Six ways to treat a spine, in the order I consider them.

This list is ordered, not alphabetical. I work down it, and most patients never reach the bottom.

Non-Surgical Care

Non-surgical treatment is almost always the right first choice, and knowing when it stops being the right choice is the rest of my job.

Endoscopic and Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery

The same operation, reached through a smaller opening, when the anatomy allows it.

Motion Preservation and Disc Replacement

When a level can be decompressed without being locked down, that is usually worth doing.

Decompression, Fusion and Stabilization

Fusion is offered more often than it is needed, and it is exactly right when it is needed.

Complex and Revision Spine Surgery

The most important decisions in complex spine surgery are made before the operating room, not inside it.

Spinal Tumor Surgery

A new spinal tumor diagnosis is frightening, and the first useful thing I can do is separate what is urgent from what only feels urgent.

How I decide

The smallest operation that actually solves the problem.

I start by making sure the diagnosis is right. Then I look for the least invasive thing that will actually fix it. If that turns out to be no operation at all, I will tell you plainly, and I will tell you why.

The word doing the work in that sentence is "actually". A smaller operation that cannot address the whole problem is not a smaller operation, it is one you may have to repeat. The right size of surgery is a question about your anatomy, and it gets answered after the imaging is reviewed, not before.

Every procedure, A to Z

Not sure which of these applies to you?

That is the normal starting position, and it is what the consultation is for. Bring your imaging and we will work out which rung you are actually on.

Request a consultation Get a second opinion

Shelby Township, Macomb County. Call (586) 803-1220.