Corporate Spine: How Spine Surgery Went Off Track and How We Put It Right

by Ardavan Aslie

Overview

Each year, an estimated half-million people will undergo spinal fusion surgery in the US alone. In most cases, surgeons will implant rods and screws into a patient's fused vertebrae as part of the procedure. There's just one (enormous) problem: according to the published medical literature, the screws provide little to no benefit for patients. They do, however, provide billions in profit for a handful of medical device companies.

In this meticulously researched and hard-hitting exposé, veteran California spine surgeon Ardavan Aslie, MD, sounds the alarm on this all-too-common but unproven standard of care. Despite overwhelming evidence that pedicle screws often do more harm than good, device manufacturers continue to push profits over patients. The failure of spine surgery to develop and utilize more effective surgical options has, sadly, led it into a dead end.

It doesn't have to be this way. In Corporate Spine, Dr. Aslie explains how spinal surgery got to this low point, how patients can protect themselves, and how spinal surgery can get back on track to help, not hurt, the estimated 16 million Americans suffering from chronic back pain. Whether this describes you or someone you know, Corporate Spine offers an illuminating report from the frontlines that will both astound and empower.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9798986483313
Publisher:	Corporate Spine, LLC
Publication date:	10/18/2022
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	272
File size:	11 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Dr. Ardavan Aslie is a board-certified spine surgeon who received his undergraduate education at the University of California, Berkeley, where he double-majored in physiology and genetics. He earned his MD from New York Medical College and completed his residency at St. Vincent's Hospital in New York City while working with some of the world's most renowned scoliosis surgeons; he received his spine surgery fellowship training at Harvard University. In addition to his private practice, Dr. Aslie has been active in researching and developing cutting-edge treatments for osteoporotic and aging spines. He lives in Sacramento.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements xi

Special Acknowledgements xiii

Disclaimer xiv

Introduction 1

Chapter One: Anatomy of the Spine 5

Facet Joints 16

Orientation of the Spine 17

Paraspinal Muscles 22

Chapter Two: Conditions of the Spine 27

Disc Disease 33

More About Facet Joints 45

Spinal Stenosis 48

Sacroiliac Joint Pain 50

Chapter Three: Nonoperative Treatments

for Neck and Back Pain 53

PART I: MANIPULATIVE TREATMENTS 53

Chiropractic Care 57

Physical Therapy 65

PART II: THERAPEUTIC PAIN PROCEDURES 66

Nonoperative Procedures for Neck and Lower Back Pain 73

Medications 74

Nonsurgical Procedures 76

Procedures That Do Not Involve Steroid Injections 86

Botox Injections 86

Radiofrequency Ablation 87

Pain Pump 88

Spinal Cord Stimulation 89

Analysis and Summary 90

Chapter Four: Surgical Intervention 93

Scoliosis 99

Radicular and Axial Pain 100

Laminectomy 101

Fusion 108

Posterior Fusion 112

Anterior Fusion 113

Risks and Benefits 115

Shotgun Surgery - Very Important - Must Read 119

Disc Arthroplasty 126

Chapter Five: The Evidence Against Pedicle Screws 131

Selection of Papers 135

The Zdeblick Study 136

The Opposing Research 143

The Problem for Spine Surgery 146

Chapter Six: My Journey 149

Early Life 150

Medical School in Ankara, Turkey 156

Moving to America 158

Medical School at New York Medical College 162

Starting My Practice 164

The Comment That Changed My Life 166

Innovating to Solve Problems 170

Chapter Seven: How Spine Surgery Went Off Track 179

A Brief History of Spine Surgery-Or How We Got Here 183

A Dead End 191

Time to Own Our Mistakes 193

A Dental Analogy 198

Spine Surgery Is a Special Case 199

Training 200

Imperfection Is Progress; Instrument Companies Need to Come Clean 202

Dream Big 207

Chapter Eight: The Future of Spine Surgery 209

Spine Biomechanics 211

The Biomechanics of Intervertebral Graft 216

A Better Device to Immobilize Spinal Vertebra Efficiently 220

The Wolverine Phenomenon 224

Reception Among Surgeons 226

Sources Cited 233

Index 237