Kenneth Pettine, MD, is co-founder of Rocky Mountain Associates in Orthopedic Medicine and The Spine Institute in Loveland, Colo. In addition, he co-invented and co-designed the Maverick Artificial Disk as well as the Prestige Cervical Artificial Disc.
Throughout his career, Dr. Pettine has focused on innovation and was among the first spine surgeons to perform a minimally invasive lumbar disc procedure using the Mesoblast Limited technology. The procedure was performed in a Phase 2 clinical trial of the adult Mesenchymal Precursor Cell product for treating patients with low back pain and degenerative disc disease.He performs outpatient spine surgery in a surgery center and has predicted that over the next several years, 50 percent of spine procedures could move into the outpatient setting. He also provides cash pay for spine surgery at his center.
"We were noticing many patients were considering going to Germany or India where they could pay cash for an ADR," Dr. Pettine says. "We felt we could offer these patients a cash price similar to what they would pay overseas but allow them to have their surgery close to home by a surgeon they know and trust. Follow up is easier and more efficacious."
Dr. Pettine's background is in spinal surgery, research and rehabilitation. His spine fellowship was at the Institute for Low Back Care in Minneapolis, and he complete residency and a master's degree in orthopedic surgery at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. He earned a medical degree from the University of Colorado School of Medicine.
Dr. Pettine holds 14 awards from medical school and residency, has been published 22 times and presented at 45 events and conferences around the world. He recently founded the Society for Ambulatory Spine Surgery, which he launched last November with Access MediQuip. He is a member of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, North American Spine Society and Arthroscopy Association of North America.