Since opening our doors in 2005, Laser Spine institute has made significant strides. Our innovative approach to minimally invasive spine surgery and our commitment to providing outstanding service have built our rock solid reputation.  Understanding the vital role that these elements play, we continually strive to improve these areas; in essence, enhancing the total LSI patient experience.  During this year, many of our ideas were translated into action. I will share with you a number of significant events for LSI in 2008. Over the course of this past year, we embarked upon an "expand and improve" project in four main areas, namely, personnel, facility, technology, and service.

Personnel - important company-wide investments to better serve our growing patient family.
-    National search for 5 new surgeons
-    Increased medical leadership (PAs, RNs, NPs, CRNAs)
-    World class anesthesia team
-    Further education for team members to enhance patient service

Facility - expanded to better serve patients.
-    Tampa, FL Surgery Center - expansion and  improvement project
-    New imaging center with the addition of higher quality imaging equipment
-    Addition of 3,000 sq. ft. luxury patient and family lounge area
-    2 Operating rooms and 6 Clinic exam Rooms
-    Scottsdale, AZ Surgery Center- Debut of 35k sq. ft. state of the art, patient-centric western U.S. spine surgery center, bringing LSI to our west coast patient family
 
Technology - improved process and flow to boost operations efficiency.
-    Communication system upgrade
-    Operating and exam room video equipment
-    Electronic Medical Records system

Service in the Community - LSI expanded its horizons, taking service beyond our immediate patient family.

LSI Blog -The advent of the Internet has presented endless possibilities for communication. So, I figured that it would be a great idea to utilize this resource by creating a blog to connect with current, former and prospective patients.
 
Gridiron Greats - LSI made $1m donation in medical services to the Gridiron Greats Assistance Fund, the largest donation to the non-profit organization.

In earlier posts, I spoke about Charlotte's battle with breast cancer. So, in honor of Charlotte and all the other women fighting this dreadful disease, LSI supported several events and activities in recognition of Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
 
-    Several LSI Tampa employees and their family members participated in the Race for the Cure at Vinoy Park in St. Petersburg, Florida. This event raised over $1 million in the Florida Suncoast area.

-    LSI Breast Cancer Awareness Day was observed on October 25th. In support of this worthy cause, Tampa, San Diego, and Scottsdale medical staff wore pink scrubs, while administrative staff wore LSI Breast Cancer Awareness 2008 t-shirts and bracelets. LSI employees donated over $2000 to the Susan G. Komen Fund, in aid of breast cancer research.

-    LSI sponsored several employees to participate in the Susan G. Komen 3-day walk in Tampa from October 31st to November 1st, contributing a total of over $7,000 toward the $4.5 million total raised for breast cancer.

Now that we have looked back at the past, we must look toward the future. Let me take this opportunity to wish everyone in the blogosphere a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year. Join me in 2009 for more exciting news and messages!

As Christmas approaches and I reflect on what has been for so many, a turbulent year, I realize how many things I have to be thankful for. I have always heard the saying "Christmas is a time for giving." When many of us hear these words, we usually think in terms of tangible items. This year, I thought of mixing the tangible with the intangible. Like many of you, I have come to realize that two simple words like "thank you" can have a huge impact. So, this Christmas I decided to give thanks!

As many of you know, it is customary to think more about children during the Christmas season. God has blessed me with the best! I am extremely proud of each of them and I feel lucky to be their father. They have all made it easy to be a good dad. Also, I am thankful that my wife, Charlotte, has survived chemotherapy and is on the road to recovery. It is my sincere wish that we will both be able to help others who are experiencing this dreadful disease and that Charlotte's survival will be a beacon of hope to their families and loved ones.

On both a professional and a personal  level, I am thankful that our company has been able to achieve its primary objective of helping people get their lives back, and at the same time, has been blessed with tremendous growth. This year, we were able to help 4,000 patients! I know that we have made a positive difference in their lives and that this Christmas is a time of less pain and suffering. My work is my life and like many other staff members here, my work has personal meaning. I am grateful for all that LSI has become over the years and I feel the need to thank so many people for their hard work.

To all my staff and to the best executive team in the world, Trey, Dr. Perry, Phil, Jimmy, Craig, Jorge, Eric, Dottie and Maria, I say thank you from the bottom of my heart. In addition to being the most talented executive team that a company could have, they are also my partners, my family and my friends. I am also thankful for the four young ladies who took care of me during 2008, Melissa, Christina, Alicia and Leryda. Taking care of me is no easy task, but they have worked tirelessly to help me in my quest to making LSI the gold standard in minimally invasive spine surgery and patient care.
 
I now know how Casey Stengal felt in the 60s, Pat Riley in the 80s and Phil Jackson in the 90s. Great players make a good coach look great! I am also thankful to our medical staff, who perform miracles everyday! They are living proof that the medical profession can be what I always thought that it could be.... service oriented.

In my last post, I spoke about the new LSI outpatient surgical center in Scottsdale, Arizona. So, today I thought that it would be appropriate to familiarize you with the center's chief surgeon, Dr. Michael Weiss. Dr. Weiss is an outstanding surgeon and his contribution to the LSI team has been remarkable. Below, you will find information about his background and previous experience.


•    Board Certified in Orthopedic Surgery
•    Board of Trustees, Florida Osteopathic Medical   
     Association
•    Fellow American Osteopathic Academy of Orthopedics
•    Assistant Clinical Professor, Orthopedic Surgery, Nova
     Southeastern University
•    President Broward Orthopedic Society

Dr. Michael Weiss, a senior surgeon at Laser Spine Institute and the Chief Spine Surgeon of the new LSI Outpatient Surgical Center in Scottsdale, Arizona, is Board Certified in Orthopedic Surgery. After receiving his medical degree in 1986 from Nova Southeastern University, Dr. Weiss completed his rotating internship and orthopedic surgery residency at Pontiac Osteopathic Hospital in  Michigan, where he became Chief Resident in 1991.

His complementary education includes enhanced surgical training at Wayne State University, hand surgery at the Detroit Medical Center and total joint surgery at Port Huron Hospital. Dr. Weiss continued his training in pediatric orthopedics at Shriner's Hospital in Tampa, and endured extensive surgical training in adult reconstruction at Shadyside Hospital in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. After 15 years of dedication to his previous practice in South Florida, Dr. Weiss chose to join the team of surgeons at Laser Spine Institute and continue his love of surgery and patient care.

In the December issue of the Spinal Column, Dr. Weiss probed several issues relating to minimally invasive spine surgery. Click here to read the full text of the interview.

 

 

Superior service is one of the key principles on which our facility was built, a pillar that sustains us, and our bridge into the future.

After months of hard work, our vision has been transformed into reality and today marks an important milestone in LSI history. The Scottsdale outpatient surgical center (OSC) was cleared for operations by the Arizona Department of Health Services and will be opened for surgery on January 5, 2009. The new OSC is reminiscent of a "Sedona spa-retreat," providing an ideal health destination for patients. This state-of-the-art facility has been built with increased efficiency and the comfort and convenience of our patients in mind.

These are the features of the new center:-

• 12 exam rooms
•  4 operating rooms

•  14- pre-op and post-op beds
  
•  2  procedure rooms for diagnostic testing

• Electronic Medical Records (EMR) system in all exam rooms and patient bays, enabling steady flow of records among all LSI locations
  

• On-site physical therapy, imaging and scheduling departments  
  
• Comfortable and tranquil state-of-the-art lounge and café, offering catered breakfast and lunch, internet access, reading library, games and plasma screen televisions
  

I have a first-hand understanding of the anxiety that patients and their families often feel regarding surgery and we are committed to providing superior service to our patients, while facilitating comfort and relaxation. To our former and prospective patients, I would appreciate comments on additional enhancements that you think would improve your LSI experience.

I am sure that many of you remember the opening remarks by Jim McKay, the great sportscaster, introducing the legendary weekend show "The Wild World of Sports." This was exactly how I felt last week when Dr. St. Louis and I stood before the legends of the NFL, proudly announcing our gift of $1 million dollars to Mike Ditka's Gridiron Greats Assistance Fund, a fund to help former players with dire needs. Later this week, I will be be posting video clips of our announcement at the press conference. 

As a young boy, I dreamt of being an NFL football star. On any given Saturday morning, in a big open field next to my childhood home, I fantasized about being Johnny Unitas throwing to Raymond Barry or Bart Starr to Max McGhee. I played from sunrise to sunset. One of my fondest memories as a young boy was when we wanted to play a night game. My dad actually placed one car at each end of the field and created the first neighborhood night game. Kids and parents from blocks away came to participate in the sandlot game. At the end of the night, we had two dead car batteries, but enough joy in the kids' hearts to light up the entire west side of Jacksonville. That night, these 8 year old boys had the thrill of victory imagining themselves as NFL superstars.

Back then, no one could ever imagine the agony of defeat. No one knew the toll the game was taking on these heroes. And certainly, we would never believe the game would turn its back on the men that turned the NFL into a multi-billion dollar industry. How could so many give so much and now get so little? Everyone I have talked to believes this is a disgrace.

That is why we have decided to give our time, talents and resources to help these guys get their lives back. I feel thankful that Dr. St. Louis gave me my life back and always feel the need to pay it forward. With 22 of the best doctors in the world, it is not a great sacrifice for us to help 2 or 3 former NFL players "get their lives back" every month.

Once again, I can dream about the NFL. But, this time I dream of seeing broken down players walk without pain, pick up a grandchild, and have hope. It feels good to me. It feels good to our team. It's our Super Bowl and we are already winning the biggest game in life. I know my dad would be proud.

As CEO of the fastest growing spinal surgery center in the world, I understand the implications of naming our facility the Laser Spine Institute.  While using the word "laser" in the title may help associate us with "cutting edge technology" and "innovation", it does bring a limitation that does not fully and accurately illustrate the success and abilities of our surgeons and their minimally invasive endoscopic surgical procedures.

I've spoken with numerous prospective patients who have told me that after asking their family doctor or neurosurgeon about LSI they were told that we wouldn't be able to help because "the physician said that I have spinal stenosis brought on by bone spurs and the laser can't cut through bone."  However, these physicians are assuming that we only perform procedures that rely solely on lasers.  I am thankful that these prospective patients have taken the initiative to contact us to learn more about our techniques because the information they are receiving, while precise about instrumentation, is incorrect regarding LSI procedures.  Of course, the laser used in spinal surgery cannot cut through bone.  With laser, the energy required to vaporize bone would be very high. This amount of energy would generate too much heat, which would not be conducive to the area in which surgery is performed, i.e. the spinal cord and nerves. It is for this reason that we do not use laser on bone.

 Being a former back pain sufferer and as someone who was skeptical and anxious about undergoing surgery, I understand the need to have your concerns addressed.  However, the majority of physicians delivering this information to their patients about the Laser Spine Institute are unaware that our surgeons do have the instrumentation and the ability to remove bony material from the spinal canal, the foraminal canals, and the facet joint structures.  Our world class, professionally trained surgeons use a specialized tool called a rongeur, a strongly constructed instrument with sharp-edged, scoop-shaped tips used for carving out bone.   With this instrumentation, LSI has the advantage of being able to treat spinal stenosis, foraminal stenosis, bone spurs and facet arthritis, while still working through a series of dilating tubes and an incision less than one inch.  It's just one more way we can provide the most relief with such a minimally invasive approach.