Complementary Expertise

The UH Spine Institute brings together diverse disciplines to care for patients suffering from spinal pathologies

UH Neurological Institute – Summer 2018

Christopher Furey, MD

Alia Hdeib, MD

Mukesh K. Jain, MD

University Hospitals’ Spine Institute was created in 2017 to offer a centralized program to manage the care of patients with spinal problems. Lead by Christopher Furey, MD, Chief, Spine Center, Henry H. Bohlman, MD Chair in Spine Surgery, University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center; Associate Professor, Orthopaedics, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine.

“By bringing all this subspecialty expertise under one umbrella, we can deliver an unprecedented level of centralized care for patients with the full spectrum of spine-related disorders, including arthritis, traumatic injuries, degenerative disorders, scoliosis, spinal tumors and herniated discs,” says Alia Hdeib, MD, Neurosurgeon, University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center; Assistant Professor, Neurosurgery, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine.

“It has been an exciting development.”

The Spine Institute team also coordinates with the staff of University Hospitals Connor Integrative Health Network, which offers services such as acupuncture, mindfulness classes and yoga to enhance the capabilities of traditional medicine.

“We are proud that our services do not just represent the expertise of one department,” Dr. Hdeib says. “Having all our providers dedicated to the care of patients suffering from spinal pathologies under one institute makes it much easier for providers to refer patients to colleagues or consult with them about how to best manage challenging cases.” This format also helps increase patient access by getting them in to see the right provider quickly, she notes.

An All-Star Team

All physicians on the Spine Institute team bring subspecialty expertise. Dr. Hdeib specializes in oncology. She attended Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore and completed her residency at University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center. She also completed two fellowships, one in neurosurgical oncology at UH Cleveland Medical Center and the other in neurological surgery of the spine at Johns Hopkins Hospital.

Manish Kasliwal, MD, Director, Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery, University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center; Assistant Professor, Neurosurgery, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine who was recruited to join the staff about two years ago, specializes in minimally invasive and computer-assisted spine surgery and spinal deformity/scoliosis. He attended the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, and completed a residency in neurological surgery there. Dr. Kasliwal subsequently did a second residency at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago and completed two spine fellowships: one in minimally invasive and complex spine surgery at Rush University Medical Center and another in clinical complex spine and spinal deformities at the University of Virginia Medical Center, Charlottesville.

Dr. Kasliwal now serves as Director of Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery at UH Cleveland Medical Center.

“He has been a very positive complement to the services we offer,” Dr. Hdeib says.

Pioneering Education and Research

Dr. Kasliwal says that by bringing together experts from neurological and orthopedic surgery and other related specialties, the Spine Institute provides a unique environment and opportunities for furthering education and clinical research initiatives.

“The differences that once existed between neurosurgery and orthopedics are quickly vanishing today,” he explains. “The Spine Institute provides the expertise needed to evaluate patients and offer the full range of surgical and nonsurgical interventions tailored to each patient’s individual needs under one roof. It will also help pioneer advances in the field and boost the training of the next generation of spine surgeons.”

Advanced procedures offered at the Spine Institute include arthroplasty, image-guided computer-assisted spine surgery, kyphoplasty, scoliosis correction, laminectomy and discectomy, and posterior lumbar interbody fusion (PLIF) and transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (TLIF). Experts on staff can provide orthotics, spine injections and specialized physical therapy and rehabilitation, as well.

Additionally, UH Cleveland Medical Center is among a select group of centers to offer proton therapy, a highly precise radiation therapy used to treat adult and pediatric tumors without damaging surrounding healthy tissue.

To refer a patient or for more information about the Spine Institute at University Hospitals in Cleveland, Ohio visit UHhospitals.org/Spine or call 216-286-8888.