1. Andrew Gregory, MD, FAAP, FACSM, of Vanderbilt Orthopedics in Nashville. As a child in Huntsville, Ala., Andrew Gregory, MD, FAAP, FACSM enjoyed playing soccer and tennis as well as running track. Today, as an orthopedic surgeon and member of the ACSM Youth Sports and Health Committee, Dr. Gregory has a professional interest in treating young athletes. Dr. Gregor serves as an assistant professor of orthopedics and pediatrics as well as director of the primary care sports medicine fellowship at Vanderbilt Orthopedics in Nashville.
Dr. Gregory was recently featured as in the Physician Spotlight section of Nashville’s Medical News, which said he spends 90 percent of his days treating patients under the age of 18. He understands how to form relationships with his young athletes and often gains their respect.
“Andrew has a great personality for working in pediatrics. He understands a broad spectrum of injuries, whether from a playground accident, a little league field or elite team sports,” said Dr. Gregory Mencio, Vanderbilt’s director of orthopedics, in the Medical News report.
Read more about Dr. Andrew Gregory.
2. Andrew C. Hecht, MD, of Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York City. As the spine surgical consultant for the New York Jets, the co-director of spine surgery and director of the NFL spine center program for retired players at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York City, Andrew C. Hecht, MD, is a busy, but effective, surgeon.
Dr. Hecht’s clinical interests include cervical and lumbar spine surgery, minimally invasive spine surgery, microsurgery, spine trauma and tumors. In a recent issue of The Daily News, Dr. Hecht spoke about another one of his clinical interests: the herniated disks. A new treatment method he discussed is the cervical artificial disc replacement. The physician replaces the disk with an implant made from titanium and polyethylene plastic instead of using small pieces of bone.
“What’s nice about this is it preserves the motion of the disk, and that reduces the stress on surrounding disks,” said Dr. Hecht in the article.
Read more about Dr. Andrew Hecht.
3. Gary Michelson, MD, of G K Michelson in Los Angeles. In addition to his leadership as a spine surgeon for more than 25 years, Gary Michelson, MD, has proven his status as an integral member of the spine community by inventing comprehensive spinal surgical systems which have become the foundation of several modern treatment options for spinal disorders.
While attending to his practice at G K Michelson in Los Angeles, Dr. Michelson has authored over 110 research papers and publications as well as holds more than 900 issued or pending patents worldwide. Dr. Michelson’s innovations were inspired by his grandmother, who suffered from neurogenic spinal degeneration. He was dissatisfied with the available treatment so he created updated spinal surgery systems and implants.
Read more about Dr. Gary Michelson.
3. Jeff Pierson, MD, of St. Vincent Orthopedic Center in Mooresville, Ind. Jeff Pierson, MD, of A team of physicians at St. Francis Hospital-Mooresville in Mooresville, Ind., recently developed a strategy to cut down the number of patients who require blood transfusions as a result of surgery, and Jeff Pierson, MD, an orthopedic surgeon at the hospital, was featured in an Indy Star Q&A on the subject.
“The challenge is to reduce the patient’s need for a blood transfusion, in spite of the fact that there’s not much you can do to reduce the blood loss,” said Dr. Pierson in the article. He said before the surgery, the physician administers iron and the medication Procrit to raise their patient’s blood count.
Read more about Dr. Jeff Pierson.
4. Mark Flood, DO, of Celling Treatment Center in Austin, Texas. In the field of adult stem cell research and biologic treatment of spinal disorders, Mark Flood, DO, has proven himself a leader by constantly remaining at the cutting-edge of this technology. He first used his knowledge of adult stem cell procedures in Arizona, completing the state’s first scoliosis surgery using the technology on a 17-year-old patient, and continues to further his practice today at his Celling Treatment Centers in Austin, Texas.
“Our main use here is to decrease pain and inflammation in other areas of the spine,” said Dr. Flood in a local Austin News KXAN report. Dr. Flood harvests the stem cells from the patient’s bone marrow and utilizes them to promote cell regeneration and complete the fusion.
Read more about Dr. Mark Flood.
5. Robert T. Deveney, MD, Danbury (Conn.) Hospital. As patients continue maintaining an active lifestyle into middle age, more patients in their 30s and 40s seek the services of physicians such as Robert T. Deveney, MD, co-director of the total joint replacement program at Danbury (Conn.) Hospital. Dr. Deveney has a professional interest in disorders of the hip and knee, minimally invasive total hip and knee replacement and hip resurfacing and was recently featured in a Shoreline Plus article on the topic.
“Hip resurfacing is an alternative to standard hip replacement surgery which preserves bone in the femur,” said Dr. Deveny in the article. “It’s a good option for younger patients…because the preserved bone allows for a continued active lifestyle. It also makes it easier to perform any potential revision surgeries in the future.”
Read more about Dr. Robert Deveney.
6. Sigurd H. Berven, MD, of the University of California in San Francisco. The field of pediatric scoliosis and spinal disorders has been rapidly expanding with the development of new body braces, the scolioscore scoliosis detection test and legislation in several states calling for schoolchildren to receive scoliosis screening. As an expert in the field, Sigurd H. Berven, MD, shared his expertise on the subject with the New York Times.
Dr. Berven is a physician with the University of California in San Francisco and has a clinical interest in degenerative conditions of the spine, spinal tumors and spine trauma in patients of all ages. He remains at the cutting-edge of spine surgery through his research on cellular and molecular techniques for the biological regeneration of spine components, including the intervertebral disc.
Read more coverage on Dr. Sigurd H. Berven.
7. Thomas Einhorn, MD, of Boston University School of Medicine. Thomas Einhorn, MD, an orthopedic physician with Boston University School of Medicine and chairman of the Department of Orthopedics, has recently been in the news for successfully using biologic techniques to heal a patient’s broken leg after several other surgeries failed. This procedure is but one of many successful biologic procedures attributed to Dr. Einhorn during his career.
This past year, Dr. Einhorn has also been safely reversing early avascular necrosis of the hip using bone marrow aspirate concentration, according to a news release.
“In the last decade, there has been a lot of excitement with the development of new procedures and technologies. It is critical now to push the envelope on research to determine if these new technologies are effective,” Dr. Einhorn said at the March 2010 American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeon’s Annual Meeting.
Read more about Dr. Thomas Einhorn.
8. Walter R. Lowe, MD, of Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center and LBJ General Hospital. As the head team physician for the Houston Texans National Football League team, the Houston Rockets National Basketball Association team and the University of Houston, Walter R. Lowe, MD, certainly has a wide range of experience in treating athletes.
Dr. Lowe played high school football in Las Vegas, N.M., and tennis at Colorado State University in Fort Collins. As a physician, Dr. Lowe said in a University of Texas news release, “you are giving people back a lifestyle and a way of life.”
In addition to his work with professional and university sports teams, Dr. Lowe is the chairman of the department of orthopedics at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston and the head of orthopedic surgery at Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center and LBJ General Hospital. Finally, Dr. Lowe serves as the medical director of the Memorial Hermann Sports Medicine Institute.
Learn more about Dr. Walter Lowe.
9. Emanuel Haber, MD, of The Foot and Ankle Center of New Jersey in Paramus. Emanuel Haber, MD, has labored for years to provide his patients with the best possible care. For him, this means staying at the forefront of new medical technology — most recently, the Noveon Laser.
The purchase of the laser for The Foot and Ankle Centre of New Jersey in Paramus makes Dr. Haber the first podiatrist in northern New Jersey to use a cool laser to treat fungal infections. Traditionally, podiatrists use a heat-based laser to cut through tissue. The cool laser uses light instead, creating a more comfortable sensation for the patient.
The laser will also ensure the infection does not return. By tackling the nail bed and nail root instead of just the nail itself, Dr. Haber said the laser will completely eliminate the fungal infection and prevent the cost of additional procedures.
Learn more about Dr. Emanuel Haber.
10. Ezriel Kornel, MD, of Brain & Spine Surgeons of New York. Ezriel Kornel, MD, principal of Brain & Spine Surgeons of New York, has been on the forefront of minimally invasive neurosurgery for the last 20 years. In a recent interview with Becker’s Orthopedic & Spine Review, he talked about one of his more unusual moves: the decision to opt out of Medicare five years ago.
The struggle with Medicare reimbursements continues to provide obstacles for surgeons across the country. As Dr. Kornel points out, Medicare often pays well under a surgeon’s contest —– in his example, $500 for a lumbar discectomy when the procedure costs the surgeon almost $2,000.
He said he has avoided losing patients simply by providing quality care. “Medicare patients make up 20 percent of my patient base and there was some concern that referrals from some physicians might end —– that they would stop sending me any more patients or at least not send me any more Medicare patients,” he said. “Neither of those things turned out to be the case. Referring physicians keep sending me every kind of patient. I think it’s worked because those patients have not gone back to their primary care physician and said they were dissatisfied with me.”
Learn more about Dr. Ezriel Kornel.
