SPINAL NEUROSURGERY
The UAB Section of Spinal Neurosurgery is a well-established and expanding service of the Department of
Neurosurgery. Led by internationally renowned spinal cord and spinal column neurosurgeons Drs. Mark N. Hadley,
M. Renee Chambers, Patrick R. Pritchard, and Mamerhi O. Okor, the section assesses over 5,000 patients per year
and averages 1,100 operative procedures per year. Patients who are not treated surgically often are successfully
managed with medical therapies.
These specialists treat spinal cord and spinal column pathologies, from the craniocervical junction through the
sacrum. This includes neurological conditions from the brainstem, basilar invagination, and Chiari malformations
through distal spinal cord tethering (including tumors and syrinx) and spinal column pathology, and from
congenital disorders and degenerative diseases to spinal deformity and spinal column instabilities.
Many disorders require multi-specialty cooperation from otolaryngology, plastic surgery, vascular surgery,
neuroanesthesia, and post-operative critical care. Each of our spinal neurosurgeons performs the gamut of
spinal procedures and has specialized expertise in various clinical and research areas. Dr. Hadley specializes
in craniocervical junction pathology and spinal cord pathology; Dr. Chambers specializes in vertebral body
compression fractures; Dr. Pritchard specializes in metastatic tumors of the spine and spinal column trauma; and
Dr. Okor’s specialties are minimally invasive spinal techniques and correcting spinal column deformities.
The UAB Section of Spinal Neurosurgery is committed to compassionate, personalized patient care, impeccable
quality and outcomes, cost-containment, minimization of complications and readmissions, shorter hospital stays
after surgery, and high rates of recovery and return to activities and work. Our specialists are focused on the art
and science of our specialty and train new neurosurgeons both in basic principles and in the latest, most effective
technologies and treatments. They study, research, and publish in an effort to contribute new knowledge to the
world.
WHY UAB
All of our surgeons utilize the latest technology to accomplish patient assessment and surgical treatment
including MR, CT, and vascular imaging; intraoperative navigation, intraoperative fluoroscopy and O-arm imaging;
microscopic augmentation; and mean arterial blood pressure (MAP) management principles to optimize patient
outcomes. Patients with spinal cord tumors and spinal column metastatic disease are often managed with surgical
resection +/- spinal reconstruction and adjuvant therapies directed by our multispecialty Tumor Board, which
is linked to 10 other nationally ranked cancer centers, offering the most up-to-date, contemporary treatment
strategies.
As members since 2012, UAB spinal service neurosurgeons participate in the National QOD/ASR patient
outcomes database for lumbar laminectomy, lumbar discectomy, and lumbar spinal fusion procedures.
BASED ON 600 PROCEDURES WITH 12-MONTH FOLLOW-UP, UAB SPINAL SERVICE NEUROSURGICAL
PATIENTS:
• Perform better than the multi-institutional national normative values
(52,000 patients collected from comparable centers).
• Show greater improvement in pre-operative back and leg pain.
• Experience less post-op back and leg pain.
• Have improved post-op ODI and EQ-5D scores.
• Report higher post-operative patient satisfaction scores.
• Enjoy higher post-operative return to normal activity and return to work percentages.
8
UAB Neurosurgery Annual Report 2020