Endoscopic Spine Fellowship

Doctor Kumar at Ayers.

Fellowship Goals

The main goal of the Endoscopic Spine Fellowship is to provide comprehensive training in the diagnosis and treatment of acute and chronic spinal pathologies. This training will include patient care, research (if applicable) and education. 

Additional Aims

  • To achieve proficiency in endoscopic and other minimally invasive techniques for the evaluation, diagnosis and treatment of pain and/or dysfunction related to spinal pathologies. 
  • To achieve proficiency in ordering and interpreting tests and imaging for these conditions. 
  • To understand the spinal architecture and stabilizing forces.
  • To acquire superior surgical and interventional skills.
  • To develop the knowledge base needed to understand the indications, contraindications and complications of endoscopic spine procedures. 
  • To acquire competency in managing both routine and complicated patients.
  • To provide comprehensive and compassionate treatment to all patients and families presenting for care.
  • To gain confidence performing basic and/or clinical research in endoscopic spine topics. 
  • To prepare for leadership roles in communities, hospitals and academic centers.
  • To gain the skills needed to practice independently as full endoscopic spine specialists after graduation either in academic or private practice.
  • To become a consultant to primary care providers of various experience and training levels after graduation.

To Apply

Dr. Sanjeev Kumar

Physicians can enter the fellowship from various training backgrounds but must have advanced surgical skills. Anyone interested can contact fellowship director Sanjeev Kumar, MD, at SKumar@anest.ufl.edu or the Anesthesiology Education Office at Fellowship@anest.ufl.edu to learn more about the application process.

Training

Our endoscopic spine fellows will be trained on the skills of an advanced endoscopic spine surgeon. This includes opportunities to observe, evaluate and manage adult inpatients and outpatients (occasionally minors) with a wide variety of spinal disorders. Fellows will perform comprehensive neurological, neuromuscular and musculoskeletal evaluations.

Incoming Fellows must have basic clinical knowledge including familiarity with the musculoskeletal and neuromuscular systems with emphasis on both structure and function as it applies to diagnosing and treating acute and chronic spine problems.

Differential diagnosis, treatment and prognosis of each of the following disorders will be included:

  • Central canal stenosis
  • Disc herniation at any spinal level presenting with pain and/or radiculitis/radiculopathy
  • Disc bulges/annular tears at any spinal level presenting with discogenic pain
  • Spontaneous vs. Iatrogenic epidural abscess requiring epidural lavage
  • Neuroforaminal/lateral recess stenosis
  • Cervical/thoracic/lumbar spondylosis and facet syndrome
  • Cervical/thoracic/lumbar radiculopathy and radicular pain syndromes
  • Ligamentum flavum hypertrophy
  • Facet hypertrophy
  • Facet cysts
  • Epidural fibrosis/scarring from failed back surgery syndrome
  • Neuropathic pain originating from the spine
  • Stable spondylolisthesis presenting with radicular or axial pain and/or dysfunction

Training includes direct patient care at the comprehensive spine clinic, pain medicine clinic and interventional pain inpatient services. However, fellows will primarily serve as outpatient endoscopic spine consultants at UF Health.

Fellows will train in the operating room to gain expertise in performing endoscopic spine techniques for the treatment of various spinal pathologies. There will also be formal teaching sessions and training on endoscopic spine techniques for the treatment of chronic and acute spinal conditions. After one year of training, we expect the fellows to be competent in the diagnosis and treatment of patients with any of the above-mentioned spinal disorders.

Required rotations/clinical experiences

  • Comprehensive endoscopic spine consult clinic
  • Endoscopic spine follow-up clinic
  • Endoscopic spine surgery

Areas of Coverage

Doctor Kumar with new spine endoscopy equipment

Patient Care and Procedural Skills/Management

  • Medical diagnosis and management
  • Ambulatory clinic in endoscopic spine
  • Ambulatory surgical center
  • Inpatient consultant service in endoscopic spine

Education

  • Didactic sessions for medical students, residents, pain medicine fellows, supervising residents/students

Research/Scholarly Activity

  • Writing case reports, reviews and/or original articles
  • Participating in ongoing research projects in the comprehensive spine/pain medicine division
  • Participating in quality improvement projects

Patient Testimonial