On the cutting edge

Physicians in the Division have been internationally recognized for pioneering many firsts in spinal medicine. In turn, they continue to conduct research on procedures that have great possibility for future medical advances. Their work includes:

• Leading the development of the anterior approach for decompression and fusion for spinal cord injuries — a procedure that revolutionized spine surgery, particularly for arthritis.
• Leadership in a four-year National Institutes of Health (NIH) low-back pain study.
• Pioneering spinal cord monitoring in spine surgery, as well as developing improvements to inter-operative spinal cord monitoring. This is aimed at preventing spinal cord damage during surgery and analyzing problems of neurological injury.
• The diagnosis and treatment of the sciatic-based Piriformis Syndrome.
• Developing new techniques in anesthesia that led to faster recoveries and reduction in hospital stays.