In our current cost conscious healthcare environment, some people are still looking for ways to preserve high quality while controlling costs. One such effort is going on in Phoenix at the new Oasis Hospital, on 40th Street and the 202. Oasis Hospital is a spine and orthopedic only hospital, owned and run jointly by Dignity Healthcare and a group of the elite orthopedic and neurosurgeons in the Phoenix Valley. It is new, beautifully appointed, an…

Spine practices can follow one of several different business models with a focus on either surgical cases, non-surgical cases or a mix of both. When founding his group, Sonoran Spine, Dennis Crandall, MD, chose a model that emphasized treating all different types of patients. "We have chosen a model on purpose that embraces all spine disease in adults and children — operative and non-operative," says Dr. Crandall, who now serves as the practice p…

Mornings start early on most days, with hospital rounds starting well before 6:30am. We surgeons need to evaluate every patient that is in the hospital under our care prior to beginning the day's activities. Rounds consist of formulating an outline the day's recovery plan for each patient who is in the hospital (all have had surgery within the past few days), coordinating that plan with the nurses and therapists, checking in with the incredibly v…

SPINE SURGERY THROUGH THE SCOPE SPINAL SURGERY FOR DEFORMITY History - The first report of surgery to fuse a diseased spine was published in 1911 by Hibbs. Early results using what were primitive techniques were less than encouraging and spinal fusions fell out of favor. In the 1940's posterior (from the back) spinal fusions became increasingly recognized as valuable for certain diseases such as tuberculosis of the spine, and later for spinal def…

Low back pain usually resolves without physician intervention. However, if back pain doesn't go away, it's important to obtain an accurate diagnosis so treatment can be initiated. The physician must be able to distinguish between typical degenerative processes, muscular strains, nerve impingements, infections, and finally, a spinal tumor. Through a thorough evaluation including physical examination and diagnostic imaging, the physician can acquir…

Spine surgery, like other aspects of medicine, is moving more towards minimally invasive techniques and innovative ways of approaching the common problems that patients suffer in the neck and back. Just in the last 10 years, there have been significant improvements in techniques to improve outcomes and shorten recovery times so critical to patients when considering elective surgeries. Minimally invasive procedures use techniques and instrumentati…

You have a painful low back, and your doctor says that you need to see a spine surgeon. You have heard from your friends and family who have said, "Never let anybody operate on your spine" or "My friend had back surgery. He is now worse than he was before surgery," or the scariest, "It'll paralyze you." At the Sonoran Spine, we''ve heard all the stories. We want to dispel the myths about spine surgery and help you to understand there are real sol…

Patients who had undergone prior back surgery with persisting back or leg pain finally got a name for their condition in 1951. It was called failed back syndrome. Currently we define this condition as persisting or recurring low back pain with or without radiating leg pain following one or more back surgeries. This condition is recognized as a spectrum of organic disease which can be complicated by learned chronic behaviors and secondary gain. Th…

Every day I am asked to recommend the best exercise plan for improving low back pain. My first response is that any exercise done on a consistent basis helps reduce pain in the majority of low back pain sufferers. A commitment to exercising on a consistent basis is the first hurdle most must overcome to get lasting benefit from exercise. Incorporating an exercise program into your life is as important as taking daily medications, getting adequate…

When I first realized that everybody has something big going on, it was a real eye opener. It helps me put things into perspective everyday whether I'm at work, in traffic, dealing with others and while I play. Everyone deals with stress, but there are strategies that can help to deal with stress and enjoy life more even when we are doing things that are uncomfortable and undesirable. Let me share with you some of my favorite ways to break up, re…