Dr. Jamie Gottlieb

Patient with Back Pain Gives Positive Testimonial for Dr. Gottlieb

Dr. Jamie Gottlieb is a spine surgeon at Orthopedic Specialists North Texas in Denton, Texas. At his practice, Dr. Jamie Gottlieb treats patients for conditions that include osteoarthritis, herniated discs, foramen stenosis, scoliosis, spinal meningioma, and chronic back pain. One of his patients was Henry L.

Henry suffered excruciating back pain for several years. He tried a number of surgeries but found no relief. He also had years of physical therapy, received more than a dozen injections, and took many medications. He even underwent a spinal fusion surgery that left him in more pain than before.

When Henry met Dr. Gottlieb, the surgeon examined him, ran diagnostic tests, and discussed the medical options with Henry and his family. The surgeries Dr. Gottlieb recommended were comprehensive and involved multiple fusions and the revision of the previous fusion.

During Henry’s stay in the hospital, Dr. Gottlieb visited him every day. When Henry was discharged, Dr. Gottlieb’s team maintained regular contact with him. Four months after the surgery, Henry was doing well and feeling better than he had in years.

Key Facts to Know About Spinal Cord Injuries

An experienced spine surgeon based in Denton, Texas, Dr. Jamie Gottlieb is a graduate of Cornell University where he earned his medical degree. Dr. Jamie Gottlieb previously served as an emergency room and staff physician before becoming a spine surgeon and holds multiple patents for devices used to treat problems involving the spine and spinal cord.

Spinal cord injuries (SCIs) affect hundreds of thousands of Americans with approximately 12,500 new injuries of this nature occurring annually, most frequently due to causes including car accidents and falls. However, the most common sports-related SCIs are caused by diving. Younger people between the ages of 16 to 30 comprise the segment of the population most likely to be affected by SCIs.

Most SCIs are incomplete rather than complete, meaning the signaling from the brain to below the area where the injury occurred is reduced but not eliminated. The majority of people affected by this type of injury experience tetraplegia or quadriplegia.

Fortunately, over the past decades, the average length of hospital stays for patients with SCIs has been reduced from 24 days to 11 days. However, people who have suffered a serious SCI typically require significant ongoing care that can be very costly.

About the Anterior Cervical Discectomy and Fusion Surgery

Denton, TX-based spine surgeon Dr. Jamie Gottlieb works at Orthopedic Specialists North Texas. As a spine surgeon, Dr. Jamie Gottlieb performs minimally invasive and innovative procedures aimed at improving the patient’s quality of life. One of the procedures he performs is the anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF).

ACDF is a surgical procedure performed to remove a herniated or degenerative disc in the neck. The procedure can also be done to remove osteophytes (bone spurs caused by osteoarthritis) or to alleviate the symptoms of cervical spinal stenosis (the narrowing of the neck’s protective spinal canal). These conditions can lead to pain, numbness, tingling, or weakness in the neck.

An ACDF is done with an anterior approach, meaning through the front of the neck. This approach provides better access to the cervical spine and it also has less postoperative pain. The surgery consists of the removal of the damaged or diseased disc and the insertion of a bone graft between the vertebrae. A metal plate is then placed to hold the bones in place. The result of the procedure is a fusion between the bone graft and the vertebrae above and below.

Patients usually spend up to three days in the hospital after surgery and they need to wear a cervical collar in the post-operative phase.

An Introduction to Cervical Discectomy and Complementing Procedures

Licensed by the American Board of Orthopedic Surgery, Dr. Jamie Gottlieb is a spine surgeon with the Orthopedic Specialists North Texas in Denton, TX. Dr. Jamie Gottlieb dedicates over a decade of experience to perform spinal surgeries such as cervical discectomy and lumbar fusion.

Cervical discectomy is a surgical procedure that removes defective intervertebral disc(s) from the neck region of the spine. When an intervertebral disc gets damaged, it can irritate nearby nerves or cause muscle spasms which may result in neck pain that sometimes recover with conservative therapy.

When there is a ruptured or bulging disc, the disc exerts pressure on cervical nerve roots, which may cause weakness, and pain or numbness in extremities (cervical myelopathy). In almost all cases of cervical myelopathy, surgery is indicated.

Depending on the location of the defective disc, the surgeon may operate on the area through a small incision made on the front side or backside of the neck under anesthesia. Another technique, called microdiscectomy, uses special magnifying tools to allow excision of the defective disk through a smaller incision. To stabilize the area where the work is done and also to restore the height of the spine, the surgeon may perform a cervical fusion surgery or artificial cervical disc replacement.

With disc replacement, motion is restored in the operation site. However, underlying joint disease, infection, auto-immune disorder, or allergy to stainless, and osteoporosis can prevent a patient from being a valid candidate for the procedure. Cervical fusion surgery, on the other hand, replaces the removed disc with a bone graft that grows for some time to finally fuse with the vertebral bones above and below. The fusion may restrict some degree of motion in the neck.

What Is Cervical Spondylosis?

A member of the North American Spine Society, Dr. Jamie Gottlieb is a spine surgeon with the Orthopedic Specialist North Texas in Denton, TX. In 2004, Dr. Jamie Gottlieb completed a spine surgery fellowship at Texas Back Institute in Plano. He has written publications on cervical spine injuries and surgical procedures.

A very common disease with a significant adult prevalence, cervical spondylosis is the age-related decline in the healthiness of intervertebral discs in the neck region due to the extensive duration of constant wear and tear. When cervical spondylosis occurs, fluid content in one or disks falls rapidly and begins to shrink.

While the condition often causes no symptoms, some patients may experience poor coordination, urinary or bowel incontinence, or persistent tingling, weakness, or numbness in upper and lower extremities (arms, hands, legs, or feet). In the majority of cases, these symptoms are a direct consequence of irritated or pinched nerve roots which may occur if the disease results in narrowing of the spinal canal (stenosis).

Conservative therapy, such as medication and immobilization, can help treat symptoms of the pinched nerve associated with minimal spinal compression. In a few cases, however, some patients who fall within this category continue to experience severe pain or neurologic deficit. For this minority, surgery is indicated.

If symptoms are caused by myelopathy (severe injury to the spinal cord), conservative treatment may not provide benefit. Cervical spondylosis can cause myelopathy if it results in severe narrowing of the spinal canal. Surgical decompression and fusion are often required in this case. However, if the myelopathic symptoms are non-disabling, conservative therapy can be given a trial.

Lumbar Fusion – Postoperative Follow-Ups and Tools

Dr. Jamie Gottlieb of Denton, TX completed his spine surgery fellowship training at Texas Back Institute in 2004. Since 2019, Dr. Jamie Gottlieb has worked as a spine surgeon with Orthopedic Specialists North Texas. He is experienced with various surgical spine fusion procedures including interbody fusion and discectomy fusion.

Lumbar fusion is often done when a patient’s spine is unstable in the lower region. Generally, the procedure is performed by spine surgeons who are trained in surgical fusion techniques such as the anterior and posterior spinal fusion approaches. During the procedure, various devices such as vertebral cages, artificial ligaments, screws, and artificial disks may be permanently fixed in several parts of the operational area of the spine to provide support.

Post-operative evaluation of a patient’s spine is done through imaging studies. These employ various diagnostic modalities such as magnetic resonance imaging, radiology, computerized tomography (CT), ultrasonography. Each tool is good for certain evaluations. For instance, radiologic evaluation is average in the assessment of bone fusion, but can also be done to ensure that an implanted device is not mispositioned or broken. CT can provide a more accurate bone fusion assessment. Ultrasonography can assist in postoperative fluid collection.

Clinical Spine Surgery – CSRS Official Journal

Dr. Jamie Gottlieb is a seasoned spine surgeon at Orthopedic Specialists North Texas, a subspecialty clinic in Denton, TX. Also engaged in research, Dr. Jamie Gottlieb submitted his research entitled “Anterior Cervical Discectomy Fusion, Three levels with PEEK and Infuse” to the Cervical Spine Research Society (CSRS).

A multidisciplinary society of professionals interested in research and clinical issues of the cervical spine, CSRS held its first meeting in 1973 and has since been developing projects and advancing the specialty. The CSRS official journal is called Clinical Spine Surgery which is published 10 times per year.

Clinical Spine Surgery provides its readers with research studies of three levels. Each issue includes an article that helps surgeons follow the current advances in research methodology and another that helps them understand the business of healthcare. Readers can also enjoy debates between industry leaders in the controversial section and check evidence-based reviews of pathologies.

All articles are handpicked and aimed to help surgeons change and develop their practice. New subscribers can request the journal through Lippincott Williams & Wilkins online store, and subscription renewals are also managed through the same platform.

Rheumatoid Arthritis – An Autoimmune Disease Impacting the Joints

Based in Denton, Texas, Dr. Jamie Gottlieb is a spinal surgeon who focuses on patient-centered care for a variety of neck and lower back issues. Conditions addressed at Dr. Jamie Gottlieb’s practice range from aging spine to rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

A type of autoimmune disease, RA occurs when the body’s immune system mistakenly attacks the joint linings. This causes inflammation in healthy tissue, joint swelling, and pain that can damage the joint over time. This damage is typically not reversible; as a result, it is important to identify and monitor rheumatoid arthritis as early as possible.

One distinguishing feature of RA is that it is symmetrical and impacts joints on both sides of the body, from knees to wrists. In addition to swelling, symptoms to watch for are joints that experience redness and seem warmer than usual. While there is no cure for rheumatoid arthritis, a number of drugs can be effective in slowing joint damage and relieving symptoms. These include disease-modifying antirheumatic (DMARD) and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory (NSAID) medications.

How Does the Laminectomy Procedure Work?

An accomplished spine surgeon, Dr. Jamie Gottlieb is the head of a team of surgeons at the i-Spine institute in Denton, TX. At the institute, Dr. Jamie Gottlieb and his team perform laminectomies, procedures that remove part of the bone from a vertebra to lower the pressure on the nerves and the spinal cord in lower sections of the spine.

Depending on the severity, a laminectomy may be performed on a single vertebra or multiple vertebrae. Patients with herniated discs and spinal stenosis commonly undergo this procedure.

In the procedure, often used as a last resort, surgeons remove the lamina, or plate, that interferes with the nerve roots. After that, surgeons clear any residual bone fragments that may be pressuring the nerve roots. Finally, surgeons examine the roots to see if they are still pinched.

Typically, patients stay in the hospital for one or two days, though i-Spine Institute also performs laminectomy as an outpatient procedure.