Textbook of the Cervical Spine

Dr. Shen cares for patients with spinal pathology through a combination of both operative and nonoperative techniques. When surgery is required, Dr. Shen combines both traditional open surgical techniques with cutting-edge minimal invasive techniques individualized to the patient's specific spine pathology. Dr. Shen's lab is also improving the future of patient care by applying tissue engineering principles to solve clinically relevant problems. He is dedicated to advancing the future of spine surgery by training not only post-doctorate research fellows, but also training the next generation of clinical spine surgeons as well. Dr. Shen has special expertise in surgery of the cervical, thoracic and lumbosacral spine, including anterior and posterior approaches. He also manages degenerative conditions, spinal deformity, trauma, tumors and infections of the spine. In addition to traditional open surgery, Dr. Shen also specializes in minimally invasive surgery, image guided spine surgery and microsurgery. Awards: 2016-2018 Best Doctors in America (R) List Dr. Samartzis obtained his undergraduate degree from Northwestern University, and further pursued graduate studies in biological sciences, evidence-based health care, clinical epidemiology, medical sciences, and international studies at Harvard University, University of Oxford (UK), University of Cambridge (UK), Erasmus University (The Netherlands), Charles University (Czech Republic), and London School of Economics and Political Science (UK). He completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the The University of Hong Kong. He went on to become the Gilbert Beebe Fellow of the Radiation and Nuclear Board of the National Academies of Science in Washington D.C. and the United States Department of Energy, the Radiation Epidemiology Branch of the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland, and at the Radiation Effects Research Foundation (a.k.a. Atomic Bomb Casualty Commission) in Hiroshima, Japan. He has published over 350 peer-reviewed studies in high-impact journals (e.g., Lancet, Arthritis & Rheumatism, JBJS, etc.), book chapters and web-based articles. Professor at the Department of Neurosurgery, Rush Medical College Fessler is a board-certified neurosurgeon who specializes in minimally invasive spine surgery. He is dedicated to finding innovative methods to repair spinal cord injuries, and he has been a pioneer in minimally invasive spine surgery. Fessler has made significant contributions to endoscopic and microendoscopic surgical developments, including microendoscopic discectomy and microendoscopic compression of lumbar stenosis. He has a special interest in spinal cord transplantation and was the first physician in the United States to perform human embryonic spinal cord transplantation.