Spine Surgery &

Scoliosis

Rolando GarciaJr., M.D., MPH., F.A .A OS., specializes in spine surgery and scoliosis. He is Board Certifled by both the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery and the American Board of Spine Surgery. He is a fellow of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons and is also a member of the prestigious North American Spine Society. Featured in the Guide to America’s Top Surgeons, 2002 — 2003 Edition, Dr. Garcia graduated summa cum laudefrom Tulane University, where he also attended medical school and completed his internship and Orthopaedic Surgery residency. In 1996, Medical Center of Louisiana honored him as Chief Resident of Orthopaedic Surgery. He was also presented with the 1996 Thibodeaux Award presented annually to the senior resident who best exemplfies the qualities of leadership: compassion and commitment to patient care. After having completed his Spine Surgery fellowship at the North Carolina Spine Center, Dr. Garcia joined the Orthopedic Care Center. He continues to hold the position of Medical Director for the Scoliosis Screening Pro­gram for Dade County Schools, and recently completed a two-year term as Chief of the Orthopaedic Surgery Department at Aventura Hospital and Medical Center. Dr. Garcia has cowritten in five publications, and has presented numerous confrrences in the United States, South America and Europe.

Dr. Rolando Garcia specializes in:

• Spine Surgery
• Scoliosis

Undergraduate::

• Spine Surgery Fellowship
  North Carolina Spine Center
  Chapel Hill, NC

  Orthopedic Surgery Residency
  Tulane University School of Medicine and Affiliated Hospitals
  New Orleans, LA

  General Surgery Internship
  Tulane University School of Medicine and Affiliated Hospitals
  New Orleans, LA

  Medical Doctorate
  Tulane University School of Medicine
  New Orleans, LA

  Master of Public health
  Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine
  New Orleans, LA

  Bachelor of Science - Summa Cum Laude
  Tulane University
  New Orleans, LA

Awards and Honors ::

• Volunteer of the Year Award - Easter Seals of Miami, 2004

• America_s Most Outstanding Surgeons - 2004

• AmmA Physician_s Recognition Award - 1997

• Chief Resident - of Orthopedic Surgery, Medical Center of Louisiana
  January, 1996-June, 1996

• 1996 Thibodeaux Award - "Presented Annually to the Senior Resident who, as selected by the First Year class, Best Exemplifies the Qualities of Leadership, Intelligence, Compassion, Commitment to Patient Care, and Who Has Been an Outstanding Role Model for Junior Residents."  Tulane University School of Medicine Department of Orthopedic Surgery.

• Owl Club Honor Roll - "Presented in recognition of inspiring teaching, wise council, and keen interest in the welfare of the students in the School of Medicine."  Tulane University School of Medicine.  Years 1995-96.

• Physician's Recognition Award - American Medical Association.
  Valid July 1, 1994-July 1, 1997

• Dean's Merit Scholarship - Tulane University School of Medicine
  1987-1991 

• Honors in Surgery (Orthopedics, Vascular, and General)
  Tulane University

• Phi Beta Kappa - Tulane University

• Beta Beta Beta (Biology Honor Society) - Tulane University

• Phi Eta Sigma (Freshmen Honor Society) - Tulane University

• Scholar's Program - Tulane University

• Dean's List (1983-1987) - Tulane University

• American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons

• North American Spine Society

• Tulane Caldwell Orthopedic Society

• Southern Orthopedic Association

• Southern Medical Association

• Florida Medical Association

• Florida Orthopedic Association

• Dade County Medical Society

• Tulane Caldwell Orthopedic Society

Dr. Garcia's publications:

• Evaluation of the Learning Curve and the Importance of Surgical Volume for Lumbar Total Disc Replacement: An Analysis of the Prospective, Randomized, Multicenter FDA IDE Study of the Charite Artificial Disc.  Regan JJ, McAfee PC, Blumenthal SL, Guyer RD, Geisler FH, Garcia R, Maxwell JH.  Roundtables in Spine Surgery. Volume 1, November2, 97-108, 2005.

• Complications and Clinical Outcome of Lumbar Artificial Disc Replacement vs. Fusion: Results from the Randomized,  Multicenter FDA Study of the Charite Artificial Disc.  Holt RT, Blumenthal SL, McAfee PC, Majd ME, Guyer RD, Isaza JE, Hochschuler SH, Geisler FH, Garcia R, Regan JJ, Ohnmeiss DD.  European Spine Journal, Volume 14, Supplement 1, Sep. 2005.

• A prospective, randomized, multicenter Foof and Drug Administration investigational device exemptions study of lumbar total disc replacement with the Charite artificial disc versus lumbar fusion: part I: evaluation of clinical outcomes.  Blumenthal S, McAfee PC, Guyer RD, Hochschuler SH, Geisler FH, Holt RT, Garcia R,Regan JJ, Ohnmeiss DD, Spine. 2005 Jul 15;30(14):1565-75.

• Artificial Intervertebral Dics and Beyond: A north American Spine Society  Annual Meeting Symposium.  Blumenthal SL, Ohnmeiss DD, Guyer R, Hochschuler SH, McAfee P, Garcia R Jr., Salib R, Yuan H, Lee C, Bertagnoli R, Bryan V, Winter R, Spine J. 2003 Nov - Dec:2(6): 460- 463. 
  Faliure of Posterior Titanium Altantoaxial Cable Fixation.  Garcia R Jr, Gorin S, Spine J. 2003 Mar - Apr: 3(2): 166 - 170

• Garcia, R. Brunet M. Timon S. & Barrack RL  Extra-Articular Knee Reconstruction: Long-Term Patient Outcome & Satisfaction.
  Journal of the Southern Orthopedic Association. Spring, 2000, Vol 9 (1), 19-23.

• Guinn S. Castro FP, Garcia, R. & Barrack RL. Fever Following Total Knee Arthroplasty.AM. J. Knee Surgery.  Summer, 1999, 12 (3): 161-164.

• Brinker MR, Garcia R, Barrack RL, Timon S. Guinn S, Fong B. An Analysis of Sports Knee Evaluation Instruments. Am J. Knee Surgery. Winter 1999 12(1): 15-24.

• Effect of Component Fixation method on Osteolysis in Total Knee Arthroplasty, Ezzet, KA, Garcia, R, and Barrack, RL.  Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research - 321:86-91,  1995.

• Intra-Operative Intra-Arterial Urokinase Infusion as an Adjunct to Fogarty Catheter Embolectomy in Acute Arterial Occlusion, Garcia, R, Saroyan, R, Senkowsky, J, Smith, F, and Kerstein, M.  Surgery, Gynecology, and Obstetrics - Vol. 171,  1990.

• Publications - Book Chapter

  The history of the Artificial Disc; spinal Arthroplasty, A New Era in Spine Care, Editors RD Guyer and JE Zigler, Quality Medical Publishing, St. Louis MO, 2005.