Alan Condon - Friday, March 26th, 2021 This article was originally published in Becker’s Spine Review. One of the first three-level lumbar spinal fusions at an ASC was recently performed by Jeffrey Carlson, MD, president of Orthopaedic & Spine Center in Newport News, Va. Dr. Carlson spoke with Becker’s Spine Review about what minimally invasive spine surgery means to him and… Read more »
Category: Minimally Invasive Surgery
Losing Your Balance as You Age? It Could be Cervical Myelopathy
Spine surgery encompasses many aspects of patient mobility, but none as serious as spinal cord injury. Injury to the spinal cord can happen from an accident where the bones get violently moved out of position and pinch the spinal cord. This may just be an instant compression on impact than released or a sustained compression… Read more »
My Lower Back is Killing Me - Have I been Cooped up by COVID-19 Restrictions for too Long?
Here we are in February 2021 and it’s been almost a year since COVID-19 was first discovered in the United States. Goodness, have our lives changed and who’d have thought we’d still be wearing masks, physically distancing, avoiding crowds and public places with many of us continuing to work from home. We venture out to… Read more »
Treating Plantar Fasciitis Properly for Long-Term Pain Relief
Joel D. Stewart, MD One of the most common complaints for which I see patients is heel pain due to plantar fasciitis. Sometimes people call this heel spurs, but it’s not usually the bone that hurts. The plantar fascia is a thick band of connective tissue that runs underneath your foot and connects behind your… Read more »
Ganglion Cyst of the Finger
Robert J. Snyder, MD Ganglion Cysts or “wens” as they are colloquially referred to, are small sacs attached to a joint or a tendon with a stalk. This stalk is the conduit for the jelly-like fluid (similar to the synovial fluid found in joints) which fills the cyst. These cysts are usually found near… Read more »
Injuries and Fractures of the Thoracic Spine
Jeffrey R. Carlson, MD As a busy Orthopaedic Physician, I often see and treat patients for and write articles about the cervical spine (neck) and the lumbar spine (lower back). Today, I’m going to focus on the thoracic spine or the middle back, the area where the rib cage is located. Percentage wise, I do… Read more »
Knee Replacement Diary – The Day of Surgery
Mahnee N. Payne I arrived at Bon Secours/Mercy Mary Immaculate Hospital bright and early the day of my surgery. (As I couldn’t have anything to eat or drink, wear any makeup, perfume or lotion, there really wasn’t a lot to do except get dressed, brush my teeth and hair and take my pre-surgical antibiotics… Read more »
The Unhappy Triad – A Complex Injury of the Knee
Boyd W. Haynes III, MD Knee injuries are one of the most common reasons for people to seek care from an Orthopaedic physician. Because the knee joint is complex and consists of bones, cartilage, ligaments, tendons and other soft tissues, a lot can go wrong. Sometimes, the ACL (anterior cruciate ligament), the meniscus and… Read more »
Tumors of the Spine
Jeffrey R. Carlson, MD Tumors are an abnormal collection or mass of cells that multiply rapidly without the “on/off” switch normal cells possess. Spinal tumors that are directly related to spine cells are rare and we are not sure what causes most spinal tumors; however, a very small percentage can be caused by genetic… Read more »
Lumbar Spine Fusion
Mark W. McFarland, DO As a busy spine surgeon, I routinely perform Lumbar Spine Fusion surgery. In this article, I will discuss this procedure and how it is used to improve function and relieve pain in patients with certain spinal conditions. The lumbar spine is made up of five bone segments, called vertebra, which… Read more »

