Andrew A. Sama, MD

Dr. Andrew Sama specializes in the evaluation and surgical management of all traumatic, degenerative, and deformity-related conditions of the cervical, thoracic, and lumbosacral spine. Board certified in orthopedic surgery, he believes in a team approach to patient care. He works with physiatrists, neurologists, and pain management specialists to provide a comprehensive non-operative or, when necessary, a surgical approach to meet a patient’s needs.

Dr. Sama is an Associate Attending Orthopedic Surgeon at Hospital for Special Surgery and an Associate Professor of Clinical Surgery, Weill Medical College of Cornell University. Dr. Sama is also the Fellowship Director of the Spinal Surgical Service at Hospital for Special Surgery. He is involved in the resident and fellowship teaching curriculum and also mentors medical students throughout the academic year.
 
Dr. Sama is an active member of many spine societies, academic committees, and editorial review boards. He has lectured at scientific conferences both nationally and internationally. He is a member of the North American Spine Society, the Spine Arthroplasty Society, the Eastern Orthopaedic Society, the HSS Spine Fellowship Alumni Association, and AO Spine North America. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons and a Diplomat of the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgeons.

His areas of interest include clinical and basic science research involving the biology and biomechanics of spine fusion and fusion alternatives. He has received a number of research grants, including funding from the National Institutes of Health for a study on surgical and nonsurgical approaches to the treatment of low back pain.

Dr. Sama’s clinical interests include complex spine surgery, minimally invasive lateral lumbar fusions, non-fusion and motion preservation technologies, and microsurgery. Dr. Sama also has a keen interest in disorders of the cervical spine and sports-related injuries.

Dr. Sama is involved in product development and has helped design orthopedic implant devices used in spinal surgery. He engages in research that will benefit patients and has published articles in numerous peer-reviewed medical journals. He has also authored chapters in several medical textbooks.

He is on the editorial board of Current Reviews in Musculoskeletal Medicine and serves as a reviewer for the journals Spine and Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research.

Dr. Sama has received “Patients Choice” and “Compassionate Care” awards, and he is highly rated on web sites in which patients evaluate doctors.

In addition to his Manhattan office at Hospital for Special Surgery, Dr. Sama practices in the Greenwich Office in Old Greenwich, CT, and at the Uniondale Office in Uniondale, NY.

Appointments

Associate Attending Orthopaedic Surgeon, Hospital for Special Surgery
Clinical Instructor in Orthopedic Surgery, Weill Cornell Medical College
Assistant Clinician Investigator, Research Division, Hospital for Special Surgery
Attending Orthopaedic Surgeon and Director of Orthopaedic Spine Surgery, New York Hospital
Assistant Attending Orthopedic Surgeon, The NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital

Specialty

Orthopedic Surgery

Subspecialty

Spine

Special Expertise

Surgical management of all traumatic, degenerative, and deformity-related conditions of the cervical, thoracic, and lumbosacral spine

Awards

Awarded National Orthopaedic Surgery Fellows Foundation Research Grant, 2000-2001, "The Effect of Alendronate on Lumbar Spine Fusion in the Rat Model"
Alpha Omega Alpha Iron Arrow Honor Society, University of Miami
University of Miami Vice-President's Service Award, 1994-95

Specialized Centers

• Spine Care Institute
  

Education

MD, The University of Miami School of Medicine, Miami, Florida

Residency

The University of Miami/Jackson Memorial Hospital Medical Center Orthopaedic Surgery , General Surgery Internship, Miami, Florida

Fellowship

Hospital for Special Surgery/Weill Cornell Medical College, Surgery of Spinal Disorders and Deformities

Certification

American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery

State Licensure

New York  

Andrew A. Sama, MD has contributed to the following articles on HSS.edu:

Selected Publications

Sama AA, Khan SN. (2001) Computerized Frameless, Stereotactic Image-guided Spinal Surgery. Orthopaedic Clinics of North America. Currently at press.

Khan SN, Sama AA, Sandhu HS. Bone Graft Substitutes in Spine Surgery. Current Opinions in Orthopaedics Vol 12, No. 3, June 2001. pp. 216-222.

Stricker SJ, Sama AA. Assessment of Angulation and Torsion of Lower Limbs in Children. International Pediatrics. Vol. 16, No. 3, 2001. pp. 138-143.

Sama AA, Girardi FP, Cammisa FP. Spine Tumors. eMedicine Orthopaedic Text Book. 2001.

Sama AA, Girardi FP, Cammisa FP. Cervical Spine Injuries in Sports. eMedicine Orthopaedic Text Book.

For more publications, please see the PubMed listing.  

Research Description

Current Research includes:

Biologic enhancement of spine fusion
The development of minimally invasive and computer-assisted techniques for spinal surgery

Clinical Trials

• A Randomized Controlled Investigation of Postoperative Pain Following Posterior Iliac Crest Bone Graft Harvesting in Spine Surgery
• Intraoperative Fluid Management During Complex Spine Surgery Using the FloTrac System
• A Pilot Study to Obtain Initial Information on Gene Expression in the Human Intervetebral Disc: The Origin and Fate of the Nucleus Pulposus
• The Effect of Intraoperative Ventilation with Low versus Traditional Tidal Volumes on Markers of Lung Injury during Spinal Surgery.