Portland, Ore.

Oregon Health & Science University has been named to Good Housekeeping magazine's list of the "35 Top Pain Centers." Specifically, the university's Surgical Pain Management program, part of the Department of Neurological Surgery, is being honored. In addition, program director and OHSU neurosurgery chairman Kim Burchiel, M.D., in the School of Medicine, has been named a "Top Doc" by the magazine. The magazine's list accompanies an article on pain management. The list and article are featured in the May 2003 issue of Good Housekeeping, currently on newsstands.

The OHSU Surgical Pain Management program offers surgical treatments for patients suffering from chronic pain. Techniques include the use of implanted medical devices to treat pain through electric stimulation or delivery of a drug to the spinal cord.

"These kinds of surgical treatments were developed for patients with chronic pain who cannot adequately be helped with conventional therapies," explained Burchiel. "The devices work through interfering with pain signals before they reach the brain. These therapies can offer good to excellent pain relief and can improve a person's ability to go about their daily lives."

The list was based on data collected by a physician-led research team and in conjunction with "America's Top Doctors." According to publishers, the national guide uses an extensive survey process to identify the country's top physicians (approximately 1 percent of the country's doctors) at 570 hospitals across the United States.

###