Joseph Spine Institute’s Inspirational Patient Robert Zorn

14 Jun 2023 Spine News , , ,

The Importance of Meaningful Patient Relationships

. As spine doctors and surgeons, we have the great honor to make a profound difference in our patients’ lives, ease their pain and suffering and improving their overall health and wellbeing. That is our ultimate desire and focus. The fulfillment that comes from helping our patients cannot be overemphasized. Forming meaningful relationships and open communication with patients and their families can be profoundly rewarding and extremely inspiring.

Recognizing Our Inspiring Patient Robert Zorn

With that in mind all of us at Joseph Spine Institute would like to recognize and thank our inspirational patient, Robert Zorn. His resilience, optimism and desire to make others feel appreciated and recognized, even amidst his own challenges, is quite a beautiful and humbling experience. We appreciate you Robert, and the time you took out of your day to come by and let us know that we have made a positive impact on your life! Well, right back at you Robert! You have made a positive and motivating impact on all of us at here JSI. Your kind words encourage us to be even better, strive harder to incorporate new advanced spine care techniques, and most importantly make a strong connection with our patients and their families so we can deliver the ultimate in spine care.

Thank you, Robert, today we recognize you and the inspiration and kindness you have brought to us at Joseph Spine Institute!

The Great Communicator – The Human Spine

3 May 2023 Spine News , , , ,

The spine is a complex structure that is responsible for several functions, including providing support to the body, protecting the spinal cord, and facilitating movement.

The spine communicates with the body in several ways, including:

  1. Nerves: The spine contains nerves that run along its length and branch out to various parts of the body. These nerves are responsible for sending and receiving signals between the brain and the body, allowing for movement, sensation, and other bodily functions.
  2. Blood vessels: The spine is also connected to a network of blood vessels that supply oxygen and nutrients to the spinal cord and surrounding tissues.
  3. Muscles: The muscles that attach to the spine also play a role in communication with the body. These muscles help to support the spine and facilitate movement, and they also provide feedback to the brain about the position and movement of the body.

Overall, the spine is an integral part of the body’s nervous, vascular, and musculoskeletal systems, and it communicates with the body in various ways to ensure proper function and movement.

Walk-for Wishes Tampa Bay Presented by Joseph Spine Institute, Raises Funds to Grant 20 Wishes for Wish Bay Area Kids

6 Apr 2023 Spine News

Joseph Spine Institute was the presenting sponsor for this special Make a Wish Foundation Southern Florida event at Water Works Park on Saturday, April 1st. The event raised enough money to grant the heartfelt wishes of 20 children battling critical illnesses in the Tampa Bay community.

The Walk for Wishes is an annual fundraising event organized by the Make-A-Wish Foundation, which aims to raise money to grant wishes for children with critical illnesses. The event typically involves participants walking or running a designated route, while also raising money through donations and sponsorships.

The Tampa Walk for Wishes event raised $156,000.00 in funds, which would be used to grant wishes for 20 wish kids. This means that each wish child would receive a unique and personalized wish, which could range from meeting their favorite celebrity to going on a dream vacation.

The success of the Walk for Wishes event in raising funds and granting wishes reflects the dedication and generosity of the community, as well as the impact that the Make-A-Wish Foundation has on the lives of children with critical illnesses and their families.

About The Make-A-Wish Foundation

The Make-A-Wish Foundation is a non-profit organization that grants wishes to children with critical illnesses, in order to provide hope, strength, and joy to the children and their families.

About Joseph Spine Institute

Joseph Spine Institute (JSI) was founded in 2016 by Dr. Samuel Joseph. He has assembled a comprehensive team of highly skilled spine specialists that are devoted to offering the highest level of spine care available today. He has also strategically partnered with some of the most innovative leaders in the spine care industry today in order to bring our patients the latest in technology, products and resources.

From state-of-the-art technology, to alternate therapies and interventional pain management treatments our industry leading spine care practice offers our patients a comprehensive, multidisciplinary approach to diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation of spinal conditions. Our highly-trained surgeons offer an integrated approach to patients that includes surgical and non-surgical options such as pain management and physical therapy.

Dr. Samuel A. Joseph, Jr. Announces the Founding of the International Spine Foundation

10 Jun 2022 Spine Foundation, Spine News

Philanthropic Spine Care

The International Spine Foundation is a non-profit that endeavors to bring the healing power of technologically advanced spinal treatments and procedures to people of all walks of life. Through Dr. Samuel Joseph’s expertise, charity, and passion, lives have been indelibly altered and changed.

For that reason, Dr. Samuel A. Joseph, founder of Joseph Spine Institute is proudly announcing the opening of the International Spine Foundation. This opening comes at a time when the Joseph Spine Institute is celebrating over five years in business, establishing itself as the premier spinal surgery institution in the Tampa Bay area.

What means so much more than the innovative spine treatments, the pioneering surgeries, and representing the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, is the charitable and philanthropic work that Dr. Joseph has undertaken.

“It felt amazing to have a direct effect on a child’s life and not only improve their appearance but improve their quality of life and life expectancy,” Dr. Joseph told reporters in 2019 when Dr. Samuel Joseph along with a dedicated team of volunteers traveled to the Dominican Republic to save the lives of children and young adults with severe spinal deformities.

“Thinking about how many people this child will then affect in their life makes you really take a step back and be humbled by what we as a team are so fortunate and blessed to be able to do.” The volunteers had a grueling schedule which included 4 to 5 surgeries daily for the week, along with patient screenings and lectures to orthopedic residents. This was one trip of many, a trip that inspired Dr. Joseph to find new ways to help the underserved.

Make A Wish Foundation

Dr. Joseph and his family are active members of the Tampa Bay community. They have taken a special interest in the Make a Wish Foundation and its goal of granting wishes and making life better for kids with life-threatening medical conditions.

Dr. Joseph, along with his fellow co-founders, Elizabeth Joseph and Dr. Uhuru Smith, hope to broaden his impact locally, nationally and internationally, helping people of all backgrounds get access to lifesaving spinal surgeries.

About Dr. Samuel Joseph
Dr. Joseph is the founder of the International Spine Foundation and the Joseph Spine Institute. He is dedicated to pioneering minimally invasive, outpatient surgical procedures. Dr. Joseph is at the forefront of endoscopic spine surgery and a team physician for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Dr. Joseph’s practice includes the specialized, conservative, and surgical care of patients. Treatment includes therapeutic injections, disc replacement surgery, minimally invasive techniques, and complex reconstruction of adult and pediatric spinal disorders.

Dr. Joseph has used his training and experience to become a nationwide leader on revision surgery for patients who have experienced failed surgery in the past. These patients have traveled to see Dr. Joseph not only from the Tampa Bay area but from all over the state and the nation.

Dr. Joseph has published numerous articles in neurosurgical and orthopedic spine journals. His research on scoliosis, degenerative disc disease, and spinal surgery in the elderly has been presented at many international meetings including the International Meeting for Advanced Spinal Techniques.

With the founding of this non-profit, he and his family hope to create lasting change for those affected by spinal issues.

About Dr. Uhuru Smith
Dr. Smith is a board-certified Anesthesiologist and is one of four founding partners of Intrepid Anesthesia which she launched in 2021. Intrepid Anesthesia not only focuses on providing anesthesia services for both inpatient and outpatient surgical environments, but also provides management, consultation and billing services for both inpatient and outpatient facilities. Further, Dr. Smith concurrently serves at the Chief of Anesthesiology and Chief Medical Officer at Riverwalk Ambulatory Surgery Center. Prior to the inception of Intrepid Anesthesia Dr. Smith served as the Chief of Anesthesiology at The Advanced Surgery of Center for 7 years while building a comprehensive outpatient orthopedics, total joint and spine program. During this time, she expanded services in acute pain for complex outpatient spine, orthopedic surgery and pain procedures in chronically ill patients.

Dr. Smith nurtured her love of complementary medicine and entrepreneurship by opening the first and most successful IV wellness clinic in Tampa, RENEW IV Wellness. After being diagnosed with breast cancer in 2018, Dr. Smith sold RENEW but continued to practice anesthesiology and critical care throughout her treatment.

After beating breast cancer and returning to full time practice, Dr. Smith has furthered her practice by improving surgical outcomes in complex outpatient surgery by utilizing innovative and complimentary approaches in order to provide treatment for both acute and surgical pain.

Dr. Smith has strong personal interests in research, education, regenerative, and complimentary medicine as adjunct to allopathic medicine. Dr. Smith aspires to use these interests to further improve the way we approach pain, orthopedic spine, and outpatient surgery.

Joseph Spine Institute Welcomes New Spine Surgeon

30 Aug 2021 Spine News

Joseph Spine Institute is proud to announce our new spine Surgeon Dr. Anthony Kouri. Dr. Kouri will be practicing in our St. Petersburg and Safety Harbor Florida locations.

Medical Education

Born and raised in the Midwest, Dr. Kouri grew up in Peoria Illinois, son to an internal medicine doctor and a nurse. When he graduated from high school he started his college experience by moving to Omaha, Nebraska where he attended Creighton University. He graduated magna cum laude with highest honors in chemistry.
Upon graduation Dr. Kouri headed off to Chicago to attend medical school at Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine where he received his medical degree. He completed his orthopedic surgery residency at University of Toledo Physicians, LLC, where he was Chief Resident of Orthopedic Surgery. As an orthopedic surgery resident he worked in the inpatient and outpatient settings, as well as performing over 2200 surgical cases.

Dr. Kouri went on to receive advanced training in adult and pediatric spine surgery during his fellowship in the John Hopkins Spine Surgery Fellowship program. This prestigious program provided him comprehensive training in evaluation and management of: degenerative cervical and lumbar pathologies, and complex spinal pathologies, including: adult spinal deformity, tumor and infection.

Spine Fellowship

During his fellowship program Dr. Kouri was exposed to variety of traditional as well as cutting-edge surgical techniques, which trained him for technical proficiency in spinal decompression, spinal instrumentation (both free-hand and using navigation or robotics), and advanced spinal reconstruction techniques (PSO, VCR and multi-level corpectomies). He was also trained in novel techniques such as minimally-invasive spine surgery (MIS TLIF and robotic surgery), lateral access surgery (lateral interbody fusion and ACR) and laminoplasty.

Medical Publications

Dr. Kouri is published in major journals including Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery (JBJS) and Spine Deformity, and delivered podium presentations at the annual meeting for the Scoliosis Research Society (SRS).

Interests

Dr. Kouri enjoys all sorts of sports including golf and hockey, which he played for 15 years. He still loves to skate and play hockey with friends. He’s quite a hockey fan and has now begun following the Tampa Bay Lightning! He also loves to cook and spend time with his family.

Dr. Kouri will concentrate his time in our St. Petersburg and Safety Harbor locations.

pediatric-scoliosis

Why Scoliosis Awareness Month Matters

15 Jun 2021 Scoliosis, Spine News

Share Your Story for Scoliosis Awareness Month

Why is scoliosis awareness so important? A recent study found that 72% of children and adolescents who wore back braces were able to avoid surgical intervention as opposed to 48% of children who did not wear back braces. 

Studies show that early treatment of scoliosis is key

The same study further showed that children who wore back braces for over thirteen hours each day had a success rate over 90%. This provides strong evidence that back braces are an effective non-surgical treatment. However, for back braces to work as a treatment option, the brace must be worn for a significant amount of time. In order for this to be possible, parents have to be educated about the symptoms and screening options available.

Why Scoliosis Awareness Month matters

June is the official month of Scoliosis Awareness. It’s time to speak up about your experiences so we can encourage others to screen for scoliosis. Early detection of abnormal curvature of the spine is key to preventing serious complications. By encouraging others to screen and highlighting educational resources, we can prevent and correct the advancement of scoliosis in our communities.

“National Scoliosis Awareness Month takes place yearly in June with the goal of highlighting the growing need for education, early detection and awareness to the public about scoliosis and its prevalence within the community. The campaign also unites scoliosis patients, families, physicians, clinicians, institutions and related businesses in collaborative partnerships of local activities, events and grassroots networking throughout the month.”

  • Scoliosis Research Society 

Often, schools offer scoliosis screening. Often, though, these programs do not relay the importance of screening and offer few to no resources that outline how to deal with the news that your child may have scoliosis. Worse still, some school scoliosis screening programs are completely absent.

More people are affected by scoliosis than you might think

Scoliosis affects over 4 percent of the population. While that might not sound like an awfully large number, the rate of degenerative scoliosis, the kind where the spine begins to curve due to age, is present in over half of the senior population. All in all, at least seven million people are affected by scoliosis. It’s one of the most common spine conditions, yet it often goes undiagnosed and untreated. 

What causes scoliosis? There are many ways that scoliosis can manifest. It can be congenital, — as in you are born with an abnormal curvature — it can be caused from neuromuscular diseases like cerebral palsy, or it can be caused by spine degeneration or a traumatic injury. There are myriad causes of scoliosis. For this reason, scoliosis is often poorly understood.

What you can do to help

During the month of June, everyone who is or has been affected by scoliosis, from parents of a child with scoliosis to professional spine specialists, speak up about their experiences. By fostering a community and encouraging the sharing of studies, stories, and resources, we can all do our part to minimize the negative effects of scoliosis, not only in our local communities, but all over the globe.

Why we care about Scoliosis Awareness Month

At Joseph Spine, we pride ourselves in our excellent service to patients, providing best-in-class spine surgery and back pain management. We find that preventing the need for surgery is equally important. Eliminating pain and suffering with cutting-edge technology and surgical techniques defines us as a great practice.

Sometimes, cutting-edge technology isn’t necessary, however. Prevention can help your child avoid spine surgery and other invasive producers. Scoliosis, when detected and treated early, can be corrected without surgical intervention. While spinal fusion surgery is certainly an option for those with severe spinal issues resulting from scoliosis, we should all do our part to help reduce the necessity of procedures in cases where early intervention could prevent complications entirely.

Share your story

We encourage you to share your story about scoliosis. As one of the most common spine conditions, we all know someone affected by this condition. We encourage you to share your personal experiences on our social media. Your story is important and will help shape the future of spine health. With your help, we can reduce the pain and suffering associated with scoliosis.

Anterior Cervical Discectomy

11 Jun 2021 Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery, Spine News

What is an Anterior Cervical Discectomy and Fusion?

In this video Dr. Thuy Nguyen, will review general information about the Anterior Cervical Discectomy and Fusion procedure, known by the acronym (ACDF). The neck includes seven small bones called vertebrae. They are separated by discs, which act as space holders. Years of wear and tear can cause the breakdown of the discs, reducing the space between vertebrae. This condition is known as cervical disc disease. Like a herniated disc, it can cause pressure on the spinal cord or nerve roots.

Read More

Dr. Samuel A. Joseph Jr, First in the Nation to Perform Outpatient Prone Lateral Fusion

24 Mar 2021 Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery, Spine News

Dr. Samuel A. Joseph Jr, First in the Nation to Perform Outpatient PTP (Prone Transpsoas)

Physicians like Dr. Samuel Joseph, founder of Joseph Spine Institute in Tampa Florida, are constantly researching and developing new ways to improve minimally invasive spine techniques for their patients. Dr. Joseph works in conjunction with other leaders in spine research, development and technology to bring minimally invasive procedures to complex spine conditions, which in turn results in better faster recovery for patients.

Take for example a traditional lateral interbody fusion (LIF) that has a patient lying in a lateral position. Not only can the position be unfamiliar to the surgeon and staff which leads to inefficiencies in preoperative setup and repositioning for posterior procedures, but literature demonstrates that the lateral decubitus position may not be ideal for achieving sagittal alignment – the greatest correlative to a long-term positive outcomes.

The newly developed procedure performed by Dr. Joseph, PTP (Prone Transpsoas) has many benefits that range from superior surgical efficiency to powerful correction abilities in both the sagittal and coronal planes.  PTP allows for the patient to remain in one position for the entire procedure. The prone position creates efficiencies by allowing for a single-position surgery providing simultaneous access to the anterior column and posterior column of the spine. 

View Published Case Study

Initial multi-center clinical experience with prone transpsoas lateral interbody fusion: Feasibility, preoperative outcomes, and lessons learned.

About Dr. Joseph

Dr. Joseph is a board certified, fellowship-trained, orthopaedic surgeon who specializes in advanced spine care. He is a leader in new spine medicine techniques and procedures.  He is dedicated to pioneering minimally invasive, outpatient spine surgical techniques along with complex scoliosis and revision surgery. Dr. Joseph is among a select group of surgeons to offer cutting edge endoscopic and robotic-assisted surgery for patients to provide the most advanced minimally invasive spine surgery (MIS) available globally. He is also the team spine surgeon for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

About Joseph Spine Institute

Joseph Spine Institute is the advanced center for spine, scoliosis and minimally invasive spine surgery. Treatment includes therapeutic injections, physical therapy, pain management, stem cell therapy, disc replacement surgery, minimally invasive techniques, including robotic-assisted surgery, and complex reconstruction of adult and pediatric spinal disorders. Dr. Joseph is among a select group of surgeons to offer cutting edge endoscopic and robotic-assisted surgery for patients to provide the most advanced minimally invasive spine surgery (MIS) available globally. Joseph Spine has four locations in Tampa Bay, including Tampa, St. Petersburg, Safety Harbor, and Brandon, FL. Joseph Spine is dedicated to offering humanitarian spine services internationally in the form of education, awareness, and surgery. Please visit JosephSpine.com for more information.

Dr. Joseph Performs Endoscopic Decompression and Fusion with Coronal Correction

16 Dec 2020 Endoscopic Spine Surgery, Endoscopy, Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery, Spine News

Dr. Sam Joseph continues to pioneer new techniques for minimally invasive spine surgery by implementing cutting edge techniques and utilizing the FlareHawk7 endoscopically assisted system.

CLINICAL PRESENTATION

The patient is a 52-year-old female with a longstanding history of severe lower back and right leg pain. She had failed therapy, medication and injections, and had a prior right-sided laminectomy at L4-5. The patient presented to another surgeon who offered her open lumbar laminectomy and fusion. She then presented to Dr. Joseph’s office for a second opinion for a less invasive approach.

EXAM

Severe lower back pain with palpation, spasm, pos SLR right side, decreased sensation L3, 4, 5, absent DTR right side.

VIEW INTEGRITY IMPLANTS' ORIGINAL CASE STUDY

IMAGING

X-RAY

  • Moderate spondylitic changes at L4-5
  • Endplate degeneration identified
  • Facet arthropathy identified
  • Scoliosis curvature
  • Exhale. Leave the pose incrementally. First, bend the arms slowly backwards. Lower the navel to the mat, then the chest, then the shoulders, and, lastly, the forehead.

MRI LUMBAR SPINE

  • L2-3: 5 mm central disk protrusion is seen with bilateral facet arthropathy.
  • L3-4: Dehydrated, bulging disc is seen with a 4 mm broad-based disc protrusion and bilateral facet arthropathy.
  • L4-5: Dessicated, bulging disc and osteophyte and facet arthropathy are seen with a 7 mm right foraminal disc protrusion. Prior Laminectomy. Severe foraminal narrowing on the right side.
  • Exhale. Leave the pose incrementally. First, bend the arms slowly backwards. Lower the navel to the mat, then the chest, then the shoulders, and, lastly, the forehead.

Modified Seated Spinal Twist

Modified Seated Spinal Twist

PROCEDURE

OVERVIEW

Dr. Joseph performed a right sided foraminotomy, discectomy, and partial facetectomy of L2-3, L3-4 and L4-5. An endoscopically assisted TLIF was performed on the right side of L4-5 with bilateral posterior pedicle screw instrumentation at L4-5.The FlareHawk7 endoscopically assisted system allowed Dr. Joseph to perform his discectomy and deploy an 11mm wide, 26mm long, 10mm tall Implant with 6° of lordosis through an 11mm Tubular Retractor.

BLOOD LOSS

50 cc

IMPLANT INSERTION PROFILE

7mm W x 7mm H x 26mm L

IMPLANT DEPLOYED PROFILE 11mm W x 10mm H x 26mm L with 6° Lordosis

PROCEDURAL RATIONALE

Endoscopic decompression with fusion was ideal for this patient due to her multilevel symptomatic foraminal stenosis as well as her scoliosis and prior Midline Laminectomy at L4-5. The Kambin’s triangle approach avoids the scar tissue from prior surgery. The round dilator acts like a distractor elevating the right side and the FlareHawk7 allows expansion to maintain the correction through a very small working channel. This allows both direct and indirect decompression at the L4-5 level.

OUTCOME

The patient had no more leg pain and only mild back soreness. Discharged home in fewer than 24 hours post-op. The patient continues to do well.

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