(December 21, 2004 -- Rockville Centre, NY) – In a move designed to address the chronic pain of thousands of Nassau County south shore residents who face lower back woes, Dr. Alexandre B. de Moura of the New York Spine Institute in Garden City has introduced state-of-the-art disc replacement surgery in Mercy Medical Center’s new Operating Suites.

One of only a few doctors on Long Island trained in this new procedure, Dr. de Moura says this surgery is considered to be far more progressive than previous procedures with far better results. It is minimally invasive, decreases post-operative pain and researchers have found better post-operative results for the long term. In addition, because there is no fusion of the discs the patient does not need to be mobilized in a brace.

Doctor de Moura is working with Dr. Xenophontas, a vascular surgeon who will provide access to the patient’s spine.

Dr. de Moura is a member of the North American Spine Society and the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. He holds a Fellowship where he trained in spinal surgery, (both neurosurgery and orthopaedic surgery) and holds certification from the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery. Dr. de Moura is the Chief of Spine Surgery at Mercy Medical Center and is a clinical assistant professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at the Hospital for Joint Diseases/ NYU Medical Center in Manhattan.

A “partnership” to address back pain through innovative surgery

The Doctor explained, “By working in close partnership with Mercy we have created an operating environment where we can offer a type of surgery where there is less pain, shorter hospital stays and a far better expectation of results. This partnership is designed so that we can effectively address the chronic and debilitating pain found when discs in the lower back fail and patients need to recover their quality of life. Disc replacement saves adjacent levels of the spine by not immobilizing one level and forcing adjacent levels to support the resulting stresses.”

Dr. de Moura specializes in adult and pediatric spinal disease and his practice includes Lumbar Disc Replacement, Cervical Discectomy, Lumbar Fusion, Lumbar Discectomy and Scoliosis. More information is available from Dr. de Moura regarding these procedures. He can be reached at his Garden City office by calling (516) 357-8777.

Media contact: Diane O'Doherty at 516-705-2619