Maggie McKay (Host): Finding out you need spine surgery can be scary and you probably have a lot of questions. Today, we'll find out about the latest advancements in spine surgery with physicians, Dr. David Herzig and Dr. Philip Schneider, from Holy Cross Health.

Welcome to Your Best Life Podcast, presented by Holy Cross Health. I'm Maggie McKay. Welcome, Dr. Herzig and Dr. Schneider. It's a pleasure to have you both here today.

Philip L Schneider, MD: Thank you.

David Herzig, MD: Thanks for having us.

Host: Would you please introduce yourselves and tell us a little bit about your background and your areas of expertise? Let's start with you, Dr. Herzig. Thank you.

David Herzig, MD: Sure. My name is David Herzig. I'm actually a D.C. area local. Grew up in Fairfax County. I went through neurosurgery training at Georgetown and have been part of Washington Brain and Spine that is a local private neurosurgery group working through Holy Cross for the past four years.

Host: And Dr. Schneider?

Philip L Schneider, MD: I am an orthopedic spine surgeon also in the Washington, D.C. area. I've been here in practice for about 30 years with Montgomery Orthopedics, which is part of The Centers for Advanced Orthopedics.

Host: Dr. Herzig, can you discuss the capabilities at Holy Cross Health related to spinal surgery and the typical patient conditions you and your colleagues treat?

David Herzig, MD: Sure. And Holy Cross is much more than a community hospital. I mean, outside of pediatrics, there's really not much in spine care that myself and Dr. Schneider and the rest of us can't take care of. I mean, that goes from simple procedures, just disc herniations, things like that, to trauma, to oncology, to adult scoliosis. So, it's a fully capable, highly functioning spine center on par with anyone in this area, academic or not.

Host: Dr. Schneider, how are current operating approaches and technologies helping aid the surgeon and improving outcomes?

Philip L Schneider, MD: There have been several initiatives over the years at Holy Cross Hospital to do just that. For example, in the operating room, we have some of the latest technologies in terms of being able to see inside those patient's spine in three dimensions, almost like a GPS in your car, but in three dimensions and navigate for safer, more accurate surgery.

Within the hospital itself, we have protocols that increase patient safety, including decreasing the need for narcotics and opioids. We also have programs where we can limit and minimize the risk of infection or any complications. In the operating room, that three-dimensional imaging that I just mentioned, it has to do with a machine, this intraoperative CAT scan called the O-arm. People are familiar with CAT scans you might get in a radiology office, but most hospitals in America don't have that capability in the operating room, that's called the O-arm.

Host: So as a surgeon, Dr. Herzig, how are these new technologies helping you versus older technology from, say, several years ago?

David Herzig, MD: The stuff that Phil describes is more just augmenting kind of classic surgery. I mean, it should not be a replacement to sort of the classic surgery, it just helps and aid. And, for example, the O-arm is an intraoperative CAT scanner, so it can allow for scanning a patient to check accuracy of hardware before they leave the room that minimizes any sort of reoperation for people that have had redo surgeries or scoliosis with very sort of distorted anatomy. It can help aid in placement, just sort of, you know, add to it.

Beyond that, the rest of the technology has advanced with the times. We still have all the old school bone and cadaver grafts that we implant, but we also have the latest of 3D-printed porous titanium. We're able to do sort of the newer types of techniques, including traditional surgery, but sort of these laterals and prone lateral minimally invasive and anterior lumbar procedures that are kind of the newer access points. So, they're more augmenting kind of classic techniques, but you still have to have those things fall down on that you can't rely on technology for surgery.

Host: It sounds like you have the best of both worlds. We talked about having a lot of questions when you hear you have to have spinal surgery. So for patients with back pain or those who need more extensive spinal surgical interventions, what are some of the key questions a patient should ask their doctor when they decide where to go for surgery?

Philip L Schneider, MD: Well, you should definitely have that conversation with your doctor, it's very important where you go for surgery. First, you want to know, is my surgery going to be in and out surgery? Is it going to be a 23-hour admission? Is it going to be inpatient surgery? And then after that, you want to know, is the hospital I'm going to going to take good care of me safely? For example, Holy Cross is a certified spine surgery hospital by the Joint Commission, as well as by Blue Cross Blue Shield. You want to ask that question. Are you a certified hospital Center of Excellence? You want to know if the hospital has a low complication rate or a high complication rate. Does your hospital have a low infection rate? Does it have a low readmission rate? All of which Holy Cross does have very low rates. And then, you also want to know what Dr. Herzig just talked about. You want to know, is your hospital up-to-date? Does it have the latest technology? Are you doing things that are safe, effective and up-to-date? And those are the kind of questions you want to ask.

Host: As far as your organization, Holy Cross Health, it's key to note that it was the first hospital in Montgomery County to receive Spine Surgery Certification by the Joint Commission. Why is this distinction important and what does it mean so far as patient care?

Philip L Schneider, MD: Well, actually, Holy Cross Hospital is the first hospital, not just in Montgomery County, but in the entire Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, to receive distinction by the Joint Commission as a Center of Excellence for Spine Surgery. And it's been re-confirmed and re-certified, I think, four separate times over the years.

It's important because it's a stamp of excellence. It means your hospital does things very, very well. As I just said, it means that you have a typically superlative nursing care, that you have a safe environment. It also means that your staff communicates with each other very well. The nurses talk to each other, they talk to the doctors, they talk to the anesthesiologists. And it means you have good outcomes. We measure our outcomes and our complication rates. So, it means you're in the upper echelon of outcome success. And it also means that you tend to have newer technology that you're not behind the times. So, that's why a Joint Commission Certified Spine Center of Excellence is important.

Host: And if a patient has more questions or they want to see a Holy Cross Health provider, what should they do?

Philip L Schneider, MD: Well, you can call Holy Cross and speak to our coordinator. Her name is Laura Collins, 301-754-7431. Of course, you can call Dr. Herzig or myself. We're happy to take care of you. You can reach me at montgomeryorthopedics.com and make online appointments. I'll let Dr. Herzig discuss his contact information.

David Herzig, MD: Sure. Our website is brainsurgery.com

Philip L Schneider, MD: You can also contact holycrosshealth.org/spine.

Host: All right. That's great. This has been so informative. Thank you so much, both of you, for sharing your expertise. Very helpful.

David Herzig, MD: Thanks so much for the time.

Philip L Schneider, MD: Thank you.

Host: Again, that's Dr. David Herzig and Dr. Philip Schneider. And to find out more, as we said, you can visit holycrosshealth.org/spine. If you found this podcast helpful, please share it on your social channels and check out our entire podcast library for topics of interest to you. I'm Maggie McKay. Thanks for listening. This is Your Best Life Podcast, presented by Holy Cross Health.