This biographical article is written like a résumé .(September 2023) |
Jack Elliot Zigler (born May 27, 1952 in Brooklyn, New York) is a Board Certified orthopedic surgeon specializing in spine surgery at the Texas Back Institute in Plano, Texas. He is best known for being the first surgeon to perform a ProDisc artificial disc replacement surgery in the United States, on October 3, 2001.
Since joining the Texas Back Institute in 1996, Zigler has been an international guest lecturer on topics in spinal reconstruction, as well as a Principal Investigator for the ProDisc artificial disc replacement system's U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) clinical studies. He is a former Clinical Associate Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, Texas. He served as President of the American Spinal Injury Association from 2003 to 2005. [1]
Zigler's role as Principal Investigator for the ProDisc, Synthes Spine's artificial disc replacement system, was to monitor all the clinical ProDisc cases done at the Texas Back Institute, and also to serve as a resource to Synthes on questions about cases done at all of the 19 other investigative sites.
On August 14, 2006, the ProDisc-L ("lumbar") Total Disc Replacement was approved by the FDA for use as a treatment for functionally disabling pain from lumbar degenerative disc disease ("DDD"). It was the second device to be approved by the FDA for such a purpose.
As a condition of approval, Synthes Spine is required to conduct a five-year study assessing the long-term safety and effectiveness of the disc. The study will include the 286 patients who participated in the pre-approval clinical trials. The company is also required to complete an annual analysis and report any major adverse events (such as implant breakage, subsidence or expulsion from the disc space). These conditions are similar to those imposed on the Charite artificial disc. Zigler is himself responsible for publication of the national data now that the ProDisc-L has been FDA-approved.
More recently, questions about ethics of surgeon investigators in the Pro Disc study have been raised, specifically in a New York Times article about conflicts of interest related to his Zigler's financial ties, in which it is reported that he invested $25,000 in the company. [2] [3]
Since the time of these articles, there has been no substantiation to support the New York Times' allegations, and a follow-up FDA audit of Zigler's ProDisc site prompted by these allegations turned up no evidence of any wrongdoing.[ citation needed ]
Zigler has appeared as a guest expert on Orange County News network in Orange County, California, as well as Good Morning Texas, a morning show produced by the ABC affiliate WFAA-TV in Dallas, Texas. He has been consulted numerous times regarding the spinal injuries of such high-profile celebrities as Christopher Reeve and Jason Priestley.
Zigler is a contributing editor to Spine Trauma [9] and Spinal Arthroplasty, [10] authoritative medical textbooks. He has authored over 45 articles and chapters in internationally-read peer-reviewed medical journals and books.
"Spine Trauma" (1998) and "Spinal Arthroplasty" (2005). [11]
Orthopedic surgery or orthopedics is the branch of surgery concerned with conditions involving the musculoskeletal system. Orthopedic surgeons use both surgical and nonsurgical means to treat musculoskeletal trauma, spine diseases, sports injuries, degenerative diseases, infections, tumors, and congenital disorders.
Degenerative disc disease (DDD) is a medical condition typically brought on by the normal aging process in which there are anatomic changes and possibly a loss of function of one or more intervertebral discs of the spine. DDD can take place with or without symptoms, but is typically identified once symptoms arise. The root cause is thought to be loss of soluble proteins within the fluid contained in the disc with resultant reduction of the oncotic pressure, which in turn causes loss of fluid volume. Normal downward forces cause the affected disc to lose height, and the distance between vertebrae is reduced. The anulus fibrosus, the tough outer layers of a disc, also weakens. This loss of height causes laxity of the longitudinal ligaments, which may allow anterior, posterior, or lateral shifting of the vertebral bodies, causing facet joint malalignment and arthritis; scoliosis; cervical hyperlordosis; thoracic hyperkyphosis; lumbar hyperlordosis; narrowing of the space available for the spinal tract within the vertebra ; or narrowing of the space through which a spinal nerve exits with resultant inflammation and impingement of a spinal nerve, causing a radiculopathy.
Spinal fusion, also called spondylodesis or spondylosyndesis, is a surgery performed by orthopaedic surgeons or neurosurgeons that joins two or more vertebrae. This procedure can be performed at any level in the spine and prevents any movement between the fused vertebrae. There are many types of spinal fusion and each technique involves using bone grafting—either from the patient (autograft), donor (allograft), or artificial bone substitutes—to help the bones heal together. Additional hardware is often used to hold the bones in place while the graft fuses the two vertebrae together. The placement of hardware can be guided by fluoroscopy, navigation systems, or robotics.
Failed back syndrome or post-laminectomy syndrome is a condition characterized by chronic pain following back surgeries. Many factors can contribute to the onset or development of FBS, including residual or recurrent spinal disc herniation, persistent post-operative pressure on a spinal nerve, altered joint mobility, joint hypermobility with instability, scar tissue (fibrosis), depression, anxiety, sleeplessness, spinal muscular deconditioning and even Cutibacterium acnes infection. An individual may be predisposed to the development of FBS due to systemic disorders such as diabetes, autoimmune disease and peripheral blood vessels (vascular) disease.
The AO Foundation is a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the care of patients with musculoskeletal injuries or pathologies and their sequelae through research, development, and education of surgeons and operating room personnel. The AO Foundation is credited with revolutionizing operative fracture treatment and pioneering the development of bone implants and instruments.
Manipulation under anesthesia (MUA) or fibrosis release procedures is a multidisciplinary, chronic pain-related manual therapy modality which is used for the purpose of improving articular and soft tissue movement. This is accomplished by way of a combination of controlled joint mobilization/manipulation and myofascial release techniques. MUA is used by osteopathic/orthopedic physicians, chiropractors and specially trained physicians. It aims to break up adhesions on or around spinal joints or extremity joints to which a restricted range of motion can be painful and limit function. Failed attempts at other standard conservative treatment methods, over a sufficient time-frame, is one of the principal patient qualifiers.
An artificial facet replacement is a joint prosthesis intended to replace the natural facets and other posterior elements of the spine, restoring normal motion while providing stabilization of spinal segments. It is typically used as an adjunct to laminectomy, laminotomy, neural decompression, and facetectomy, in lieu of standard lumbar fusion. The prosthesis is indicated for back and leg pain caused by central or lateral spinal stenosis, degenerative disease of the facets with instability, and grade 1 degenerative spondylolisthesis with objective evidence of neurological impairment.
Artificial disc replacement (ADR), or total disc replacement (TDR), is a type of arthroplasty. It is a surgical procedure in which degenerated intervertebral discs in the spinal column are replaced with artificial disc implants in the lumbar (lower) or cervical (upper) spine. The procedure is used to treat chronic, severe low back pain and cervical pain resulting from degenerative disc disease. Disc replacement is also an alternative intervention for symptomatic disc herniation with associated arm and hand, or leg symptoms.
Andrew Cappuccino is the orthopedic surgeon who treated Buffalo Bills tight end Kevin Everett for his cervical spine injury. Cappuccino's use of induced hypothermia garnered national headlines for the technique.
The Neurologic & Orthopedic Hospital of Chicago was a medical center from 1987 to 2009.
Synthes Holding AG is a multinational medical device manufacturer based in Solothurn, Switzerland and West Chester, Pennsylvania, United States. It is the world's largest maker of implants to mend bone fractures, and also produces surgical power tools and advanced biomaterials.
Robert S. Biscup is an American orthopaedic surgeon.
Scott Spann is an American orthopaedic surgeon, medical device inventor, former world-class swimmer and recovered quadriplegic.
Andrew C. Hecht is an American orthopaedic surgeon and a nationally recognized leader in surgery on the spine.
A. V. Gurava Reddy is an Internationally recognized, Indian Orthopedic Surgeon and Joint replacement expert. He is the Managing Director and Chief Joint Replacement Surgeon at Sunshine Bone and Joint Institute – Sunshine Hospitals, a 300-bed NABH Accredited, Multispeciality hospital in Hyderabad India. A. V. Gurava Reddy is one of the leading surgeon(s) in India and performs about 4000 joint replacements per year. He has made sustained efforts to increase the awareness and acceptance of Joint replacement surgery in India. In 2021, Sunshine Hospital's majority stake was sold to Krishna Institute of Medical Sciences, commonly known as KIMS.
Minimally invasive spine surgery, also known as MISS, has no specific meaning or definition. It implies a lack of severe surgical invasion. The older style of open-spine surgery for a relatively small disc problem used to require a 5-6 inch incision and a month in the hospital. MISS techniques utilize more modern technology, advanced imaging techniques and special medical equipment to reduce tissue trauma, bleeding, radiation exposure, infection risk, and decreased hospital stays by minimizing the size of the incision. Modern endoscopic procedures can be done through a 2 to 5 mm skin opening. By contrast, procedures done with a microscope require skin openings of approximately one inch, or more.
Globus Medical, Inc. is a publicly traded medical device company headquartered in Audubon, Pennsylvania, United States. Globus is focused on the design, development, and commercialization of products that enable surgeons to promote healing in patients with musculoskeletal disorders.
Richard N.W. Wohns is a neurosurgeon who is the founder and president of NeoSpine, LLC. He has been listed one of the 50 Spine Surgeons and Specialists to Know by Becker's ASC Review. He currently practices and teaches medicine in the Puget Sound Region of Washington, United States.
Branko Kopjar is a physician and epidemiologist at the University of Washington. He is best known for his contributions in the 1990s to the field of injury prevention and his later work on spine, orthopedic and spinal cord injury research. In addition, he has been published in several top journals in the fields of cardiology, oncology, public health and neurosurgery resulting in a total of more than 500 articles, reports, reviews and abstracts.
Thomas Schuler, M.D., F.A.C.S is an American spinal surgeon, researcher and educator in the treatment of neck and low back conditions. He was an early adopter of stem cell therapy, biologics, robotics, laser and hybrid surgery and augmented reality for spinal surgery. Schuler specializes in cervical and lumbar disc replacement procedures, minimally invasive spine surgery and robotic spine surgery. He performed the first hybrid multi-level cervical artificial disc replacement with spinal fusion in the country. He founded a practice that has performed some of the first robotic and augmented reality spinal surgeries in the world. In 2002 he created and currently serves as President of the National Spine Health Foundation, a national non-profit focused on education, research and patient advocacy of neck and back health.