Becker's Spine Review

34 Sign up for Becker's Orthopedic, Spine Business & Pain Management E-Weeklies at www.BeckersOrthopedicandSpine.com or call (800) 417-2035 is also a past president of the North American Spine Society and a professor of neurological surgery at Seton Hall University School of Graduate Medical Education in South Orange, N.J. Raj Rao, MD, is director of spine surgery in the department of orthopedic surgery at the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee. He is also on the board of directors for the North American Spine Society. "The anatomy and functioning of the spine has fascinated me since early in my medical school days," says Dr. Rao. "Spine pain was often handled through nebulous diagnosis and irrational treatment algorithms. The chance to tackle some of our more difficult clinical challenges continued to fascinate me as I progressed in my residency and led me, 20 years ago, to select spine surgery for my career." Ralph S. Rashbaum, MD, is co-founder of Texas Back Institute in Plano and the Texas Back Institute Fellowship Program. He has been vice president of the Texas Pain Society and is a member of the North American Spine Society. He has served in the United States Military and has authored several publications related to spine care. positive fashion is the most fulfilling sensation any human can feel," says Dr. Sasso. "We are fortunate in our work as spine surgeons to be able to profoundly and overwhelmingly improve another's existence." Thomas Schuler, MD, is founder and CEO of Virginia Spine Institute as well as president of the Spinal Research Foundation. "I didn't choose to become a spine surgeon through a definite plan," says Dr. Schuler. "I followed my heart at major decision points in my life and fortunately fell in love with spine surgery…Decision making is paramount, and when paired with excellence in technical ability, patients' lives are truly improved. The ability to help an individual recover his or her life through knowledge and skills that require decades to acquire is the reward. Improving the lives of people is the most fulfilling aspect of my career." David Schwartz, MD, is a spine surgeon with OrthoIndy and director of the OrthoIndy Spine Fellowship. He also serves as an assistant clinical professor at the Indiana University Department of orthopedic surgery. He is the inventor of the Anteres and Leverage Spinal Instrumentation Systems. Charles Reitman, MD, is chief of orthopedic surgery at Ben Taub Hospital in Houston and interim director of its trauma fellowship program. He serves on the board of directors for the North American Spine Society and is a member of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. James Schwender, MD, is a staff surgeon at Twin Cities Spine Center and former president of the Society for Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery, where he continues to serve on the board of directors. He is a fellow of the Scoliosis Research Society and member of the North American Spine Society. Daniel Resnick, MD, is on the faculty at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health in Madison. He also sits on the board of directors for the North American Spine Society and has a special interest in minimal-incision surgery, spinal tumors and degenerative disorders. A. Nick Shamie, MD, is an assistant professor of orthopedic surgery and neurosurgery at UCLA Health and president of the American Board of Spine Surgeons. B. Stephens Richards, MD, is the chief medical officer at Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children and serves on the board of directors and is past president for the Scoliosis Research Society. He is a past chairman of the Pediatric Orthopaedic Society of North America. K. Daniel Riew, MD, is the chief of cervical spine surgery at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and is a former president of the Cervical Spine Research Society, where he continues to sit on the board of directors. He founded the Orthopedic and Rehabilitation Cervical Spine Institute at UW. Rick Sasso, MD, is a founding member and president of Indiana Spine Group, as well as comedical director of the St. Vincent Spine Center and chief of spine surgery at Indiana University School of Medicine. "The ability to impact someone's life in such a "As physicians, we have the privilege and the unique opportunity to connect with our patients and their families in times of need, in times when they feel most vulnerable," says Dr. Shamie. "We are able to give strength through our expertise [and] cutting edge medicine, but most importantly through personal connections." Paul Slosar, MD, is president of SpineCare Medical Group and medical director of its affiliated San Francisco Spine Institute. He has served on the board of directors for the American Board of Spine Surgery and the Spinal Research Foundation. "I chose spine surgery as I made the most direct and meaningful connection with that subspecialty and those surgeons during my training," says Dr. Slosar. "At that time, spine surgery mainly consisted of deformity and scoliosis surgery. I had great mentors during my residency at Loyola who encouraged me to do a fellowship. This was a time when our discipline first began to understand and effectively treat the degenera- tive spine. This has become my primary area of focus both in practice and scientific research." Daniel J. Sucato, MD, is the chief of staff at Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children and director of the Sarah M. and Charles E. Seay/ Martha and Pat Beard Center for Excellence in Spine Research. He is on the board of directors for the Scoliosis Research Society. William Taylor, MD, is vice-chair of affairs at the University of San Diego Health System and past president of the Society for Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery. "I chose spine surgery for the various options that were available to me," says Dr. Taylor. "As a neurosurgeon, not a lot of people wanted to go into spine back when I started it. It seemed to be a really growing field with lots of new things to do that I felt was going to change and become very vibrant over the next decade." Eeric Truumees, MD, is an orthopedic spine surgeon at Seton Spine and Scoliosis in Austin, Texas, and serves on the board of directors for the North American Spine Society. He is a former clinical director for the Harold W. Gehring Center for Biomechanical Research and Implant Retrieval at the William Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, Mich.. Alexander Vaccaro, MD, is vice chairman of the department of orthopedics and co-director of the spine fellowship program at Thomas Jefferson University and Hospitals. "The most fulfilling aspect of my career is making someone neurologically better," says Dr. Vaccaro. "Patients are extremely appreciative if you are able to improve their quality of life. This often is the result of making their extremity pain better or improving strength in their arms and legs. Being able to take someone with a spinal cord injury and bring them back to functional lifestyle is probably the most fulfilling aspect of my job." Jeffrey Wang, MD, is the co-director of the UCLA Spine Center and vice chairman of the UCLA/Orthopaedic Hospital department of orthopedic surgery. "I find spine surgery amazing and changing at a rapid pace," says Dr. Wang. "The combination of the varied types of surgeries and pathologies that we treat in spinal disorders always make each day an exciting experience." William Watters, III, MD, is a spine surgeon with the Bone & Joint Clinic of Houston and professor at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston. He is on the board of directors for the North American Spine Society. "We are using techniques of evidence-based medicine to focus our interest on assessing patient outcomes with traditional and new technologies, allowing us to more carefully and thus more

• Cover