Jeffrey R Carlson, MD, MBA, CPE, FAAOS In my last article, I discussed how changes in surgical technique, instrumentation, biologics and anesthesia had helped to pave the way for moving spinal fusion surgery from a strictly inpatient setting to an outpatient setting. In this installment, I will review how further advances in pain management have… Read more »
Jeffrey R. Carlson, MD, MBA, CPE, FAAOS In the old days (a mere 10-15 years ago), when I performed a multi-level spine fusion on a patient, it was considered a really big deal by the insurance company and required an inpatient hospital stay of at least two or three days, maybe more. Now, I perform… Read more »
Jeffrey R. Carlson, MD, MBA, FAAOS, CPE As a Spine Surgeon, I often must perform cervical spine fusion procedures on my patients who have spinal instability in the neck. These patients may or may not have nerve compression and I may or may not have to perform other procedures at the same time, such as… Read more »
Mark W. McFarland, DO A big part of my job as a Spine Surgeon is discerning how much surgery is needed to achieve the goal of pain relief and decompression of spinal nerves from structural spinal issues. The nerve compression could be caused by osteophytes (bone spurs) from arthritic changes in the spine, a bulging… Read more »
John D. Burrow, DO In Parts I and II, you learned about Knee Joint Manipulation, why it is necessary, how it is performed in the OR, and the risks for the procedure. In this installment, I’m going to discuss what happens if the first MUA isn’t successful, what options a patient has and how I… Read more »
Boyd W. Haynes III, MD In Part I of this series, Dr. Carlson gave you all the reasons why a patient may need a MUA after knee replacement surgery. In review, they may: In Part II of this series, I’m going to talk about the actual procedure itself, how the patient prepares for having it… Read more »
Jenny L.F. Andrus, MD If old wives could tell tales, they might let you know that your joints could predict the weather and let you know when rain is coming, or a cold spell was getting ready to move into the area. As physicians, we typically would say that it was coincidental that our patients… Read more »
Mark W. McFarland, MD Sciatica is a catch-all term that is used for pain that runs from the lower back through the buttock, down the thigh and calf, into the foot. It is named thusly after the sciatic nerve, which when compressed, inflamed, or irritated in some way, causes the tell-tale signs of burning, numbness,… Read more »
Boyd W. Haynes III, MD A very common complaint I hear in the office, especially from my older patients, is “my knee is feeling weaker and weaker and sometimes it just gives out when I’m walking. Why is that happening to me?” When arthritis of the knee progresses, the cartilage in the joint space erodes. … Read more »
Jeffrey R. Carlson, MD, CPE, FAAOS Every day, I see patients for arm or leg pain and numbness related to pinched nerves in their spine. These patients all have differing degrees of pain and dysfunction from their back and neck problems. Each patient deals with their symptoms individually, so there are varying degrees of dysfunction… Read more »