Frank Cammisa, MD, is the chief of the spine service at Hospital for Special Surgery. His expertise includes minimally invasive spine surgery, computer-assisted spinal surgery, athletic spinal injuries and motion-preserving procedures. He is a spinal consultant for the National Hockey League Player Association and has treated athletes from the New York Knicks, New York Jets and New York Giants professional athletic teams.
Dr. Cammisa also performs a relatively new procedure, lateral lumbar interbody fusion, where the surgeon enters the spine laterally through the psoas muscle in the "trans-psoas" approach. Once the incision is made, a special tubular retractor is inserted and dilated. The lumbar plexus goes through the psoas and surgeons use neuromonitoring to identify the nerves. "We want to make sure we are between the nerves so we don't damage them," says Dr. Cammisa. "We're able to do complete corpectomies without making large flank incisions and damaging the patient's anatomy. It's a much less traumatic experience for patients, which really helps them mentally as well as physically."
In addition to his clinical work, Dr. Cammisa also devotes his time to research. He has pioneered new techniques and procedures, and served as the principal investigator in major studies. His research focuses on computer-assisted image guidance, demineralized bone matrix, artificial disc replacement as an alternative to fusion and minimally invasive spine surgery.
During his career, Dr. Cammisa created The National Spinal Research Foundation and has been affiliated with the Miami Project to Cure Paralysis. He is a member of the North American Spine Society, Cervical Spine Research Society, Scoliosis Research Society and International Society for the Study of Lumbar Spine.
Dr. Cammisa earned his medical degree at College of Physicians and Surgeons and completed his residency in orthopedic surgery at Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City. His additional training includes a fellowship at the University of Miami in spine surgery.
If there is a spine surgeon leader in your community you would like to see profiled, please contact Laura Miller at laura@beckershealthcare.com.
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