Spine Division

When your back hurts, or there is a problem with your spine, once-simple movements can become difficult. You may feel like your life is on hold, but you don’t have to live like this. Orthopaedic specialists at Allegheny Health Network (AHN) can help you get moving again.

AHN Orthopaedic Institute Spine Division

Our experienced team includes surgeons who completed training (fellowships) in treating spine problems. This level of training enables us to deliver focused treatments that meet your unique needs. Whether it’s an injury or a congenital (present at birth) problem, you can count on us for effective care.

Highlights of our program include:

• Fellowship-trained surgeons: Our spine surgeons completed fellowships in treating spine injuries and disorders, so we can help you achieve lasting pain relief. We also deliver sophisticated treatments that help people with spine problems such as stenosis, herniated disks, and scoliosis live their best life.
• Broad range of treatment options: For common problems, such as lower back pain, you may find relief with nonsurgical treatments. Our physical medicine physicians (physiatrists) and primary care sports medicine physicians help many people get relief using injections and gentle activity. Find out more about primary care sports medicine.
• Experienced team: Spine surgery requires a level of experience you’ll only find in programs such as AHN's that perform a high number of procedures. Count on much-need relief and a high degree or accuracy based on our experience from performing more than 500 spine surgeries each year.
• Care for complex injuries (trauma): AHN’s Level I Trauma Center offers the highest level of care for spine trauma. Our surgeons care for patients with the most severe injuries, including spinal cord injuries. We treat patients from a 5-state area that includes Pennsylvania, as well as parts of Ohio and West Virginia.

Spinal imaging technology for diagnosis and treatment planning

AHN is one of the few programs in western Pennsylvania using the EOS™ system for spinal imaging. This technology provides a 3-D, head-to-toe image of the spine from the standing position. These images enable physicians to examine problems and plan treatments with a level of precision not previously available.

The EOS system captures images in seconds and uses less radiation than traditional X-rays. For people with scoliosis and other spinal disorders, this technology lowers the risk of complications from repeated radiation exposure. Find out more about the spine problems we treat.

Minimally invasive and robotic spine surgery

We use minimally invasive techniques and robotic surgery technologies to perform complex procedures through tiny incisions. This approach may help you recover faster.

• With minimally invasive surgery, surgeons control small instruments to perform the procedure.
• During robotic surgery, surgeons use a computer to guide a robot arm that acts as an extension of their hands. The surgeons are in control of the arm at all times.

Minimally invasive and robotic spine surgery technologies available at AHN include:

• The iFuse Implant System®: Using iFuse technology, we relieve lower back pain by joining (fusing) bones of the sacroiliac joint through tiny incisions in the hip.
• O-Arm™ Surgical Imaging System: If there is a spinal deformity requiring an implantable support device, this system gives us a clear view of the spine during surgery. O-Arm produces 3-D images that help us precisely implant the device.
• Mazor X™ Robotic Technology: Using Mazor X technology, surgeons are able to perform minimally invasive spine surgery with the goal of minimizing your recovery and maximizing your results.

Contact us

Call (412) DOCTORS (412) 362-8677 or request an appointment to learn more about AHN Orthopaedic services.