Media Contact: Kelli StauningTel. 310-423-3674 or 310-423-4767E-mail: [email protected]
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center announces the appointment of John J. Regan, M.D., an internationally recognized orthopedic surgeon, to Director of Research and Education at the new Cedars-Sinai Institute for Spinal Disorders. As a leading spine surgeon, Dr. Regan joins a world-class team of specialists at the largest multidisciplinary spinal center in the Western United States.
Dr. Regan has been a major pioneer in the field of minimally invasive surgery, developing a number of new approaches that reduce patient recovery time and improve surgical success. Among these advances, Dr. Regan developed the use of video technology in cases involving the middle area of the spine behind the heart. Operating on this area of the spine is particularly complicated, typically requiring a large incision and a team of surgeons to navigate around key arteries to reach the spine. Now, surgeons using this new technology, called Video-Assisted Thorascopic Surgery (VATS), can delicately maneuver surgical instruments through a few small incisions and perform the repair work with the aid of a fiber optic cable that transmits images to a video monitor. Because surgeons do not have to make a large incision, patients experience less pain, recover more quickly, spend less time in the hospital and live fuller lives. The VATS technique is now used to treat herniated thoraci!c disks, severe scoliosis (curvature of the spine), benign or cancerous tumors of the spine, and spinal fractures and infections.
Building on the use of laparoscopic techniques to treat conditions such as appendicitis or other conditions of the abdomen, Dr. Regan was the first spine surgeon in the U.S. to use laporascopy to fuse deteriorating disks. The procedure, called Laporoscopic Lumbar Fusion, enables surgeons to repair painful deteriorating disks via a telescopic camera and incisions no bigger than 1/2 an inch.
Just as minimally invasive surgical techniques have replaced many of the more traditional procedures used in spine surgeries, robots and computers are now playing an increasing role in assisting surgeons with the new techniques. As an expert in the use of this new technology, Dr. Regan is spearheading the use of voice-activated robotics at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. The robot holds the camera and light source for the surgeon during the surgical procedure, thereby eliminating the need for a person to manage these instruments. The robotic arm moves precisely where the surgeon commands, providing a steady image and never experiencing fatigue. In the near future, Dr. Regan will implement a voice activated operating room where spinal surgeons can command adjustments in everything from the camera's light intensity to turning power sources on and off, or even making an outside phone call when a consultation is needed.
As the new director of research and education, Dr. Regan plans to focus on ways to improve surgical techniques and patient outcomes. Some of the clinical studies under his direction will evaluate new approaches to treat patients with degenerative disc disease who have back pain. One new clinical trial underway will evaluate the effectiveness of implanting an artificial disc. This device essentially replaces the disc's nucleus, a kind of built-in shock absorber, which gets pushed out as the disc deteriorates and pushes on nerves, causing pain.
In addition, Dr. Regan will be introducing a minimally invasive technique to treat compression fractures that can result from osteoporosis. During the procedure, called "kyphoplasty," an inflatable balloon is placed in the fractured vertebrae and inflated to push the collapsed bone back up to its initial height. This process forms a cavity and the balloon is deflated and removed. The cavity is then filled with a bone cement, which keeps the fractured vertebrae from collapsing.
Dr. Regan comes to Cedars-Sinai from the Texas Back Institute, where he specialized in treating the thoracic spine, spine tumors and adult scoliosis. He received his M.D. from Upstate Medical Center in Syracuse, New York in 1978 and did his residency and internship in Internal Medicine at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. Dr. Regan completed his orthopedic surgery residency at the University of North Carolina in 1985. He did a spine fellowship at Johns Hopkins University Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland, and at the AO International Hospital in Switzerland.
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center is one of the largest and finest non-profit hospitals in the Western United States. For the fifth straight two-year period, Cedars-Sinai has been named Southern California's gold standard in health care in an independent survey. Cedars-Sinai is internationally renowned for its diagnostic and treatment capabilities and its broad spectrum of programs and services, as well as breakthrough biomedical research and superlative medical education. The Medical Center ranks among the top seven non-university hospitals in the nation for its research activities.
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For media information and interviews, please contact Kelli Stauning at 310-423-3674 or via e-mail at [email protected]. Thank you.
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