My experience with Dr. Rafael Ruggieri has been outstanding. Dr. Ruggieri listens, cares and takes…read moretime for you. He and his staff are professional, informative, personable and responsive. I had my sigmoid colon removed for diverticulitis and had to go in for a breast biopsy 5 months later...With both scary situations, Dr. Ruggieri spent time walking through my conditions and explaining his recommended surgical solutions to my husband and I. He is truly the best! I am thankful for Dr. Ruggieri... I have never felt better!

Was referred to the General Surgery department at Christie Clinic for issues with my gallbladder…read more It was here that I first met with Dr. Ruggieri. My experience, from initial appointment through my follow-up surgery appointment was extremely positive. I found Dr. Ruggieri to be extremely knowledgeable, compassionate, and thorough. He explained what would happen at each step and my surgery and recovery was a breeze. We are lucky to have him in our community!

I have been meaning to write this review of my surgery I did in early April 2024. I remember the…read moreday I got my surgery as if it was yesterday. I am very happy I chose Dr. Zachary NaPier for my surgery. Here's my background as a patient and the history. I am originally from Hawaii and have been an active water polo player throughout the years. I consider myself active and healthy. Over time I would complain of back problems and muscle spasms, but it wouldn't last more than a few days. I was only 34 years old at the time when I suddenly felt extreme shooting pains down my legs that prevented me from walking for several hours. I went to a local hospital to get a steroid injection and was recommended I go see a pain doctor. After x-rays and an MRI, I was diagnosed with nerve damage, and severe spinal spondylosis in my L4-L5 region. I was put on heavy pain medications, various muscle relaxants, nerve thinners and I went through too many Aleve and Tylenol which did not help. I could not walk comfortably for more than 10 minutes. I did not like this lifestyle and found my pain getting more severe to the point where I could not work, and lay bed ridden with pain on the worst days. I needed surgical care. The spinal surgeons in Hawaii wanted to shave my spinal bones from the back to alleviate pain. They told me this is a temporary fix that would destabilize my back, and water polo would be out of the question. They even suggested jogging with caution. I would be due for continuous back injections after the surgery. I reached out to both UCLA Spine Center and DISC's Newport office. Neither could get back to me timely, and said they had issues with contacting my insurance. Then I heard of Indiana Spine Center and spoke with Dr. Zachary NaPier. I've read his bio which included experience at Cedar Sinai, Harvard, and procedure expertise in ALIF, LLIF and PTP LIF procedures. To be honest, I haven't even heard of these procedures at length before meeting him. I spoke to one of Dr. NaPier's assistants named Nikki. She is very warm and helpful. She quickly got me on Dr. NaPier's calendar for a video call. There were times I emailed Nikki after work and she responded to me very quickly from Indiana. After I "beamed" my images to Dr. NaPier he got back to me with a permanent solution utilizing a PTP LIF. There were animations he would show for every step of the surgery, along with examples of patients similar to me with successful results. This was the first time a doctor recommended approaching my situation through the side which would minimize muscle damage and pain. I have a local PPO insurance plan here in Hawaii that is somewhat notorious for taking a while to approve procedures. For example, both my MRI's took over a month each to be approved. I decided to go in to my health insurance office in person and luckily had Dr. NaPier on the phone during this meeting. I was approved within 20 minutes! An amazing first impression. Within a week of being approved, I made it to Indiana and met Dr. NaPier's team for surgery. The assistants, nurses, nutritionists, rehabilitation team, were all 5/5 amazing. I got a little nervous as I have never done surgery in my life, but Dr. NaPier walked me through the process. My operation pictures looked great and I walked the day of surgery. Before writing this review, I wanted to give it proper time to heal. Since surgery I have had amazing sleep and can do activities even better than before. Just last month I hiked up diamond head and now have been playing in water polo tournaments and practices. I followed the rehabilitation program and feel stronger every day. Thank you Dr. NaPier and everyone at Indiana Spine Center for everything you do! (Here is a picture of my x-ray and a picture of a recent water polo tournament. I am pictured holding the trophy on the right)

From the owner: Zachary NaPier, M.D. is a board-certified, fellowship trained orthopedic spine surgeon. He…read morereceived a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Dartmouth College before attending medical school at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. He completed orthopedic surgery residency at Cedars Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, CA, one of the country’s top orthopedic and neurosurgical spine centers. Dr. NaPier underwent advanced spine training at the Harvard Spine Fellowship at Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, MA. Dr. NaPier has extensive training and experience with cutting edge minimally invasive and motion preserving surgical techniques that create less postoperative pain, decreased soft tissue injury and blood loss, and faster recovery times. He is also skilled in complex reconstruction of spinal deformities, degenerative conditions, and failed back syndrome. His practice involves comprehensive clinical and surgical care of adult and adolescent patients. Dr. NaPier has a specific expertise in prone transpsoas lateral interbody fusion (PTP LIF) and has presented and published his techniques in addition to teaching other surgeons. He is also a prolific researcher, having authored or co-authored many clinical and basic science manuscripts, presentations, and textbook chapters in addition to receiving grants from organizations including the Cervical Spine Research Society and Scoliosis Research Society.