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  • Spine Surgeons
    • Robert Q. Ingraham, M.D.
    • Stuart G. Rice, M.D.
    • Tim J. Watt, M.D.
  • Non-Surgical Care
    • Robert MacLachlan, M.D.
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What Is a Center of Excellence?

A Center of Excellence makes use of clinical protocols and utilizes specialists who dedicate themselves to understanding the most advanced treatment methods related to the spine. Individuals suffering from back and neck pain shouldn't have to travel all over town to see various doctors. A Center of Excellence provides all the specialists and diagnostic technology that is necessary to treat patients. As part of your care you may see a team of spine specialists, including a spine therapist. Rather than starting from scratch, this therapist gathers information from the previous physician's evaluations, picking up where they left off.

Black Hills Neurosurgery & Spine, formerly known as The Spine Center at Rapid City, involves neurosurgeons with advanced training and years of experience in the field of neurosurgery and spine. The Neurosurgery & Spine Center, located in Rapid City, also integrates all diagnostic tools and treatments related to a specific problem in the back, including X-ray, MRI, CT, injection therapy, EMGs, myelograms, etc.

In addition to the expertise of its neurosurgeons, The Neurosurgery & Spine Center utilizes the knowledge of physical medicine physicians, manual therapists, RNs, pain specialists, neurologists, psychologists and anesthesiologists. The intent is to provide a variety of non-surgical solutions for the back and neck pain sufferer.

About Spine Therapy

The Neurosurgery & Spine Center features necessary treatments and diagnostic technology and also makes use of manual therapists with advanced training in spine treatment. These therapists attend advanced educational programs to stay current with the most advanced back treatments, something a general therapist would be unable to do. A manual therapist is a physical therapist who has completed advanced education in specific areas. It is the highest level of training for a physical therapist.

Research has shown that complex problems like back pain are treated more successfully through a multidisciplinary approach, involving the best aspects of many complementary back specialists. The strength of Neurosurgery & Spine Center lies in the medical expertise brought in by a variety of complementary specialists, like neurosurgeons, physical medicine doctors and physical therapists.

What Are Protocols?

Through the use of written clinical protocols, physicians take a uniform approach to managing cases of injured backs. This ensures that no one will receive unnecessary or premature surgery.

The Neurosurgery & Spine Center's protocols eliminate diagnostic tests and uncomfortable procedures when they aren't necessary. This saves the patient unnecessary pain, discomfort and money. Clinical protocols act as guidelines to ensure that the right thing is done, at the right time, every time. In a sense, having such protocols makes sure all physicians in the center are practicing the same kind of medicine - the best medicine.

Our Therapists

Black Hills Neurosurgery & Spine teams up with ProMotion Physical Therapy to help patients return to activity. These therapists attend advanced educational programs to stay up-to-date on the most advanced back treatments. The Neurosurgery & Spine Center provides on-site therapists that specialize in spine. Read more information about physical therapy and our therapists.

Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery

By using minimally invasive techniques, access and repair to the damaged disc or vertebrae is achieved without harming nearby muscles and tissues. Other benefits of minimally invasive techniques include shorter surgery duration and recovery time, smaller incisions, less visible scars and reduced blood loss. Read more about minimally invasive surgical options.

*Source: Treat Your Back Without Surgery, published by Hunter House, 1st and 2nd editions. Treat Your Back Without Surgery is co-authored by a prominent spine surgeon and founder of one of the first and largest spine centers in the U.S., along with the President of Prizm Development Inc., which specializes in spine center development nationally. The book has been endorsed by both business leaders and medical directors as a helpful guide for those seeking a nonsurgical approach to back and neck pain.

*Source: The concept of centers of excellence is widely supported by Medicare, managed care leaders and business leaders. One of the most widely quoted persons on this subject is Dr. Regina Herzlinger, professor at Harvard Business School. She is the author of two highly respected textbooks on the subjects of "focused factories" for excellence in health care.

1. Market Driven Health Care, 1997.
2. Consumer Driven Health Care, 2004.

Medical Disclaimer Patients who diagnose and treat themselves do so at their own risk. Any information within this site is not intended for use in the self-diagnosis or self-treatment of any health condition. This web site does not provide medical advice and does not endorse any specific treatment. The information in this web site is not intended to replace the services of a physician, nor does it constitute a doctor-patient relationship.