MDNews - Mid Hudson

Dr. Oppenheim and his office assistant, Marjorie Roberts, speak in the waiting room of his Suffern, NY, office. Behind the Knife Should the appropriate conservative care fail to improve a patient's pain, the neurosurgery program offers an array of surgical interventions for bulging and herniated discs, degen- erative disc disease, facet disease, foraminal narrowing, pinched nerves, sciatica, spinal stenosis, spondylosis, and spondylolisthesis. As Dr. Oppenheim explains, in the operating room, the individualized care at Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center equates to patients undergoing procedures performed exclusively by a member of the neu- rosurgery team. With no residents or interns involved in patient care, the neurosurgeon's focus is not divided between the patient and the trainee. In addition, the members of the team at Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center are consistently ranked by Castle Connolly and Hudson Valley Magazine as premier specialists in the Hudson and New York City areas. While the surgical approach may vary from patient to patient and case to case, Dr. Oppenheim and his colleagues most commonly utilize microsurgical techniques to address spinal surgery. These specialized procedures feature less-than-1-inch incisions, permitting most operations to be closed with Band-Aids. The team is able to minimize trauma to the muscle, tissue and spinal cord when removing ruptured disc material or relieving pressure on nerves. These techniques also allow most patients to be mobile within one hour of surgery and return home within a day following surgery. According to Dr. Oppenheim, patients who undergo microsurgery for cervical or lumbar complaints can be at home and in considerably less pain within 23 hours of their operations. Dr. Oppenheim also utilizes cutting- edge instrumentation to facilitate more patient-friendly surgeries. He has become a national leader in the application of the Aspen Spinous Process Fixation System, developed by LANX, for spinal fusion. Traditionally, placing implants to hold the bones together and encourage fusion was a painful process for patients. However, because of the Aspen system's smaller size, Dr. Oppenheim can implant the hardware through smaller incisions, CENTER JEFFREY S. OPPENHEIM, M.D., neurosurgeon at Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center, is joined by three other neurosurgeons, all of whom share his philosophy of empathetic, conservative patient care. + Jeffrey W. Degen, M.D., board-certified neurosurgeon, has focused his practice on minimally invasive spine surgery, neuroen- doscopy, and brain and spine tumors. He attended Princeton University and earned his medical degree from Cornell University Medical College. Dr. Degen then completed both his general surgery internship and neurosurgery residency at Georgetown University Medical Center. In addition to his patient practice, he serves as a clinical assistant professor of neurosurgery at New York Medical College at Westchester Medical Center. THE TEAM AT GOOD SAMARITAN REGIONAL MEDICAL + G. Alexander Jones, M.D., board-certified neurosurgeon, is a specialist in minimally invasive spine surgery. He earned both his undergraduate and medical degrees from Ohio State University before moving to New Orleans to complete a general surgery internship and residency in neurosurgery at Louisiana State University. Dr. Jones returned to Ohio in 2005 for a fellowship at Cleveland Clinic with a concentration on complex spinal surgery and spine biomechanics research. In addition to his patient practice, he serves as a clinical assistant professor of neurosurgery at New York Medical College at Westchester Medical Center. + Daniel E. Spitzer, M.D., board-certified neurosurgeon, specializes in microsurgical techniques in both spine and brain surgeries. He couples his practice with an academic role as an assistant clinical professor of neu- rosurgery at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. Dr. Spitzer gradu- ated from Princeton University and earned his medical degree from New York University School of Medicine. He then completed his postgraduate training in neurosurgery at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Montefiore Medical Center. MDNEWS.COM ■ MD NEWS Mid Hudson | 9

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