News
- October 22, 2019. Doctors names to America’s Most Honored Professionals List. Spine Center physicians Michael Roh, M.D. and Christopher Sliva, M.D. were recently named to the America’s Most Honored Professionals 2019 list.Developed by the American Registry, the America’s Most Honored Professionals list recognizes doctors that are performing within the top 10 percent within their area of expertise. Physicians included on this list have achieved outstanding results in their specialty.The American Registry is the official and authorized recognition partner for some of America’s most trusted professional organizations at identifying business excellence. These organizations rigorously gather peer review ratings, customer reviews, and industry analysis to ultimately uncover the best of the best professionals in business.
- September 10, 2019. Spine Center Doctors Receive Castle Connolly Top Doctors Award. Physicians Michael Roh, M.D. and Christopher Sliva, M.D. were recently recognized with the Castle Connolly Top Doctors award. The doctors have been named to the list for seven years in a row. Only 4%-5% of doctors in America earn this prestigious honor.Castle Connolly Top Doctors are selected by Castle Connolly Medical Ltd. after being nominated by peer physicians in an online nomination process. Nominations are open to all board-certified doctors. Honorees are selected from the nominees by the Castle Connolly physician-led research team based on criteria that includes their medical education, training, hospital appointments and disciplinary histories. Doctors who are among the very best in their specialties and in their communities are selected for inclusion on the Top Doctors list.Castle Connolly Medical Ltd. is a research and information company established to help people find the best health care. It provides health care consumers with an invaluable source of information to identify the top doctors in their own communities. Their guides are the result of a methodical research process requiring a complete credential, licensing and disciplinary review of all doctors nominated for inclusion.
- August 20, 2019. Doctors Receive Compassionate Doctor Recognition from Vitals. Spine Center physicians Michael Roh, M.D. and Christopher Sliva, M.D. were recently recognized by Vitals with the Compassionate Doctor Recognition for 2019. This is the ninth consecutive year the physicians have received this award.Ratings for this prestigious award are determined based on the number of reviews a doctor receives from patients for the calendar year and minimum rating values. The algorithm considers quality metrics that the provider must meet. The Compassionate Doctor certification is granted to physicians who treat their patients with the utmost kindness. The honor is granted based on a physician’s overall and bedside manner scores.
- July 24, 2019. Spine Doctors Honored with Patients’ Choice Award. Michael Roh, MD, and Christopher Sliva, MD were recently recognized by Vitals with the prestigeous Patient’s Choice Award for 2019. This is the ninth consecutive year the physicians have received this award.Vitals is a health care platform that helps consumers research and find medical care by translating data into actionable information and interactive tools to help patients make health care decisions. Ratings are tallied from patient feedback in several categories including ease of appointment, promptness, courteous staff, bedside manner, office follow-up and others.The Patient’s Choice Award is bestowed to physicians who receive glowing scores from their patients. According to Vitals, the honor “reflects the difference a particular physician has made in the lives of his/her patients.” Honorees are chosen based on millions of patient reviews and ratings gathered by Vitals over the course of the year. Annually, only 5 percent of doctors nationwide are named a Vitals Patients’ Choice winner.
- May 21, 2019. Surgeon Trains on Lower Back Surgical Technique. Rockford Spine Center’s Dr. Christopher Sliva recently traveled to Seattle for training on a minimally invasive surgical technique to help people suffering from lower back issues. The technique, called an oblique lumbar interbody fusion, or OLIF, allows surgeons to access the anterior portion of the spine through small incisions in the abdomen. Dr. Sliva trained with The Polyclinic’s Dr. Sean Keem, one of the leading experts on this type of surgery, after observing his work and attending the North American Spine Society Annual Meeting last year in Los Angeles, California. Using this minimally invasive fusion technique reduces the surgical pain associated with lumbar surgery. There is also a lower risk of nerve damage and blood loss during surgery
- October 28, 2016. New Drug Therapy Keeps Patients Confortable Following Spine Surgery. Surgeons Michael Roh, MD and Christopher Sliva, MD are using a new technique to minimize the pain patients feel when recovering fom spine surgery. The surgeons began using Exparel, a non-narcotic numbing medication, in 2015 during certain surgical procedures. Now nearly 18 months later, a study by the OSF Saint Anthony Medical Center Pharmacy Department is showing the drug helping patients make a faster recovery with less post-surgical pain.The surgeons inject the medication at the surgical site toward the end of cervical, lumbar or thoracic fusion surgeries and other similar procedures. As the Exparel wears off, the other pain-reducing medications begin working, further reducing the pain the patient might feel. Less pain means a much shorter hospital stay following the procedure and a more pleasant surgical experience with higher patient satisfaction. Using the Exparel also has eliminated the need for patients to have a Foley catheter or a patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) pump.