Research and Teaching

As recognized leaders in the management and treatment of a comprehensive list of spinal conditions, our physicians are sought after to speak before local, regional, national, and international audiences. Disseminating their research findings in peer-reviewed medical journals and contributing to the continuing medical education of the spine care community allows our providers to help improve the care of spinal patients both near and far.

Speaking Engagements

Dr. Everett presented his research on "Short Term Effects of Transforaminal Epidural Steroid Injections in Patients with Spinal Stenosis" at the annual meeting for the International Society for the Study of the Lumbar Spine in Hong Kong in June. He also presented "Unwarranted Surgical Variation in the Rochester Area for Low Back Pain" to the Greater Rochester Health Foundation.

Drs. Everett and Patel were invited to present "Evidence Based Medicine Approach to Degenerative/Adult Scoliosis and Non-operative Care" in  March at the Spine conference in Chicago IL. And in April, they presented "A systematic literature review of non-operative treatment options in degenerative scoliosis" at the Association of Academic Physiatrists Annual Meeting in Puerto Rico.

Dr. Rechtine presented “A Sports Medicine Approach to Spine Care” and David Speach offered guidance on “Managing Your Back Pain” in March during A Sports Medicine Approach to Spine Care, a free community presentation to empower the physically active adult to maintain optimum spine health.

Dr. Speach was asked to grant an additional presentation of his lectures on Low Back Pain for the UR Always Better Program in February. The University of Rochester Department of Geriatrics requested that he present his work on Low Back Pain in the Elderly in grand rounds in October.

Dr. Molinari was an invited lecturer at the 2006 International Spine Course in Bethesda, MD and at the 2006 AO Complex Spinal Surgery Forum in Naples, FL.

Dr. Rechtine presented grand rounds on “Radiation Safety for the Orthopaedic Surgeon” to the Loyola University Department of Orthopaedics in Maywood, IL in August. In September, He spoke at the Seminar on Entering Practice for Residents and Fellows in Annapolis, MD, where he presented both “Ethics in Spine Surgery” and “Choice of Practice Location.”

Dr. Patel presented his findings “Efficacy and Safety of Sacroplasty for Sacral Insufficiency Fractures: A Prospective, Multi-center Study” at Spine Across the Sea, an international conference of the North American Spine Society (NASS) and the Japanese Spine Society in Maui in July, and at the Annual NASS Conference in Seattle in September. He was selected to elaborate on this research in a grand rounds poster presentation at the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Assembly in Honolulu in November.

At the September NASS conference in Seattle, Dr. Patel also delivered the podium presentation “Degenerative Cascade: Conservative and Interventional Management.”

Continuing Medical Education

Three of our spine practitioners contributed to the educational program Contemporary Update on Spinal Disorders, one of the best-known CME events in spine care. At the Annual Disorders of the Spine conference, orthopedists convened in Whistler, BC in January for a six-day course on all aspects of spine care including pain management and the use of specialized instrumentation. Dr. Rechtine served as course chair, Dr. Patel served as the course coordinator for the Non-operative Spine Section faculty committee, and Dr. Rubery was course coordinator for a session on “Techniques for Spinal Fusion.”

Dr. Rechtine chaired several sessions of the Rochester Spine Study Group, which encourages the collaboration of 40-50 regional spine practitioners, during 2006. He also taught the course “Radiation Safety for the Spine Practice” at Spine Across the Sea, the international NASS and Japanese Spine Society conference in Maui in July.

Dr. Patel was a faculty presenter for the Cervical Spine Examination Workshop at the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Assembly in Honolulu in November.

Selected Publications

1. Datta S, Everett CR, Trescot AM, Schultz DM, Adlaka F, Abdi S, Atluri SL, Smith HS, Shah RV. An updated systematic review of the diagnostic utility of selective nerve root blocks. Pain Physician. 2007;10:113-28.

2. Xie C, Reynolds D, Awad H, Rubery PT, Pelled G, Gazit D, Guldberg RE, Schwarz EM, O'Keefe R J, Zhang X. Structural bone allograft combined with genetically engineered mesenchymal stem cells as a novel platform for bone tissue engineering. Tissue Eng. 2006 Dec;12(12):1-11.

3. Cordista A, Conrad B, Horodyski M, Walters S, Rechtine G. Biomechanical evaluation of pedicle screws versus pedicle and laminar hooks in the thoracic spine. Spine J. 2006 Jul-Aug;6(4):444-9.

4. Fehlings MG, Furlan JC, Massicotte EM, Arnold P, Aarabi B, Harrop J, Anderson DG, Bono CM, Dvorak M, Fisher C, France J, Hedlund R, Madrazo I, Nockels R, Rampersaud R, Rechtine G, Vaccaro AR. Interobserver and intraobserver reliability of maximum canal compromise and spinal cord compression for evaluation of acute traumatic cervical spinal cord injury. Spine. 2006 Jul;31(15):1719-25.

5. Molinari, RW. Lumbar disk herniation. Curr Opin in Orthop. 2006 June;17(3):189-94.

6. Maloney MD, Goater JJ, Parsons R, Ito H, O'Keefe RJ, Rubery PT, Drissi MH, Schwarz EM. Safety and efficacy of ultraviolet-a light-activated gene transduction for gene therapy of articular cartilage defects. J Bone Joint Surg Am. 2006 Apr;88(4):753-61.

7. Zhang X, Xie C, Lin AS, Ito H, Awad H, Lieberman JR, Rubery PT, Schwarz EM, O'Keefe RJ, Guldberg RE. Periosteal progenitor cell fate in segmental cortical bone graft transplantations: implications for functional tissue engineering. J Bone Miner Res. 2005 Dec;20(11):2124-37.

8. Carmouche JJ, Molinari RW, Gerlinger T, Devine J, Patience T. Effects of pilot hole preparation technique on pedicle screw fixation in different regions of the osteoporotic thoracic and lumbar spine. J Neurosurg Spine. 2005 Nov;3(5):364-70.

9. Ketz JP, Molinari RW. A unique two-level noncontiguous ligamentous flexion-distraction injury in the thoracolumbar spine. J Neurosurg Spine. 2005 Oct;3(4):328-31.

10. Koefoed M, Ito H, Gromov K, Reynolds DG, Awad HA, Rubery PT, Ulrich-Vinther M, Soballe K, Guldberg RE, Lin AS, O'Keefe RJ, Zhang X, Schwarz EM. Biological effects of rAAV-caAlk2 coating on structural allograft healing. Mol Ther. 2005 Aug;12(2):212-8.

11. Everett CR, Novoseletsky D, Cole S, Frank J, Remillard C, Patel RK. Informed consent in interventional spine procedures: how much do patients understand? Pain Physician. 2005 Jul;8(3):251-5.

12. Everett CR, Shah RV, Sehgal N, McKenzie-Brown AM. A systematic review of diagnostic utility of selective nerve root blocks. Pain Physician. 2005 Apr;8(2):225-33.

13. Sehgal N, Shah RV, McKenzie-Brown AM, Everett CR. Diagnostic utility of facet (zygapophysial) joint injections in chronic spinal pain: a systematic review of evidence. Pain Physician. 2005 Apr;8(2):211-24.

14. Shah RV, Everett CR, McKenzie-Brown AM, Sehgal N. Discography as a diagnostic test for spinal pain: a systematic and narrative review. Pain Physician. 2005 Apr;8(2):187-209.

15. Ito H, Koefoed M, Tiyapatanaputi P, Gromov K, Goater JJ, Carmouche J, Zhang X, Rubery PT, Rabinowitz J, Samulski RJ, Nakamura T, Soballe K, O'Keefe RJ, Boyce BF, Schwarz EM. Remodeling of cortical bone allografts mediated by adherent rAAV-RANKL and VEGF gene therapy. Nat Med. 2005 Mar;11(3):291-7.

16. Molinari RW, Sloboda JF, Arrington EC. Low-grade isthmic spondylolisthesis treated with instrumented posterior lumbar interbody fusion in U.S. servicemen. J Spinal Disord Tech. 2005 Feb;18 Suppl:S24-9.

17. Boswell MV, Shah RV, Everett CR, Sehgal N, Brown AM, Abdi S, Bowman RC, 2nd, Deer TR, Datta S, Colson JD, Spillane WF, Smith HS, Lucas LF, Burton AW, Chopra P, Staats PS, Wasserman RA, Manchikanti L. Interventional techniques in the management of chronic spinal pain: evidence-based practice guidelines. Pain Physician. 2005 Jan;8(1):1-47.

18. McKenzie-Brown AM, Shah RV, Sehgal N, Everett CR. A systematic review of sacroiliac joint interventions. Pain Physician. 2005 Jan;8(1):115-25.