Program Overview
The Spine Care Program at Westchester Medical Center is a multidisciplinary program dedicated to providing advanced comprehensive care for a wide variety of spinal conditions and disorders. Our team is comprised of experts from the departments of Neurosurgery, Orthopaedic Surgery, Pain Medicine, Rehabilitation Medicine, Anesthesia, Oncology and Neuroradiology.
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Patient-Centered, Holistic Approach to Spine Care
Led by Section Chief of Spinal Neurosurgery Merritt Kinon, MD, FACS, FAANS, our experienced group of specialists takes the time to listen to each patient and thoroughly evaluate their specific problem. Every patient is unique, and we pride ourselves on tailoring the treatment to the individual. We are committed to working with our patients to develop personalized care plans that are safe and effective, and that help patients return to their regular activities as quickly as possible.
Non-Surgical and Surgical Spine Care
Many of our patients’ spinal problems can be successfully treated without surgery. However, when surgery is recommended, our trained specialists collaborate to develop a comprehensive surgical plan that is most beneficial to the patient. Our surgical team is experienced in diagnosing and treating the most complex spinal issues including spinal trauma, spinal cord injuries and tumors of the spine.
All of our surgeons offer advanced treatment options and surgical techniques, including both traditional open surgery, as well as minimally invasive and microscopic surgery. Our operating rooms are equipped with high-performance technology including high-definition microscopes, advanced intraoperative imaging, computer navigation, and neurophysiologic monitoring.
At Westchester Medical Center, we are proud to offer the most advanced technology and treatments to our patients. We are the first hospital in Westchester County to off advanced robotic spine surgery designed to improve surgical guidance, navigation and safety by allowing our physicians to place spine instrumentation more accurately than with traditional techniques. In addition, we are one of only a few centers in the entire country and the only center in the lower Hudson Valley to offer endoscopic spine surgery. Through the use of endoscopy, our spine surgeons can directly address the pathology leading to better decompression of the nerves and spinal cord, all while minimizing incisions and muscle dissection leading to less postoperative pain and faster recovery times for our patients.
This combination of the latest technology and advanced training, allows our surgical teams to carry out a variety of procedures in the least invasive and most effective manner possible. After surgery, our inpatient team of nurses, doctors, physical therapists, and occupational therapists actively assists our patients to optimize their recovery and return to an improved quality of life.
In addition, we have a robust ambulatory surgery program which allows our surgical team to complete more routine spine surgical procedures in our ambulatory surgery center, preventing the need for unnecessary admission to the hospital, and allowing our patients to recovery safely in the comfort of their homes.
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Merritt Kinon, MD, FACS, FAANS
Section Chief of Spinal Neurosurgery, Westchester Medical Center Health Network
Associate Professor of Neurosurgery and Orthopaedic Surgery, New York Medical College
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John V. Wainwright, MD
Attending Neurosurgeon, Spine Division, Westchester Medical Center Health Network
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Conditions We Treat
Our multidisciplinary group of experts treats the following conditions and many others:
- Back and neck pain
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Lumbar stenosis
- Lumbar disc herniation
- Sciatica
- Cervical stenosis
- Cervical disc herniation
- Cervical myelopathy
- Cervical radiculopathy
- Tumors of the spinal cord and column
- Thoracic myelopathy
- Thoracic disc herniation
- Spondylosis
- Spondylolisthesis
- Spondylolysis
- Spine cord injuries
- Spinal trauma
- Spine fractures
- Scoliosis
- Vascular lesions of spinal cord and column
- Spinal compression fractures
- Failed back syndrome
- Post lumbar fusion chronic pain syndrome
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Atlantoaxial Instability
- Ankylosing Spondylitis
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Ossification of the Posterior Longitudinal Ligament (OPLL)
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Chiari malformation
- Artificial disc replacement
- Endoscopic spine surgery
- Kyphosis
- Robotic spine surgery
- Navigated spine surgery
A New Era In Spine Surgery at Westchester Medical Center
Spine surgery has historically involved major open surgery with large incisions and significant trauma to the muscles and tissues in the back. Minimally invasive spine surgery techniques were developed using smaller incisions, novel retractors and instruments to minimize tissue trauma. These procedures also allow surgeons the benefit of advanced visualization with surgical microscopes.
What is Endoscopic Spine Surgery?
Endoscopic spine surgery is the next evolution of spine surgery and is an ultra-minimally invasive surgical approach that leverages recent advances in technology that allow spine surgery to be performed through incisions that are often not much longer than the width of a pencil.
Endoscopic solutions can address the pathology and relieve the pain of many spinal disorders. The endoscopic approach allows surgeons to minimize incisions, tissue trauma, and postoperative pain while achieving equivalent, or in some cases better, results than traditional open and minimally invasive techniques. In many cases, since the pathology is being more directly addressed, there is a lower risk for persistent and/or recurrent symptoms requiring repeat surgery.
Because of the ultra-minimally invasive nature of endoscopic techniques, recovery times are typically very fast. These procedures can be performed in the ambulatory surgery setting with most patients going home within one to two hours of surgery with minimal pain and minimal need for pain medications. There is very little downtime needed following an endoscopic spine surgery, and nearly all patients are surprised to be up and comfortably walking the same day. Many patients are able to return to work and light activities much sooner than with traditional approaches. The ultra-small incisions also result in less scarring and less risk for infection when compared to traditional approaches.
Endoscopic Spine Surgery
The Smallest Scars
The Least Pain
The Fastest Recovery
Enjoy a quicker return to your life and work!
What is Robotic Spine Surgery?
Robotic spine surgery, more appropriately termed robot-assisted spine surgery, is a recent technological advance in spine surgery. Traditional spine surgery has relied on a surgeon’s knowledge of anatomy to place instrumentation “freehand” or with the assistance of two-dimensional X-ray imaging for guidance. More recently, three-dimensional navigation has allowed surgeons to visualize implant placement. This method still relies on an expert spine surgeon’s steady hands to safely place instrumentation.
Spine surgery can be long and labor intensive, similar to the workload airline pilots experience during long flights. Mental and physical fatigue can make an already delicate surgery between spinal cord and nerves even more challenging. Pre-planning and building a surgical “flight plan,” and executing that plan with robotic assistance, offloads a portion of the mental and physical pressure of spine surgery and allows a surgeon to focus on ensuring the safe and accurate execution of the plan while preserving endurance for more complex portions of the case.
Robotic assistance improves accuracy of instrumentation placement, making spine surgery safer. It also reduces radiation exposure to both the patient and the surgical team.
Robotic assistance can be used in nearly all types of spine surgery, from discectomies, minimally invasive spine surgery, and even large complex spinal reconstructions and deformity corrections.
The expert spine surgeons at Westchester Medical Center (WMC), the flagship of the Westchester Medical Center Health Network, leverage recent advances in robot-assisted spine surgery and other technology to improve and optimize patient outcomes. Whether a patient is appropriate for robot-assisted surgery depends on many factors and should be individualized to each patient, their spine disorder, symptoms, and their goals. Our WMC spine surgeons consider each patient carefully and have the training and expertise to determine whether a robot-assisted surgery is appropriate for you.
Contact Us
Appointments and Information
Westchester Medical Center, Ambulatory Care Pavilion
100 Woods Road, 4th floor
Valhalla, NY 10595
Phone: 914.493.2363
Fax: 914.493.2505
MidHudson Regional Hospital
19 Baker Avenue, Suite 301
Poughkeepsie, NY12601
Phone: 845.483.5951
Fax: 845.483.5775
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Emergency Transfer
Spinal cord injury or other acute spine issue?
Call Now to Request an Emergency Transfer.
To speak to a WMC Spine expert about a potential patient transfer, please dial our 24-hour hotline:
866-Go-To-WMC (866.468.6962)
Our Providers
Our comprehensive care team is dedicated to providing the most up-to-date evaluation, personalized multidisciplinary treatments and continuity of care for patients.
Merritt Kinon, MD
Section Chief of Spinal Neurosurgery, Westchester Medical Center Health Network
Associate Professor of Neurosurgery and Orthopaedic Surgery, New York Medical College
John Wainwright, MD
Attending Neurosurgeon, Spine Division
Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery and Orthopaedic Surgery, New York Medical College
- Radiology, Neuroradiology
- Radiology, Neuroradiology
- Anesthesiology, Pain Medicine
- Radiology, Neuroradiology
- Orthopaedic Surgery, Orthopaedic Surgery of the Spine
- Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation
- Orthopaedic Surgery, Orthopaedic Surgery of the Spine
- Orthopaedic Surgery
- Radiology, Neuroradiology
- Anesthesiology, Pain Medicine
Ammar Siddiqui, MD
Program Director, Regional Anesthesiology and Acute Pain Medicine Fellowship
Assistant Professor of Anesthesiology
- Anesthesiology
- Anesthesiology, Pain Medicine
Vishad Sukul, MD
Section Chief of Functional Neurosurgery and Epilepsy Surgery
Department of Neurosurgery | Brain and Spine Institute
Associate Professor of Neurosurgery and Neurology, New York Medical College
Rachana Tyagi, MD
Associate Director of Neurosurgery, Northern Region, Westchester Medical Center Health Network
Associate Professor of Neurosurgery, New York Medical College
- Pediatrics, Pediatric Neurosurgery
- Neurological Surgery