new facility, visit this link.

Myths of Spine Surgery

Thursday, August 4, 2011 by Indiana Spine Group

For more information about Back Talk, call (317) 228-7000, or visit this link.

Back Talk | A Comprehensive Review and Practical

Approach to Spinal Diagnosis and Treatment

 

During this current session Paul Kraemer, MD, a spine surgeon with Indiana Spine Group, will address the many myths and insights of spine surgery. This Paul Kraemer, MD - bioincludes the what, when and why. A few topics that will be reviewed include evidence-based research documenting the indicators for spine surgery. Dr. Kraemer will also review the criteria for patient selection for spine surgery. A few of the common misconceptions of spine surgery that will be discussed include age appropriateness, rest requirements, postoperative pain and bracing.



The Failed Back

Tuesday, August 2, 2011 by Indiana Spine Group

Back Talk | A Comprehensive Review and Practical

Approach to Spinal Diagnosis and Treatment



One challenge to physicians is ongoing back pain following spine surgery. This Back Talk session will provide attendees a better understanding of failed back syndrome / post-laminectomy syndrome.

 

During this continuing medical education session during the Back Talk spine symposium, speakers will discuss the contributing factors and causes of failed back syndrome. Additionally, the medical and interventional treatments for failed back syndrome will be reviewed – their indications and expected outcomes. One treatment that will be discussed is spinal cord stimulators. Indications for salvageable spine surgery and the outcome predictors will be reviewed.

 

Faculty for this continuing medical education session includes minimally invasive spine specialist Jonathan Gentile, MD, and spine surgeon Thomas Reilly, MD, FACS.