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Spine Surgeon Robert Rovner MD Expands Practice to Oakland

Dr. Robert RovnerDr. Robert Rovner, a leading spine surgeon in the Bay Area returns to practicing in Oakland in addition to his Danville location. “Specializing in non-surgical treatments and minimally invasive spine surgery for the best possible outcomes is the mission for our practice,” he says.

Oakland, CA – Residents of the Oakland area again have a familiar provider of care for neck and back pain, injuries and related conditions with the return of Robert Rovner, MD’s practice to the city. Known as a leading spine surgeon who practiced in Oakland for many years, Dr. Rovner is pleased to return with the opening of a local office. Dr. Rovner treats patients with worker’s compensation cases as well as offering the latest therapies and procedures for back and neck pain and injuries. Many procedures may be done on an outpatient basis, allowing these patients to go home the same day. Other patients may need only minimal stays for recovery after a procedure. In addition to the new Oakland office Dr. Rovner continues to maintain his practice in Danville.

Patients may schedule appointments at either office by calling (925) 275-0700.   Email: appointments@discandspine.com

The practice website address is www.discandspine.com

Dr. Rovner’s Oakland office address is 2923 Webster Street, #202 Oakland, CA 94609

Dr. Rovner was featured in an ABC News story covering his innovations in surgery to correct scoliosis, a condition that causes a progressive curvature of the spine. Another recent story on ABC News showed how Dr. Rovner treated a woman in her 50’s who was suffering from low back and leg pain caused by lumbar spinal stenosis, a common condition characterized by narrowing of the spinal canal. Instead of performing a spinal fusion Dr. Rovner implanted a clip-like device to stabilize the spine after decompression was performed to relieve pressure on the nerves. “This less invasive alternative to spinal fusion preserves range of motion and allows for a more rapid recovery,” says Dr. Rovner.

Robert Rovner, MD was raised in Washington, DC. He attended college at the University of Maryland, earning a BS in Zoology in 1975. He completed his MD degree at the University of Maryland in 1979. Dr. Rovner moved to California for his General Surgery Internship and Orthopedic Surgery Residency at the University of California at Irvine from 1979 to 1984 then completed a Fellowship in Spine Surgery at USC-Rancho Los Amigos Hospital from 1984 to 1985.

Upon completion of 14 years of medical training Dr. Rovner started in private practice in the East Bay in 1984 and has been here serving patients from Oakland to Livermore ever since. He participates in volunteer time at CCS children’s clinics, volunteer time for scoliosis screening in local school districts and volunteer time as the team physician for one of our local high school football teams. He has been on the volunteer clinical faculty of the University of California at Davis School of Medicine since 1998 and is currently Assistant Professor of Orthopedic Surgery, having spent several years in the Department of Spine Surgery there.

Dr. Rovner has been in practice with fellow spine surgeon Vikram Talwar, MD since 2005.

In 2015 they created Disc and Spine, a private practice devoted to both surgical and non-surgical spine care with an emphasis on personalized patient care and service. As a team they are able to analyze difficult cases together, and assist each other in surgery, bringing over 50 years of combined clinical practice to bear on challenging cases.

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Bay Area Spine Surgeon Treats Spinal Stenosis With Titanium Clip

treatment for spinal stenosisThe Coflex Device Offers An Alternative To Spinal Fusion After Decompression, May Offer Best Treatment To Preserve Range Of Movement For The Right Patients, says Robert Rovner, MD.

Danville, CA – Kim is a 50-something who loves to be active. She participates in marathon bike rides and loves to hike in the mountains.That was until the onset of intense low back pain threatened to keep Kim from her favorite activities.“Pain was radiating from my lower back and down my legs,“ she says. “Sitting down was the only way I could make the pain stop.”

Dr. Rovner’s patient Kim rides her bike again after treatment for spinal stenosis.

Spine surgeon Dr. Robert Rovner diagnosed Kim with lumbar spinal stenosis.

Lumbar spinal stenosis refers to a narrowing of the spinal canal in the lower back caused by bone and / or tissue growth in the openings in the spinal bones. This narrowing can compress and irritate the nerves that branch out from the spinal cord. Symptoms can include pain, numbness, or weakness. Vertebrae in Kim’s lower back had become unstable, putting painful pressure on surrounding nerves. Serious cases can require spinal fusion after a decompression procedure but Dr. Rovner recommended a less invasive procedure using “Coflex” a titanium clip-like device.

“Lower back and leg pain caused by lumbar spinal stenosis may now be treated in many cases without resorting to spinal fusion,” says Dr. Rovner, of Disc & Spine in Danville, CA. “This less invasive procedure preserves range of motion and allows for a more rapid recovery.”

Dr. Rovner says that spinal stenosis is usually treated with a procedure called a “laminectomy” to decompress the nerves, combined with fusion to stabilize the spine. With the Coflex procedure, the clip is placed between two vertebrae immediately after a laminectomy is completed. The spring-like device allows the back to flex while providing support.

“A recently published five-year randomized prospective outcome study of laminectomy and Coflex patients shows outcomes equal to or better than patients who were treated with a combination of laminectomy and fusion. Additionally, there were fewer revision surgeries necessary in the Coflex group during the five years of the study.” (International Journal of Spine Surgery, Michael Musacchio, MD – source: http://ijssurgery.com/10.14444/3006)

“Before Coflex became available I was not used to seeing such rapid recovery and return to function with patients in whom I’ve done either a simple laminectomy alone or laminectomy combined with fusion,” says Dr. Rovner.

Dr. Rovner says that patients with more advanced stenosis may not be candidates for the Coflex implant and may require more extensive surgery or spinal fusion. “It’s important to consult with a board certified spine surgeon who offers several alternatives for treatment depending on each patient’s condition,” he says.

For more information or to book an appointment call Disc & Spine at 925-275-0700. discandspine.com

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Scoliosis Treatment By Bay Area Spine Surgeon Brings Better Outcomes

Becker's Spine ReviewRobert Rover, MD a San Francisco Bay Area spine surgeon is performing a surgical technique to bring better outcomes in scoliosis surgery, as reported by Becker’s Spine Review.

Dr. Robert Rovner: 3 Points on a New Technique for Better Outcomes in Scoliosis Surgery

Written by Laura Dyrda

Robert Rovner, MD, MBA, a spine surgeon, has developed a new technique for scoliosis correction. He discusses some ways in which the traditional surgery fails and how this new technique could create better outcomes in the future.

How current techniques can still fail patients

When a patient presents a case with severe scoliosis, surgery may be necessary to correct the problem. Early correction techniques involved fusions, but those procedures didn’t correct the curve; they only prevented it from worsening. Technology has evolved so surgeons can perform instrumentation for curve correction as well. Surgeons insert rods and attach them to the spine to bring the spine segments to the rods. For a more natural spine, surgeons can insert a curved rod. Some techniques involve rotating the rod 90 degrees so the scoliosis turns to a front-back curve. Once the rotation is accomplished, surgeons will then insert a second rod to strengthen the structure, bringing the spine to the second rod using screws, wires or hooks.

“In almost all available systems, two screws per bone are used up and down the curved portion of the spine and then a rod is attached to the screws on the left side. The second rod, on the right, is then attached to strengthen the construct, but all of the correction comes from the use of only the first rod, usually on the left,” says Dr. Rovner. “With the left rod in place, the second rod adds to the stability, but not to the correction.”

Scoliosis is both a curvature of the spine as well as a rotational deformity. This condition occurs when the ribs on the high side are rotated up as a result of the spinal rotation. Following traditional procedures, the end result can be disappointing for patients who are expecting to have the deformity corrected as well as the curve. As a result, Dr. Rovner wanted to find a way to improve these outcomes for his patients.

The solution: developing a new double-screw device

Dr. Rovner has developed a device that attaches the two screws together with a cross connector so surgeons have something to grip as they correct the deformity. “I can make the spine as straight as possible using the screws on both sides of the spine and then put in the rods,” he says.

The device, initially developed under Dr. Rovner’s guidance, is currently being fine-tuned by Synthes to make it more user-friendly. The procedure may be cumbersome for the moment, but Dr. Rovner anticipates that as he and other surgeons become more familiar with the technique, tweaks will be made to make the procedure easier and more efficient. “In the future, I think surgeons will start using this technique or something similar because of the proven benefits for their patients,” he says.

What it takes to train on the procedure

Scoliosis surgery is a difficult procedure which often necessitates extensive fellowship training to perform with good outcomes. But in using the traditional techniques, even the best surgeons can have an imperfect outcome, which Dr. Rovner says is frustrating. Using this new device and technique, however, could help improve these outcomes.

“The technique and device may be a bit more challenging, but as the results improve, we’ll start to see more surgeons use it in the future,” he says. “There are some surgeons who learn one technique and never change, but most surgeons constantly update their techniques as new technology becomes available.”

For those who are interested in learning more, surgeons can look at a technique manual or watch someone do a few of these operations to become familiar with the device and adverse issues that can occur. In the end, other surgeons should be able to pick up the procedure fairly easily — the instrumentation is different, but the screws and rods are the same.