Frank Phillips, MD, co-director of the Midwest Orthopaedics at Rush Minimally Invasive Spine Institute, will lead a new training course for young surgeons and fellows.
The Fourth Annual IEP Fellows & Young Surgeons' Course will take place in November in Scottsdale, Ariz. The course is designed for young spine surgeons and fellows to learn about current spine surgery topics and the transition into their practice as spine surgeons.
"Over the past decade, there has been a push toward minimally invasive spinal surgery," says Dr. Phillips. "As surgeons are now exposed to MIS techniques in fellowship and residency training and have become more comfortable with these techniques, we are seeing MIS approaches developing to address complex spinal problems, including scoliosis and deformity correction."
Dr. Phillips is an expert in minimally invasive spine surgery. He was one of the first surgeons to begin performing MIS procedures in Chicago during the 1990s. He is a pioneer in less invasive lateral procedures and has expertise in motion preserving procedures. He served as the principle investigator in FDA trials on cervical disc replacement.
A recent study he released examines the effectiveness of XLIF surgery among scoliosis patients. He found the less invasive procedure had a shorter length of stay at the hospital, fewer complications, fewer reoperations and lower costs.
"The interesting finding of this study is not only the lower complication profile with XLIF compared to that reported in prior studies on open scoliosis surgery, but also the clinical outcomes seem to improve rapidly within two to three months. This is in contrast to outcomes reported after open scoliosis surgery where patients may not reach that point till six months or longer after the surgery," says Dr. Phillips. "Patients are clearly recovering more quickly after surgery."
Before joining MOR in 2003, Dr. Phillips was director of the spine center at The University of Chicago. He is a founding member, board member and past president of the Society of Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery. He has been voted among the top 10 percent to 15 percent of Top Doctors in America by U.S. News & World Report and Castle Connolly.
Dr. Phillips earned his medical degree at the University of Witwatersand Medical School in South Africa and completed his residency at the University of Chicago Hospitals. His additional training includes an orthopedic surgery fellowship at Case Western Reserve in Cleveland.
More Articles on Spine Surgery:
5 Core Concepts on the Biggest Strides in Complex Spine Today
Deconstructing the Cost of Spine Care: Where Dollars Really Go
6 Points on Quality & Cost Outcomes for Adult Scoliosis Surgery