May 20 2025. Seattle, WA. Dr. NaPier represented Indiana Spine Group as faculty at the Seattle Science Foundation's 11th Annual Advanced Lateral Approaches to the Spine Course . Seattle Science Foundation is the world’s premier surgical educational platform and this meeting features the world’s top lateral surgeons including Luiz Pimenta, William Taylor, Juan Uribe, Neel Anand, Rod J. Oskouian, Jens Chapman, Martin Pham, and Nima Alan.

Dr. NaPier gave a talk combining two of his favorite topics, Sagittal Plane Optimization with Prone Transpsoas Lateral Interbody Fusion (PTP LIF) (LINK IN COMMENTS). He also did a cadaveric demonstration of surgical technique for using expandable lateral cages to treat spondylolisthesis and restore lordosis.

June 28 2025. Seattle, WA. Dr. NaPier was recently invited to the Seattle Science Foundation’s 11th Annual Advanced Lateral Approaches to the Spine Course. Seattle Science Foundation is the world’s premier surgical educational platform and this course featured faculty members including Dr. NaPier, Luiz Pimenta, William Taylor, Juan Uribe, Neel Anand Rod J. Oskouian, Jens Chapman, Martin Pham, and Nima Alan. At the course, he performed a cadaveric demonstration of lateral interbody fusion using expandable cage technnology to treat spondylolisthesis, a common cause of lower back and leg pain. Click here to view the demonstration.

Dr. NaPier was named to the North American Spine Society (NASS) 7th Annual 20 Under 40 Class. SpineLine's 20 Under 40 program began in 2018 to honor outstanding young spine care professionals under the age of 40 who demonstrate remarkable achievements, community service, and dedication to advancing spine care. This initiative celebrates the future leaders of spine care, recognizing their contributions and potential. Previous honorees have gone on to serve in leadership roles for NASS committees, spine-related journals, and the NASS board of directors.

Anterior Cervical Discectomy and Fusion (ACDF) is a classic and very reliable surgery that treats pinched nerves (cervical radiculopathy) or a compressed spinal cord (cervical myelopathy). This surgery is a gold standard operation and was first described by Smith and Robinson in 1958. This is the original minimally invasive spine surgery as the surgery is performed in the plane BETWEEN structures in the neck and involves minimal muscle dissection.

Prone Transpsoas Lateral Interbody Fusion (PTP LIF) is a minimally invasive spinal fusion technique. Minimally Invasive Surgical (MIS) techniques result in faster recover and less blood loss and postoperative pain compared to traditional techniques.

Minimally Invasive Posterior Cervical Fusion (MIS PCF) is a way of stabilizing vertebrae in the neck through small 1cm incisions. Traditional open posterior cervical fusion is achieved through a midline incision and requires dissection and detachment of cervical paraspinal muscles from their attachments to the bones of the cervical spine. The bones are stabilized with screws and rods until a bridge of bone or fusion can form between the bones. Open posterior cervical fusion with lateral mass screws and rods has been around since the early 1980s and is a very effective technique to achieve fusion. The major drawback is that the dissection required to place these screws causes significant postoperative pain and makes for a longer recovery.