Spine Talk

Quarterly Newsletter of The Spine and Back Center at Rush

The Spine and Back Center
Rush University Medical Center
1725 W. Harrison Street
Suite 118, Professional Building (Elevator I)
Chicago, Illinois 60612
(312) 942-8700

Physicians Affiliated with The Spine and Back Center at Rush

• Howard S. An, MD
• Gunnar B.J. Andersson, MD, PhD
• Harel Deutsch, MD
• Christopher J. DeWald, MD
• Sheila A. Dugan, MD
• April M. Fetzer, DO 
• Edward J. Goldberg, MD
• John O’Toole, MD 
• Frank M. Phillips, MD
• Kern Singh, MD

Program Manager

• Margaret M. Hickey, RN, MS, MBA 

Co-Medical Directors’ Letter of Welcome

—Dr. Howard An & Dr. Harel Deutsch

Dear Colleagues,

We are pleased to present you with the 1st quarterly newsletter of The Spine and Back Center at Rush. The Spine and Back Center brings together the expertise of neurosurgeons, orthopaedic surgeons, physiatrists, and nurses — all in one location. The goal is to pinpoint the source of the patient’s spine, back or neck pain and offer the most innovative non-surgical and surgical treatment options available. Treatment, whether it’s surgical or non-surgical, is tailored to each patient. Our goal is to offer the most advanced treatment options in the region. We are accomplishing this objective by offering the latest in surgical technology and devices. In fact, many treatment advances were pioneered at Rush, including minimally invasive techniques.

The physicians affiliated with The Spine and Back Center at Rush include: Gunnar Andersson, MD, PhD, Christopher DeWald, MD, Sheila Dugan, MD, April Fetzer, DO, Edward Goldberg, MD, John O’Toole, MD, Frank Phillips, MD, & Kern Singh, MD. The Program Director of The Spine and Back Center at Rush is Margaret Hickey, RN, MS, MBA. If there is anything that The Spine and Back Center at Rush team can do to assist you in the care of your patients, please feel free to contact us at (312) 942-8700. To schedule an appointment at The Spine and Back Center at Rush, please call (888) 352-RUSH.

We look forward to working with you and continuing the Rush tradition of excellence in patient care.

Sincerely,

Dr. Howard An & Dr. Harel Deutsch
Co-Medical Directors
The Spine and Back Center at Rush

Spine Talk ~ Topic of the Quarter

Spinal Stenosis

Spinal stenosis refers to a narrowing of the spinal canal that causes nerve roots or the spinal cord to become squeezed. This pressure causes inflammation of the nerve roots resulting in pain, numbness/tingling, or weakness in the distribution of the affected nerves.

Spinal stenosis typically occurs in an older population of patients who sometimes have concomitant medical conditions which can make treatment difficult or risky. Spinal stenosis usually presents as a gradual onset of pain. Typically the pain waxes and wanes which causes the patient to say on a good day that he/she can live with it, and on a bad day have the patient in considerable pain and contemplating treatment options.

The symptoms of spinal stenosis can include lower back pain or neck pain (depending on whether it is cervical or lumbar stenosis) and/or pain, numbness or weakness in the arms or legs. Since lumbar spinal stenosis is more often seen, a patient with classic symptoms of lumbar stenosis will complain of low back, buttock and hamstring pain that occurs with walking and standing and is relieved with rest. Sitting down or forward flexion (such as leaning over a grocery cart to shop) will typically alleviate the pain. This can sometimes be confused with vascular insufficiency since the leg symptoms that occur with walking and standing can present similarly with both disease processes.

A patient who complains of any progressive upper or lower extremity weakness, any loss of bowel or bladder control, or any change in sensation, requires immediate evaluation and treatment. In the absence of any weakness or bowel or bladder changes, conservative care is usually the first line of treatment. Conservative care is based on the severity of the symptoms and the impact on the patient’s quality of life.

The goal of treatment is to relieve the pain, improve the patient’s ability to function, and maximize their quality of life. Treatment may include medications, exercises, physical therapy or injections. If conservative treatment fails to achieve the goals, surgery is sometimes considered. Surgery is aimed at decompressing the affected nerves and thereby alleviating the pain.

Top 10
List of the Quarter

Top 10 Reasons that Patients say that they like being seen in The Spine and Back Center at Rush:

10. It is conveniently located on the 1st floor (Suite 118).

9. The doctors affiliated with The Spine and Back Center at Rush exemplify excellence in their field.

8. The collaboration between the neurosurgeons, orthopaedic surgeons, physiatrists, and nurses helps to ensure that the best decision is being made for each individual patient situation.

7. Patient education and patient participation in the decision making process is a critical component to the care that is provided.

6. As both physicians and researchers, the doctors affiliated with The Spine and Back Center at Rush can quickly bring the latest therapies to patients.

5. The opportunity exists for patients to participate in the latest advances in clinical research.

4. Orthopaedics and Neurosurgery at Rush were ranked higher than any other hospital in Illinois in 2005 and 2006 by U. S. News & World Report.

3. Rush is one of the nation’s main referral centers for adults with scoliosis and a leader in the treatment of children with scoliosis.

2. Many treatment advances were pioneered at Rush, including minimally invasive techniques that allow physicians at Rush to perform major back procedures with incisions smaller than a paperclip.

And the # 1 reason that patients like being seen at The Spine and Back Center at Rush:

1. Patients are pleased to know that their referring provider has referred them to some of the most well known and well respected spine care providers in the country J

For Your Information…

Red Flags in Spine Care

Patients who present with these complaints require immediate spine evaluation and treatment:

• Loss of bowel or bladder control/incontinence

• Saddle anesthesia, perineal/perianal numbness

• Progressive or severe weakness in the upper or lower extremities

• Severe pain unrelieved with rest and medication

• Severe pain at night

• Fever, sweats, or chills

Clinical Research Trials Currently Enrolling

• Clinical Trial: A Prospective, Multi-Center, Randomized Controlled Study to Compare the Spinal Sealant System as an Adjunct to Sutured Dural Repair with Standard of Care Methods During Spinal Surgery

  Principal Investigator: Harel Deutsch, MD

  Protocol #: 05060315

• Clinical Trial: A Prospective, Randomized Clinical Investigation of the Cervitech, Inc., Porous Coated Motion Artificial Disc for Stabilization of the Cervical Spine

  Principal Investigator: Frank Phillips, MD

  Protocol #: 05010505

• Clinical Trial: Cervicore Intervertebral Disc for the Treatment of Radicular Symptoms Associated with Loss of Disc Height, Disc/Osteophyte Complex or Herniated Disc of the Cervical Spine

  Principal Investigator: Edward Goldberg, MD

  Protocol #: 05110404

• Clinical Trial: A Phase 1 Study to Evaluate OP-1 (SB0405) Injected into One Lumbar Intervertebral Disc in Patients with Symptomatic Degenerative Disc Disease (DDD)

  Principal Investigator: Howard An, MD

  Protocol #: 05081506

• Clinical Trial: Protocol for the Clinical Investigation of the Kineflex Spinal System

  Principal Investigator: Frank Phillips, MD

  Protocol #: 04122703

• Clinical Trial: A Prospective Study of Lumbar Spinal Stenosis Project

  Principal Investigator: Howard An, MD

  Protocol #: 99021122

For more information, visit the spine and back clinical trials page or contact Margaret Hickey at (312) 243-4244.

The Spine Talk Newsletter is distributed quarterly by The Spine and Back Center at Rush.

Please contact Margaret Hickey at (312) 942-8700 with any questions or suggestions.

• For more information about spine and back care at Rush, visit The Spine and Back Center home page.

To Schedule an Appointment with one of the Physicians at The Spine and Back Center at Rush,

Please call (888) 352-RUSH.