Steven Agabegi, MD, Ferhan Asghar, MD, and Anthony Guanciale, MD
Their spine surgery research keeps us standing proud.
The Spine Surgery Division in the UC College of Medicine Department of Orthopaedic Surgery is on a mission to improve patient care. The team is comprised of three spine fellowship-trained surgeons, Steven Agabegi, MD, Ferhan Asghar, MD, and Anthony Guanciale, MD. Together, they collaborate in both clinical and research settings to innovate and advance patient care.
As physicians in UC Health’s Division of Spine Surgery, the referral center for advanced complex spine problems, Agabegi, Asghar and Guanciale treat the most complicated cases, including spinal trauma, infections and deformities, that very often cannot be treated at a community hospital.
“We take pride in the fact that we provide patients comprehensive musculoskeletal care for everything central to their spine and everything that attaches to their spine,” said Asghar, Associate Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery, Vice-Chair of Academic Affairs, and Director of the Orthopaedic Surgery Residency Program.
According to the surgeons, the ability to provide such comprehensive and complex care stems from their roles as educators and mentors at UC College of Medicine.
“We’re involved in the training and education of other surgeons, so our own education is of the utmost importance,” said Guanciale, Associate Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery. “I maintain my own education to a high degree, and then I relay that to residents and medical students.”
The physicians are 
involved in numerous research projects related to spine surgery and the diagnosis and treatment of spinal conditions. Once such effort utilizes stereotactic technologies in spine surgery in innovative ways. While stereotactic-type spine surgeries are not uncommon, the spine team is now using this method to decompress spinal nerve roots to improve treatments for pinched nerves.
Agabegi, Asghar and Guanciale value their relationships as a team—both professionally and personally.
“We’re working together as a seamless group,” said Guanciale. “When we do that, it gives us a bigger mission to improve care and attention to the patient.”
