Michael Gordon, MD, board-certified orthopedic spine surgeon, practices with Hoag Orthopedic Institute in Irvine, Calif. Dr. Gordon earned his medical degree from the Joan Sanford I. Weill Medical College of Cornell University in New York. He interned at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York and completed his residency at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. Dr. Gordon completed his fellowship at the USC Spinal Cord Injury Center. He has performed more than 8,000 spine surgeries during the course of his career. Here he discusses how far the field of spine has come since he first began to practice, achieving high patient satisfaction and spine surgery in the outpatient setting. Q: Why did you choose to specialize in spine surgery?
Dr. Michael Gordon: I chose spine surgery almost 25 years ago because I felt it was the specialty with the greatest potential for growth in innovation and improvement in patient outcomes that existed in medicine at that time. I wanted a challenging, demanding field where, with the collaboration of my mentors in the lumbar spine specialties and the cervical spine research societies, great progress could be achieved. Looking back and seeing how far this specialty has come, especially with our improved diagnostics, better outcomes and patient satisfaction, I believe I chose well.
Q: What do you think is the best strategy for achieving high patient satisfaction?
MG: Patient satisfaction comes from the following: appropriate diagnostics, accurate and appropriately done surgery, an informed patient, good clean communication between surgeon and patient about expectations of outcomes, and a great deal of time invested in that patient's good result.
Q: How do you provide patients with an understanding of something as complex as spine surgery?
MG: Very few patients understand the spine surgery they are about to have. It's too scary, it's too foreign and it's too complicated. I show patients models, their x-rays, their MRI scans and their CAT scans. I have power point presentations that delineate every surgery. I send them to appropriate websites to become educated. Even so, I find patients are overwhelmed with information. I try to simplify and explain carefully. Sometimes, despite my efforts, patients will return for a follow-up several weeks after surgery and wonder how those screws got in their vertebra.
Q: Do you think that think that the shift of spine surgery to the outpatient setting is a trend that will continue to grow?
MG: Outpatient spine surgery is something commonly performed for simpler procedures. Sometimes, with the appropriate patient, a minimally invasive surgery can be done that otherwise would involve a hospitalization for pain control. As techniques and implants evolve, I believe more and more patients will spend less and less time in the hospital.
Q: What is the most satisfying aspect of being a spine surgeon?
MG: If I take away your pain, you will be grateful forever and I will feel like I have done you a wonderful service.
A series of articles featuring orthopedic surgeons on issues ranging from personal background to current research developments is published weekly. We invite all orthopedic surgeons and sports medicine specialists to participate.
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