Richard D. Guyer, MD - ChairmanTexas Back Institute Research Foundation

About Richard D. Guyer, MD

Dr. Richard Guyer is Co-founder of the Texas Back Institute and Director of their Spine Fellowship Program. Dr. Guyer is Co-director of the Center for Disc Replacement at Texas Back Institute and was instrumental in bringing artificial disc replacement surgery to the United States after its creation and use in Europe. He is founder of the Texas Back Institute Research Foundation (TBIRF) and Chairman of the Board for the program. Also, Dr. Guyer is Associate Clinical Professor of Orthopaedics at the University of Texas Southwestern in Dallas.

Dr. Guyer received his medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine in Philadelphia. He completed his internship at Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas followed by an orthopaedic surgical residency at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Guyer completed two spine fellowships; the first at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, OH under Henry Bohlman, MD, and a second in Long Beach, CA with Leon Wiltse, MD.

Dr. Guyer is a member of many medical and spine societies serving in leadership roles and on many committees. These include the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, Cervical Spine Research Society, Institute for Spine & Biomedical Research, International Society for the Study of Lumbar Spine, Lumbar Spine Research Society, and North American Spine Society.

Dr. Guyer has published more than 100 peer-reviewed journal articles with current articles in press. He has made nearly 600 presentations and over 250 posters. He is a reviewer for multiple journals including the International Journal of Spine Surgery, European Spine Journal and Global Spine Journal.

Publications

Click here to view Dr. Richard D. Guyer's extensive list of peer-reviewed publications, books and presentations.

Articles Written by Richard D. Guyer, MD

Lower Back Pain Causes, Symptoms, Diagnosis and Treatment

Low and lower back pain can vary from dull pain that develops gradually to sudden, sharp or persistent pain felt below the waist.

Cervical Disc Replacement Considerations and Surgery

Margaret's neck and arm pain was relieved after cervical disc replacement surgery performed as a minimally invasive spine surgery procedure. Q&A with orthopaedic spine surgeon, Richard Guyer, MD.

Boutique Spine Care for Patients with Back Problems

Here, Dr. Richard Guyer, a spine surgeon talks about his boutique spine practice.

Low Costs, High Quality: Are Ambulatory Surgery Centers (ASCs) the Spine Care Solution?

Patients seeking spine care at ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) should expect lower costs but not lower quality compared to an inpatient hospital setting.

Sciatica Relief: Epidural Steroid Injection or Oral Steroids?

Sciatica treatment may include a steroid medication to reduce inflammation that causes low back and leg pain. An oral (by mouth) steroid pill (prednisone) may be prescribed or medication may be administer by spinal injection called an epidural or transforaminal steroid injection.

Sciatica in Winter: Does Cold Weather Make Back and Leg Symptoms Worse?

Do cold temperatures worsen sciatica? Most people with sciatica pain say that winter makes sciatic symptoms worse. But is that just anecdotal or are there solid reasons why your sciatica acts up when the mercury goes down?

Spine Specialists On-Call: Charité Artificial Disc

"Disc replacement is the most significant advancement since the modern treatment of spinal disorders began 70 years ago" as stated by Richard Guyer, MD.

Recovery From Cervical Artificial Disc Replacement

Dr. Richard Guyer, a spine surgeon at the Texas Back Institute shares his thoughts about patient recovery after cervical artificial disc replacement Surgery. .

Cervical Artificial Disc Replacement Technology: An Overview

Richard D. Guyer, MD, Chairman of the Texas Back Institute Research Foundation spoke with SpineUniverse about cervical artificial discs.Learn More.

Cervical Artificial Disc Preserves Neck Mobility: Part 2

The early results of the PRODISC-C artificial disc are promising. Patients return to activity sooner with pain relief and neck mobility.

Cervical Artificial Disc Preserves Neck Mobility

A cervical artificial disc may be implanted to relieve pressure on spinal nerves. Spine specialists refer to this condition as nerve root compression.

Cervical Artificial Disc Replacement vs. Spinal Fusion

Dr. Guyer discusses the differences between cervical (neck) artificial disc replacement and spinal fusion.

Cervical Artificial Disc Replacement: What You Need To Know

A good surgical candidate would have neck and arm pain. Artificial disc replacement in the kyphotic spine exacerbates existing instability and doesn’t help the situation at all. Learn More.

Artificial Discs: Real Reconstructive Surgery for the Low Back

Artificial disc replacement surgery offers the very latest technology in spine surgery.

Recent blog posts from Richard D. Guyer, MD

December 29, 2010

Degenerative Disc Disease Treatments

"I have degenerative disc disease at C5-C7. I'm going to have a cervical epidural steroid injection to see if that helps relieve my pain, but my doctor told me that it would be beneficial to have the surgery to fuse the damaged discs and vertebrae."

Artificial Disc Replacement

"I want to learn more about artificial disc replacement surgery. It seems like this is a fairly new technique, but are there any updates I should know about?"

Articles Reviewed by Richard D. Guyer, MD

Lumbar Total Disc Replacement vs Fusion: Which to Choose

What’s stopping total disc replacement from being a more common surgical option for lumbar spine issues? Find out from our expert.

Lower Back Pain Causes, Symptoms, Diagnosis and Treatment

Low and lower back pain can vary from dull pain that develops gradually to sudden, sharp or persistent pain felt below the waist.

Degenerative Disc Disease Prevention and Relief

Degenerative disc disease is one of the most common sources of back pain as you age, but it doesn’t have to be inevitable. Here are a few ways to slow down DDD and preserve your discs, no matter how old you are.

The Ultimate Guide to Back Spasms

Ever had a charley horse? Fun, right? Now imagine it’s in your back. That’s a back spasm. Here’s why they happen and what you can do to get rid of it.

Facilitating Greater Osseointegration Properties with a Deeply Porous Titanium Scaffold on PEEK

In the search to reduce fixation-related complications and infections associated with current interbody fusion cages, investigators have pursued various methods for integrating a titanium surface onto PEEK to promote osseointegration.

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and Back Pain

Acupuncture specialist discusses Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and provides an alternative angle of understanding low back pain through the model of TCM.

Care for Your Low Back According to Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM)

There are many different therapies within the specialty of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) for the treatment of low back pain.

Sciatica: Symptoms and Possible Causes

Sciatica is a symptom of a lumbar spinal disorder in the low back causing compression of the sciatic nerve. Leg pain is the most common symptom that may be accompanied by leg numbness and tingling sensations.

Reasons for Selecting ACDF Over Total Disc Replacement in Cervical Spine Surgery

Study outcomes revealed reasons for choosing anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) over cervical total disc replacement in a consecutive series of patients undergoing cervical spine surgery.

Cervical Total Disc Replacement and Routine Osteoporosis Screening

While osteoporosis is a contraindication for total disc replacement both in the lumbar and cervical spine, new findings suggest that routine DEXA scans may not be necessary for all cervical total disc replacement candidates.

Cervical Spine Surgery: An Overview

Cervical spine surgery is performed by removing a disc or a bone and fusing the vertebrae together with a bone graft either in front of or behind the spine.

ISASS Recommends Lumbar Decompression with Interlaminar Stabilization in Select Patients with Lumbar Spinal Stenosis

The International Society for the Advancement of Spine Surgery (ISASS) released a Policy Statement covering interlaminar stabilization in the treatment of lumbar spinal stenosis.

Artificial Disc Surgery in the Cervical Spine

Cervical disc replacement is a new technique that is becoming more available worldwide. In Part 1 of his article, Dr. Lali Sekhon discusses cervical discs and fusion.

Cervical Spine Surgery: Home Care and Neck Health Maintenance

How to maintain your neck health for a lifetime. Tips for neck health.

Mattresses Matter: Ergonomic Guidelines

This article includes clinical data about the impact of a mattress in reducing or preventing back and neck pain.

Financial Disclosures

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Author's Statement

I, or an immediate family member, have a financial interest(s) or affiliation(s) with the following commercial companies whose products and / or services may be mentioned in the materials I have authored, edited or reviewed for presentation on Remedy Health Media, LLC’s websites.

Disclosed Relationships

Speaking/Teaching

Aesculap; Orthofix

Other Relationships/Disclosures

Royalties: Atec; K2M; Nanovis; Stryker

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