Article Category: PeopleCare

ValerieCare: Spine surgery success at Wellstar North Fulton Hospital

Published on March 08, 2021

Last updated 03:40 PM March 08, 2021

One of Valerie Orff's favorite things is walking and hiking with her dog.

Valerie Orff was done with excruciating pain.

After suffering with severe back aches for 30 years, the Roswell resident had tried everything. Massage therapy, chiropractic care and even dry needling. But nothing provided permanent relief — until she went to Wellstar.

When Valerie’s pain, which had been steadily worsening over the past eight years, got to the point where she couldn’t play soccer with her grandchild, dance or sit on a motorcycle (one of her favorite past times), she told her primary care physician she needed a true solution. That’s when Wellstar stepped in.

Personalized Spine Care

Dr. Basheer Shakir, a neurosurgeon at Wellstar North Fulton Hospital, carefully and thoroughly examined Valerie and discovered what had been bringing her discomfort and slowing her down — a disc in her back was degenerating, and one of her vertebrae was moving back and forth on another one, instead of staying in place.

“This was causing back and leg pain that affected her daily activities and quality of life,” Dr. Shakir said.

Dr. Shakir knew Valerie was hesitant about getting surgery. But after spending time getting to know Valerie, and learning about her busy, active lifestyle, the two decided on a minimally invasive surgery that could quickly get her back to her routine.

Minimal procedure. Maximum results.

Valerie’s Wellstar team was able to perform a fusion operation by accessing the disc through her side, without traumatizing the muscles in her back. This shortened her hospital stay, minimized her pain after surgery and accelerated her recovery.

Although she had initially been nervous about spine surgery, Valerie said Dr. Shakir listened to her concerns, presented all her options and explained everything in detail so she knew what to expect. In short, he treated her as much more than just a “neuro patient,” but as a person.

Now, 12 weeks after surgery, Valerie is pain-free for the first time in three decades.

“I put my faith and trust in him, and now I can’t even tell you how good it is to get up every day and go to bed with no back aches. I sleep through the night, go to the gym and lost 15 pounds,” she said.

If you are struggling with back pain, Wellstar’s expert neurosurgeons and orthopedic surgeons can help you decide if spine surgery is right for you.

Schedule an appointment with Dr. Shakir in North Fulton today.

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Basheer Ahmed Shakir North Fulton Medical Center Neuro Care
PeopleCare

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Highlights

The Robotic Alliance: Three Specialists, One Purpose

At Wellstar North Fulton Medical Center, something unique is happening in the world of minimally invasive surgery. Nestled right here in Roswell, a multidisciplinary team of robotic surgeons has quietly become one of the most experienced collaborative groups in Metro Atlanta—and across the state of Georgia.

The three surgeons—Dr. Scott Miller (robotic urologic surgery), Dr. Nathan Mordel (robotic gynecologic surgery) and Dr. Jay Singh (robotic colorectal surgery)—have collectively performed close to 9,000 robotic procedures over their careers. While that number is impressive, what it represents matters even more: thousands of patients who have benefited from smaller incisions, faster recoveries and precision that simply wasn’t possible a generation ago.

Although each of the specialties typically addresses distinct conditions, the team often cares for patients whose needs overlap two or even all three areas. These are the moments when a truly coordinated approach matters most. Rather than sending patients to multiple locations or staging separate procedures, the surgeons’ combined expertise allows them to tackle complex, concurrent issues together—efficiently, safely and in one place.

Severe (frozen pelvis) endometriosis is a perfect example of the need for a cooperative surgical approach. This condition affects millions of reproductive age women, invading the genital organs, as well as bladder, ureters, colon and rectum, thus deteriorating their quality of life. Concurrent robotic intervention by urological, colorectal and gynecological surgeons simultaneously treats all three organ systems—and on a mostly outpatient basis.

This collaborative model has become a defining strength of robotic surgery at Wellstar North Fulton. When specialists operate side-by-side, the conversation doesn’t just happen in the clinic—it continues in the operating room, where careful planning and shared experience translate into smoother procedures and better outcomes. Patients may not witness the teamwork directly, but they absolutely feel its benefits during their recovery.

Equally important, Wellstar has invested years in refining our techniques with next-generation robotic systems, which offer enhanced visualization, improved dexterity and precise tissue handling. Whether treating prostate conditions, complex colorectal disease or gynecologic disorders, robotics allows us to deliver the best aspects of minimally invasive surgery while maintaininga high level of surgical control.

Roswell may not be the first place people imagine when they think of cutting-edge surgical innovation, but the reality is that our community has become a hub for it. With a concentrated depth of experience rarely found in a single hospital, Wellstar North Fulton is leading the way in advanced robotic procedures across Georgia.

For us, the mission is simple: three specialties, one purpose—to give every patient access to the highest level of surgical care, in their neighborhood.

Visit wellstar.org/northfulton to learn more about care at Wellstar North Fulton. Call (470) 956-4230 to schedule with Dr. Miller, (470) 956-4590 to schedule with Dr. Mordel and (470) 267-1930 to schedule with Dr. Singh.

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Thanks to a team of heart failure doctors and the Optimizer Heart Mini, Pat's back to dancing the Carolina shag again.

PeopleCare

PatCare

Pat Gelisse has been dancing for 30 years. She even taught the Carolina shag for a while. It’s a partner dance, sometimes compared to Swing dancing to beach music.

But severe heart failure downgraded Pat’s dancing queen status for close to 10 years.

“I went from feeling happy to feeling like a nothing,” she remembered of that time in her life.

With a team of Wellstar heart specialists working together for her, Pat found hope and new life on the dance floor.

Heart failure masquerades as acid reflux

It started more than a decade ago when Pat lived in central Georgia. She scheduled a doctor’s appointment for what she thought was acid reflux. She popped in on a quick break from her marketing job, assuming it wouldn’t take long.

Blood work and an EKG got Pat a ticket straight to the hospital and a quadruple bypass.

“My heart got worse; it wasn’t pumping blood,” Pat said.

She was in acute heart failure, a life-threatening condition where the heart doesn’t pump well enough to deliver the necessary amount of oxygen to her body. Pat’s ejection fraction (EF)—the percentage measurement of the blood that leaves the heart each time it pumps—was only 10%. The normal range is 50 to 70%.

It was a scary time, and with a family history of heart problems, Pat was worried. She’d lost both parents to heart failure, as well as other family members.

“I just knew for sure I was going to be next,” said Pat.

Doctors from various academic institutions discussed serious treatments ranging from LVAD to transplant, but because the pumping performance of her heart improved, she was no longer a candidate for those procedures. Instead, Pat spent close to nine years managing her heart failure with a pacemaker and various medications—treatments that failed to get her back on the dance floor.

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Doing good CPR is critical to save someone from cardiac arrest.

PeopleCare

KevinCare

There aren’t many people out there who can say they survived cardiac arrest at 30. Kevin Miskewicz can.

According to the American Heart Association, more than 90% of people who experience an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest die. Those who survive often have permanent neurological disabilities. But Kevin’s story has an incredibly fortunate ending, thanks to the highly coordinated work of his medical experts at Wellstar.

Recovering from cardiac arrest is something Kevin will never forget. It lives forever as a piece of his health history—one that includes a dedicated healthcare team—and his wife, who was the first to save his life.

There aren’t many people out there who can say they survived cardiac arrest at 30. Kevin can.

CPR to the rescue

Kevin woke up on Labor Day 2017 at 5:30 AM to take the dog out. Pausing to adjust the thermostat as he came in, he fell, knocking over a lamp.

He was in cardiac arrest.

With no symptoms and no known pre-existing condition, this was unexpected, but that didn’t stop his wife, Andrea, from jumping into action.

“If it weren’t for me knocking over a lamp when I passed out,” said Kevin, “she would have never woken up and saved my life.”

In addition to calling 911 and unlocking the door for the paramedics, Andrea performed CPR for 10 minutes.

“Kevin’s wife doing good CPR was critical,” said Dr. Arthur Reitman, the interventional cardiologist who was a vital part of Kevin’s treatment team at Wellstar Kennestone Regional Medical Center. “More than five minutes of poor blood flow to the brain can result in permanent irreparable injury from which a patient is unable to recover.”

Coordinating multidisciplinary care to save a life

When paramedics arrived at Kevin’s home, he had no pulse and was not breathing. As the paramedics performed their lifesaving work, he technically died two times.

The ambulance took him to Wellstar North Fulton Medical Center, where he was initially assessed and treated by Dr. David Jacoboff. The interventional cardiologist implanted an intra-aortic balloon pump to stabilize him. Then, he transferred Kevin to Wellstar Kennestone for highly specialized heart care.

When Kevin arrived at Wellstar Kennestone by helicopter, his heart function wasn’t strong enough to support his body. Dr. Reitman and a team of doctors including a cardiologist, a pulmonologist and critical care doctors worked in tandem to put Kevin on an advanced life support system called veno-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation. Better known as VA-ECMO, it took the heart “offline” so it could heal. The technology removed unoxygenated blood from his body, oxygenated it and pumped it back in for the next three days.

“Very few places in the state—only four or five hospitals—have the technology and specialized training to put a patient on ECMO,” Dr. Reitman explained.

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