Editing old post.... Plans have changed.

OK folks, this is going to happen.

Confirmed speakers:

Dr. Rudolph Bertagnoli (will chair event)
Dr. Willem Zeegers (will give 15 year retrospective of ADR)
Dr. Anthony Yeung (in addition to SED, will present some incredible new technology.)
Dr. Fabien Bitan (Principal investigator, Charite' and Dynesys)
Dr. James Yue (in addition to ProDisc, will present some incredible new technology.)

Joe Vest (MGH BigJoe... if you don't know his story, bring some kleenex... get ready to laugh your A$$ off, and cry too)

We are going to have a full program, all day Sunday, May 1st, in NEW YORK CITY. There will be a cocktail reception on Saturday night. Breakfast will be served on Sunday morning before the proceedings start. Lunch will be served Sunday afternoon.

I've got more surprises, but they are not confirmed yet.

How do I need your help? I need to know what YOU want to see. I want this to be a general spine meeting... obviously ADR is a big part of it, but this I want to cover as much as possible, without cutting any topics presented too short. I won't be able to cover everything, but it is clear... what I do cover will be represented by the best in the business. There will be some tough decisions made about what to include and what to leave out... so let me know...

What do you want to see?

So circle May 1st on your calendar. I'm working on a venue now... hopefully, I'll get it nailed down soon.

I'll keep everyone posted as I learn details. But, this is a GO. With the support I already have, I know that this is going to be an incredible event.

I'll see you in New York.

Mark

Mark, I look forward to this event. I am happy to provide support for this in many different ways, and seeing community members there too!

Looking forward to hearing details, hopefully my schedule will allow me to attend. The sooner we hear dates the better chance I have, take care and hope to meet you there!

Bill

Sounds great... I am getting excited. I hope my schedule permits.

Justin http://adrsupport.org/groupee_common...on_biggrin.gif

Mark: SInce I am almost scheduled for Dynesys I will watch for cheap fares to the East. That would be my #4 seminar.

Mark: Do you have the date for this yet? Please give us lead time to get plane tickets.

we are all anxiously awaiting the date. I just am hoping its in March as Feb. is now about impossible for me I think.

Take care and I hope to meet you all in person soon.

Bill

Mark, what's the latest? I called Dr. Bitan's office to introduce myself, spoke to an assistant who promised to call me back and never did.

If we all put our nickels together for every time a "doctor's office" was supposed to call us back, do you think we could fix the national deficit?!

http://adrsupport.org/groupee_common...n_rolleyes.gif

Still trying to nail down a date w/Bitan

News coming soon.

Harrison:
If we all put our nickels together for every time a "doctor's office" was supposed to call us back, do you think we could fix the national deficit?!

HA,ha,ha,ha,ha,ha......i liked that one.

Jeff

I do believe with the nickel per.... everyone that needed ADR could have it paid for for free....

John

Great News!!! I just spoke to Dr. Bitan. Although he is 100% on board and is ready to host a *** event much like my past events, we are going to table the Bitan event so we may focus on something BIGGER!

Circle Sunday May 1st on your calendar! The event will be in New York. This will be what I've been hoping for... a true Spine Patient Technology Conference. The program will be something like:

<UL TYPE=SQUARE>
<LI>Lumbar ADR Session
</font>

• <LI>Charite'
  <LI>ProDisc
  <LI>Maverick
  <LI>Flexicore
  <LI>....
  <LI>panel discussion
  <LI>Q&A session

<LI>Break
<LI>Cervical ADR
<UL TYPE=SQUARE>
<LI><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">ProDisc-C
<LI>Prestige
<LI>Cervitech PCM
<LI>....
<LI>panel discussion
<LI>Q&A session[/list]</font>
<LI>Lunch w/speaker
<LI>Mimimally Invasive Spine
<UL TYPE=SQUARE>
<LI><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">SED
<LI>IDET
<LI>Nucleoplasty
<LI>.....
<LI>panel discussion
<LI>Q&A session[/list]</font>
<LI>Break
<LI>Motion preservation / posterior stabilization
<UL TYPE=SQUARE>
<LI><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Dynesys
<LI>Wallis
<LI>X-Stop
<LI>Dyam
<LI>....
<LI>Panel Discussion
<LI>Q&A session[/list]</font>
<LI>Pain Management
<LI>Rehabilitation and Therapy
<LI>Coctail Reception[/list]<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">

This is great news Mark. I will be attending for sure and look forward to meeting the rest of the community!

For what it's worth, I'll be coming in on Saturday. If anyone wants to get together for dinner (and can sit OK!), pls email me in the next 30 days, and I'll arrange reasonably affordable dinner reservations.

"Circle Sunday April 30th on your calendar!"

Mark,

April 30th is a Saturday on my calendar. Is it the 30th or Sunday May 1st that this will be held.

Thanks and looking forward to meeting all of you.

May first it is! Just checking to see who's awake!

This is the downside of being off the meds and out of pain. When I make a mistake like this... it's just me!!! Nothing to blame it on!

Mark

thanks Mark. LOL

Bill

I will have to check out my schedule and see what I can work out. I hope I can make it.

yippee! I think we can do it!

Carolina and Kevin

Edited top post.... plans have changed

OK folks, this is going to happen.

Confirmed speakers:

Dr. Rudolph Bertagnoli (will chair event)
Dr. Willem Zeegers (will give 15 year retrospective of ADR)
Dr. Anthony Yeung (in addition to SED, will present some incredible new technology.)
Dr. Fabien Bitan (Principal investigator, Charite' and Dynesys)
Dr. James Yue (in addition to ProDisc, will present some incredible new technology.)

Joe Vest (MGH BigJoe... if you don't know his story, bring some kleenex... get ready to laugh your A$$ off, and cry too)

We are going to have a full program, all day Sunday, May 1st, in NEW YORK CITY. There will be a cocktail reception on Saturday night. Breakfast will be served on Sunday morning before the proceedings start. Lunch will be served Sunday afternoon.

I've got more surprises, but they are not confirmed yet.

How do I need your help? I need to know what YOU want to see. I want this to be a general spine meeting... obviously ADR is a big part of it, but this I want to cover as much as possible, without cutting any topics presented too short. I won't be able to cover everything, but it is clear... what I do cover will be represented by the best in the business. There will be some tough decisions made about what to include and what to leave out... so let me know...

What do you want to see?

So circle May 1st on your calendar. I'm working on a venue now... hopefully, I'll get it nailed down soon.

I'll keep everyone posted as I learn details. But, this is a GO. With the support I already have, I know that this is going to be an incredible event.

I'll see you in New York.

Mark

Can't wait to see you all. Mark, anything setup as to where it will take place so I can look for place to stay for my wife and I.

Thanks.

As for what I want to hear and see. I would like to hear what the future holds for back surgery. What is next with regard to disc replacement, cell research etc.. Some more specific talk maybe about PT after surgery since its been a pretty healthy topic as of recently on the boards. Basically what one should not do after ADR during recovery.

Just looking forward to finally getting to meet a few you.

Take care,

Bill

Something that we want to see....

Well, I know wear debris has been discussed with the Charite populations. Has there been any research regarding this issue with the Prodisc or any of the other ADRs out there with the "poly" cores???

I am with Bill on cell research....

Mark, I don�t know if these potentially controversial subjects are appropriate for presentations or a Q & A, bit I�d like to see the doctors weigh in on:

- Differences in surgical techniques and best practices (e.g., why some require bone scans, some do not; why some surgeons use sophisticated nerve monitoring systems, etc.)
- Why differences in artificial disc designs may or may not matter
- Physical therapy guidelines and lack thereof

There�s more, but focused attention and discussion on these issues may help us all.

I'M FLOORED!!! This is too good to be true. It took a while to sink in, I kept thinking I was misunderstanding what was going on.

Jim

Mark,

I hope to make it for this one! It's still a long way but at least closer than LA....

'Incredible new technology' always sounds good, but in addition I'd be very interested in anything pertaining to intradiscal injections to stimulate regeneration (there are several agents under study)--that might entail getting someone else, who specializes in nonsurgical interventions.

Bruce

Mark,

This meeting is truly insane----I almost fell out of my chair reading the confirmed list of speakers! I can't wait.

I'll be there...it will be great to see everyone!

Justin http://adrsupport.org/groupee_common...on_biggrin.gif

I may even be able to make this one if I take a flight to or from Florida on Jet Blue with stop over in NYC...am seriously considering it as May is usually a nice month in the city...

This meeting is going to be great. I'm working with an event planner and we are still considering venues. I hope to get one nailed down soon, but don't buy tickets until the venue is fixed.

Mark

Thanks Mark.

I'm so pleased that I'll be meeting new friends, and also meeting old friends for the first time. I'll be seeing old friend that I've met before... some in Europe for their surgeries, some in Los Angeles for my seminars. I think Bruce will win the 'traveled farthest' award, coming from Rome.

I'm still working on the venue. One possibility is the Yale Club... www.yaleclubnyc.org Anyone know it or have a comment on the location? Again, don't book airfare until we have the venue committed.

Sorry about the folks that won't be able to make it, but I'm serious about potential seminars all around the country. Chicago? Miami? Seattle? Dallas?.... We'll go to St. Louis, down to Missouri, Oklahoma City looks oh, so pretty; We'll see Amarillo, Gallup, New Mexico; Flagstaff, Arizona, don�t forget Wynonna, Kingman, Barstow, San Bernardino...

Mark

say Las Vegas and I will make that one too!!!!

Or even Bahamas? LOL

Lodi?

Amarillo, Gallup, New Mexico; Flagstaff, Arizona, don?t forget Wynonna, Kingman, Barstow, San Bernardino...

.....get your kicks on Route Mark Mintz

(er)

I'm still trying to get the schedule and venue nailed down. My biggest problem is that I've got so much to cover... I should have made this a 2 day event... next one will be.

I'm excited about the non-surgeon speakers I'll be having. In addition to BigJoe, there will be a gentleman who's wife has been severely disabled with cervical problems... multiple unsuccessful surgeries... the whole nine yards. He'll speak about being the spouse of a spiney.

More to come...

Mark, I vote to include a section for all the surgeons to address the causes and solutions for unsuccessful adrs with respect to unresolved pain.
Of course this is the issue that we personally are consumed with, but for all prospective adr patients it should be a serious consideration also.

I suspect I will be attending this seminar. Although I'm not a fan of flying, will have to fly cross country, don't want to spend the money, and don't expect any earth shattering news to help my wife 'fix' her back, there is always the possibility of obtaining a nugget of info that may be a great value.

My suggestion to anyone doing research or sitting on the fence about this operation is to make every attempt to attend. I learned many years ago in my business, the cheapest thing we can do is to travel and see how others are doing things. A few hundred dollars may be lot out of your present budget, but may pay tremendous dividends if you find some direction in navigating the minefield of spinal intervention.

bob

Wow -- I would love to attend this seminar, need to get closer to the date to determine if I can go. I would love to hear about recovery/PT from the speakers, as well as long term success/concerns of ADR (ie. what will I be feeling like 20 yrs from now).

This is great -- I can't believe you are able to put this together! I'm floored! SenecaGirl

If you aren't too sure about my events...

Bob has come from Washington to CA twice for *** events. This will be his third.

Cervie Queen has been to 3 and will travel from CA to NY for this.

JimM2 has been to 2.

MariaA has been to 2.

Poncho flew from Ohio to CA for the first event.

Justin flew from New Mexico to CA for his first event.

Become flew from Toronto to CA for Zeegers luncheon and will come from Rome for the NY event.

Queen of Hearts, 2 events from Seattle to CA

JennyM has been to 3 events... one in SF and 2 in LA.

Annapurna has been to 2.

How many people do you exepect to come? Can any of you in mmglobal's post above tell us your experiences from the events?

SenecaGirl,
I've seen Drs. Yeung, Zeegers and Regan.

The technical information is incredible. For some reason the doctors are unusually candid at the seminars. There's no weasel talk. You can ask any question you want, but it's best to frame it as a general question, as opposed to your own situation.

The social scene is the best. Everyone is warm, friendly and has good appreciation of your problem.

Jim

One thing I have to say is that besides giving great presentations about ADR and other spine information also, the two speakers that I've seen were both amenable to answering questions from individuals and were so nice/down to earth. It's not like the 2 minute out the door spine specialist visit one might encounter along their spinal journey.
As Bob mentioned in a previous reply to this thread, each time I've come away with not only a whole head full of information on ADR or other spine technology information, there's the potential to come away with a gem or two that may specifically apply to my spine problem/case in some way.
The settings for these events have been very nice, and comfortable. I had to lie down more less for both of these as I cannot sit for long and there was either room to do so, or lounge chairs to lie on.
Mark does a wonderful job of hosting the presentation and addressing issues and saying things that come right from the patient's viewpoint, bringing up topics or thoughts that are important to "us" the injured pain population. Mark~ in case you haven't personally met him, he's humorous and humble, compassionate and kind. He gets these events up and running and makes the attendees feel like family and friends.
And that's what it almost seems like, a group of friends, an alumni of Spinally Challenged people, those who've taken the plunge with surgeries, ADR, fusion and other, and those who are in the wings for one or another. Riding the fence maybe, waiting for FDA approval, or just whatever will give each person the "green light" for surgery, or not. There have been persons there with surgical successes, and those with varying degrees of success, or perhaps failure. It's interesting to hear from these people and/or have the opportunity to interact with them as well.
This time is going to be amazing just given there is nowhere else we could hear this many top spine specialists gathered and speaking to "US"!!!!
I'm going to just hope that my back will allow me to attend this event~ I'm going to try to tell my PM doc to "hook me up baby" with something that'll allow me to get there!
This should be a really amazing luncheon/event/get together of East and West Coast spineys and maybe Euro spineys also~

The events that Mark puts together are unparalleled.

--The speakers are amazing----some of the best surgeons in the world with many, many years of experience. The speakers in the past have been willing to entertain ALL questions about ADR and the spine in general. If they don't know the answer to a question, they'll tell you.

--It is a great opportunity to meet others that have been through similiar experiences with back pain, etc. It is amazing how much you can learn from other patients!

If anyone is contemplating ADR, I would highly recommended attending! I would have paid thousands of dollars to have an entire day with world renowned surgeons before my ADR.

There are many decisions and questions to face and ask before ADR and this is an opportunity to do so----directly to those with the most experience and expertise.

I hope this helps,

Justin http://adrsupport.org/groupee_common...on_biggrin.gif