Texas Back Institute
About Us
Since 1977, Texas Back Institute has served as a high-level multi-disciplinary, academic spine center, integrating the best science, technology, and people we can offer. Our “surgery as the last option” approach recognizes that surgery is not always the best course of treatment for every patient.
Overview
REVOLUTIONIZING SPINE CARE FOR MORE THAN 45 YEARS
If you do need surgery, you’ll be confident knowing you are working with one of the best spine care teams in the country. Known as leaders in advanced spinal procedures, our surgeons specialize in using minimally invasive techniques that greatly reduce the impact of surgery on the body. As a result, our patients commonly enjoy more predictable surgical outcomes, faster recovery times, and a quicker return to work and family.
Our Story
History of Texas Back Institute
The story of Texas Back Institute begins more than 45 years ago with two Air Force general medical officers who identified a problem in how back pain was being treated. Half a century later the institution they founded provides a myriad of innovative pain-relieving solutions for people all over the world.
Texas Back Institute today continues to focus on delivering the best possible outcomes for their patients through evidence-based research, technology, and the highest standard of care.
Overview
Texas Back Institute Research Foundation
In 1982, Dr. Richard Guyer joined Drs. Hochschuler and Rashbaum as the third founding partner.
During the process of building and refining the Texas Back Institute, the doctors wanted to create an academic component to their private practice, so they established a nonprofit research foundation in 1985, led by Dr. Barton Sachs.
One year later, Dr. Donna Ohnmeiss joined the Foundation to fulfill its mission of incorporating research, education, and development.
The primary focus of the Texas Back Institute Research Foundation has been the relationship between diagnostic evaluations and treatment outcomes. Numerous clinical studies have been conducted involving discography, MRIs, minimally invasive procedures, and total disc replacement.
Dozens of peer-reviewed medical articles have been published by TBI surgeons as a result of the Foundation’s studies. The program has even been involved with the publication of spine-related medical textbooks and monographs, including Rehabilitation of the Spine, The Spine in Sports, Lumbar Disc Disease, Cervical Disc Disease, and Spinal Arthroplasty: A New Era in Spine Care.
Texas Back Institute Spine Surgery Fellowship Program
In 1986, under the leadership of Dr. Richard Guyer, the Texas Back Institute Spine Surgery Fellowship Program was born. Dr. Guyer, alongside Dr. Alexander Satin, continues to lead the Fellowship Program.
Together they have trained more than 120 Fellows throughout the country, and surgeon visitors come from all over the world to observe the latest in new technologies being developed.
A key component of the Fellowship Program has been creating and implementing patient education programs and authoring numerous books for the public, including Back in Shape and Treat Your Back Without Surgery. The doctors are also actively involved with the development of editorial content for SpineUniverse.com and Spine-Health.com.
Our Team
Meet the team
Patricia J. Bowling
Chief Executive Officer
Lise McConnell
Chief Financial Officer
Cheryl Zapata
Chief Development Officer
What to Expect
Leaders in Advanced Spine Procedures
Patients who undergo minimally invasive spine surgery at Texas Back Institute benefit from our:
EXCEPTIONAL EXPERTISE
As a spine center which has treated patients since 1977, Texas Back Institute has some of the most knowledgeable and experienced surgeons in the world.
ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY
Our surgeons use robotics, intraoperative CT imaging systems, computer-assisted navigation, and other state-of-the-art technology to perform spine surgery with enhanced precision.
INNOVATIVE TECHNIQUES
Because we regularly perform advanced procedures that few other spine centers offer – such as lumbar and cervical disc replacements and robotic spinal surgery – we offer spine surgery options to address the specific problems our patients face.
OUR PEOPLE
Behind every treatment or procedure are a family of specially trained, highly experienced professionals dedicated to giving you the best care possible so that you can get back to life—quickly, safely, and confidently. They’re experts at what they do, and we’re proud to have them as part of our team.
Overview
Moving Forward
With its unparalleled commitment to the world of the spine, Texas Back Institute became the first institution in the United States to prescribe outpatient myelography, led the first FDA study of the artificial disc, and later performed the first artificial disc replacement in the United States.
Texas Back Institute was also the second center in the country to develop a back school and perform multiplanar reconstruction of CT scans. The founders played an instrumental role in the development of the North American Spine Society and the Spine Arthroplasty Society.
Recognizing the importance of these organizations, the partners have also participated in leadership roles in the American Spinal Injury Association, Scoliosis Research Society, and the International Association for the Study of Pain, to name a few. Drs. Hochschuler and Rashbaum founded Texas Back Institute.
Throughout its history, the goal to perform as a center of excellence integrating the best of science and education with the best business practices has served Texas Back Institute well and continues to be the foundation of Texas Back Institute’s success. Now, over 45 years later, Texas Back Institute is one of the largest freestanding multidisciplinary academic spine centers in the world.
Utilizing the latest technological advancements and medical breakthroughs, leading and participating in numerous FDA trials, developing surgeons through its Fellowship Programs and employing an expert medical team and compassionate support staff, Texas Back Institute remains (and will remain) dedicated to helping patients get back to life.