News and Events
Center Surgeons Lead Training Courses
The Synthes ProDisc-C cervical artificial disc replacement was approved by the FDA in January 2008. The FDA study was performed at 17 centers across the US including NYUHJD. NYUHJD is one of only 5 centers in the US, and the only center in the northeast, which serves as a surgeon training site. Since release of the device over 160 orthopaedic surgeons and neurosurgeons from across the country have been trained at NYUHJD in the insertion of the device.
Courses include a series of didactic lectures, a surgical demonstration, and a lab. During the lab surgeons have the opportunity to place the artificial disc in cadaveric specimens. Courses are ongoing and are scheduled every 4-6 weeks. The courses are led by surgeons from the NYUHJD spine division. Jeffrey Goldstein, MD chairs the courses and faculty include John Bendo, MD and Jeffrey Spivak, MD. Guest faculty from across the US also participate.
Center Staff Participates in Triathlon
Several members of the Spine Division participated in the Swim Bike Run Long Island (SBRLI) Triathlon on Saturday, April 19th, 2008. The success of the event illustrates the Spine Division’s commitment to physical fitness and a healthy lifestyle, as well as the sense of camaraderie present in the division. This will very likely become a tradition!
Faculty Present at Recent and Future International Conferences
Faculty members of the Spine Division attended the Eighth Annual Global Symposium on Motion Preservation Technology of the Spine Arthroplasty Society (SAS) in Miami, Florida on May 6-9, 2008. The meeting featured the latest developments in spine treatment, and the benefits of new techniques and motion preservation devices in the resolution of back and neck pain. The Spine Division faculty, including Drs. Spivak, Goldstein, Bendo, and Errico, were responsible for nine podium and poster presentations on specific aspects of cervical and lumbar artificial disc replacement.
On May 26-31, a global meeting formed by multiple international spine societies known as "Spine Week" will be held in Geneva, Switzerland. Seven abstracts from the NYUHJD Spine Center have been accepted for this conference, to be presented at meetings of the International Society for the Study of the Lumbar Spine (ISSLS), and Cervical Spine Research Society European Section (E-CSRS). In July 2008, the Spine Division faculty will be responsible for 5 poster or podium presentations at the International Meeting on Advanced Spine Techniques. Three abstracts have been accepted for podium or poster presentation at the upcoming Scoliosis Research Society Meeting in Salt Lake City, Utah and 3 presentations will also be given at the North American Spine Society (NASS) meeting in Toronto, Ontario in October 2008.
Research Study to Test New Interspinous Device
The NYU Hospital for Joint Diseases’ Spine Division is participating in a new national multi-center research study utilizing Paradigm Spine’s Coflex interspinous implant for the treatment of lumbar spinal stenosis. This common degenerative condition of the spine is currently treated by a laminectomy operation, often accompanied by spinal fusion for unstable spinal segments. The new device, a U-shaped titanium alloy surgical implant, is indicated for use in patients with moderate to severe symptomatic spinal stenosis, with anatomic stenosis isolated to one or two levels. Our site will be recruiting 50 patients from 40-80 years of age to enroll. We have currently enrolled 17 patients, and enrollment will continue through 2008. The site Principal Investigator is Thomas Errico MD, and co-investigators include John Bendo MD, Jeffrey Spivak MD, Jeffrey Goldstein MD, Yong Kim MD and Michael Murray MD. For more information please visit the coflex website at: www.coflexspinestudy.com. (device pictured below)
