Dr. Frederik Pennings Joins AccelSPINE Medical Advisory Board

DALLAS, TEXAS (November 21, 2014)… Frederik A. Pennings, MD, PhD, FACS, has joined the AccelSPINE Medical Advisory Board. Dr. Pennings has developed a patent-pending and innovative minimally invasive spine procedure for lumbar back surgery. Under his guidance, the U.S. based medical device company plans to launch new devices to better assist surgeons with minimally invasive spine surgery.

"Dr. Pennings is an expert in complex spine surgery and has particular expertise in the areas of minimally invasive and lumbar spine surgery," said Daniel Chon, president and CEO of AccelSPINE. "We're constantly improving our product line to better serve surgeons and their patients, and Dr. Pennings' insight will be a valuable part of this process."

AccelSPINE develops surgical products relating to three regions in the spine: cervical, which encompasses the neck area; the thoracic region, which refers to the upper and middle back; and the lumbar region, which is the lower back. AccelSPINE also offers some minimally invasive spine systems. The minimally invasive products are designed to utilize smaller incisions and special tools to reduce bleeding and scar tissue and promote quicker, post-operative recovery. Dr. Pennings' expertise will be particularly applicable for AccelSPINE's pedicle screw and the minimally invasive system for lumbar devices.

Currently Dr. Pennings resides in Worcester, Mass., where he is an assistant professor in the department of neurosurgery at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. He also serves as the director of the minimally invasive spine program at UMass Memorial Medical Center. Dr. Pennings completed a combined residency-PhD program at the department of neurological surgery of the Academic Medical Center in Amsterdam, Netherlands. He was fellowship trained in spine surgery at UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento, Calif.

His clinical interest is complex minimally invasive spine surgery, including degenerative spine, trauma and deformity correction. Dr. Pennings is actively involved in research, teaching and the development of spine instrumentation. He also serves in the Society of Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery's continuing professional development program. Among his numerous educational presentations and trainings, Dr. Pennings has been involved in teaching activities and cadaver courses in the field of contemporary techniques in minimally invasive cervical and lumbar spine surgery. He has received several grants for his research in and clinical studies of a number of innovative spinal fusion systems.

Dr. Pennings is a fellow of the American College of Surgeons and a member of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons. He is fluent in Dutch, English, French and German.

AccelSPINE is a nationally recognized medical device company headquartered in Dallas, Texas. The company designs, develops and manufactures spinal implants and instruments that are tailored to fit the unique needs of surgeons and patients. For more information, call 800-713-9489 or visit www.accelspine.com.