MedStar Georgetown University Hospital’s Spine Center has one of the most experienced multidisciplinary team on the East Coast for the treatment of complex spinal disorders and cancer. MedStar Georgetown’s Spine Center offers:
- An advanced interventional neuroradiology department providing alternatives to open surgery in certain cases
- A unique collaborative partnership among the neurosurgeons and orthopaedic surgeons and neuroradiologists that ensures patients the most thorough assessment and treatment plan
- On-site access to specialists in rehabilitation medicine through MedStar Georgetown’s affiliation with the renowned MedStar National Rehabilitation Network
- A Pain Management and Rehabilitation Center that applies a multidisciplinary, comprehensive approach to evaluate chronic pain and administer the most effective treatment for each individual
Treatment options offered by Georgetown’s Spine Center include:
- CyberKnife®
MedStar Georgetown’s CyberKnife®, the only CyberKnife® in Washington, D.C., offers patients a noninvasive method for treating certain tumors and lesions of the spine. The CyberKnife® offers new hope for patients who have been told their tumor is inoperable. A robot-guided radiation therapy system, the CyberKnife® delivers targeted, concentrated beams of radiation to the tumor with significantly fewer complications and comparable or better outcomes than traditional surgery. Learn more about CyberKnife®. - Spinal Cord Tumors, Spine Cancer
MedStar Georgetown surgeons are among the most experienced in the mid-Atlantic region in treating spinal cord tumors. In addition, a MedStar Georgetown neurosurgeon has invented and patented a device called the telescopic plate spacer (TPS) that replaces vertebra in the spine, offering spine surgery patients’ immediate stability, better range of motion, less time in the operating room and faster recovery. - Rheumatoid Arthritis
Approximately one-third of people with rheumatoid arthritis will eventually develop problems that cause severe neck pain. Of this group, some will develop serious complications that can be fatal if not recognized and properly treated. Medical management can be effective, but many patients require surgery to relieve neck compression and pain. MedStar Georgetown offers extensive expertise in surgery for rheumatoid arthritis patients – complex procedures requiring the support of our highly skilled anesthesiologists. - Vertebroplasty
MedStar Georgetown’s neurosurgery specialists have performed more than 300 vertebroplasties, many of them considered high-risk. The procedure, which treats painful compression fractures often caused by osteoporosis, creates a cavity in the fractured bone that is filled with quick-setting bone cement, permanently elevating the collapsed portion of the spine and relieving pain. - Robot-assisted Nerve Blocks
Together with Johns Hopkins University, MedStar Georgetown’s interventional neuroradiology department has developed the country’s only robot to assist in the precise placement of needles during nerve block procedures. - Scoliosis and Spinal Deformities
The MedStar Georgetown team is experienced in the surgical and non-surgical treatment of kyphosis and associated spinal deformities among patients of all ages. - Degenerative Conditions of the Cervical Spine (Neck)
While degenerated discs are common, particularly as people age, some patients develop severe or debilitating pain, requiring surgery. MedStar Georgetown offers extensive experience performing complex procedures in these cases, including multi-level corpectomies, decompressions and fusions.
Other Spine Disorders
MedStar Georgetown also offers expertise in the treatment of:
- Disorders of the cranial-cervical junction (neck)
- Ependymoma
- Spinal cord injury (Research on spinal cord injury is actively underway at MedStar Georgetown)
- Tethered cord syndrome
- Arnold Chiari malformation
- Syringomyelia
- Acute back pain
