Radiculopathy near Woodside, NY

Biography: Dr. Shakil Ahmed is a board-certified pain physician with over two decades of experience at Weill Cornell Medicine. After completing six years of surgical training in the United Kingdom and earning his Fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons (FRCS), Dr. Ahmed pursued residency training in anesthesiology at Columbia University, followed by a quad-institutional Pain Fellowship program at New York-Presbyterian, Hospital for Special Surgery, Memorial Sloan Cancer Center and Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center.Since joining the Anesthesiology department in 2001, Dr. Ahmed has been dedicated to advancing pain management through clinical care, teaching, and research. He currently serves as an Assistant Professor of Clinical Anesthesiology and has held significant roles such as Interim Director and Associate Director of the Tri-Institute Pain Medicine Fellowship Program.Dr. Ahmed's expertise spans chronic pain management, including chronic back pain, acute pain, neuropathic pain, post-herpetic neuralgia, phantom limb pain, pelvic pain, post-laminectomy pain syndrome, and chronic pain from degenerative joint diseases. He is adept at performing diagnostic and therapeutic spinal injections, discography, percutaneous discectomy, implantation of spinal cord stimulators and intrathecal pumps, and pulsed and thermal radiofrequency neurolysis. Integral to his practice is the pursuit of cutting-edge pain techniques including spinal cord stimulation, radiofrequency neurolysis, intrathecal pain therapies, percutaneous disc decompression, and non-invasive laser therapy. Additionally, he has a special interest in developing a comprehensive cancer pain program in collaboration with his oncology colleagues.Dr. Ahmed is actively involved in medical research and is the principal investigator in research collaboration for the advancement of state-of-the-art pain technologies. He has co-authored several publications on cancer pain and regional anesthesia techniques and is actively involved in the fellowship training program, resident training, grand rounds, and case conferences. His contributions to medical education and patient care have been recognized with numerous awards, including the Best Medical Student Teacher Award at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital. Dr. Ahmed's expertise has also been internationally recognized, as he has been invited by The American-Austrian Foundation as a visiting professor to teach pain medicine to physicians from eastern European countries.With a strong commitment to mentorship and interdisciplinary collaboration, Dr. Ahmed continues to lead and innovate in the field of pain medicine.

Biography: Dr. Vandana Sood is an Assistant Professor of Clinical Rehabilitation Medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College. She is dual board certified in Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation and Sports Medicine.Dr. Sood received her undergraduate degree from the University of Pennsylvania, and earned a medical degree from New York Medical College. She completed her residency in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PM&R) at the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, and went on to complete fellowship training in Interventional Spine and Sports Medicine at the Hospital for Special Surgery in Manhattan. She has experience caring for both recreational and professional athletes, and has been a team physician for high school, collegiate and professional sports teams. She has a particular interest in running related injuries and injuries affecting female athletes.Dr. Sood's clinical practice focuses on the non-operative treatment of musculoskeletal conditions, spine disorders and acute sports injuries. Her goal is to work with patients to restore function, reduce pain, and prevent future injury. By providing personalized education and a comprehensive treatment plan including detailed physical therapy and/or an exercise plan, she promotes anactive and healthy lifestyle. She is skilled in image-guided injection techniques using both fluoroscopy and ultrasound to precisely target the spine, peripheral joints, or soft tissue (tendon, bursa, nerve, muscle). This includes specialized treatments such as hyaluronic acid or PRP injections, or nerve ablations to complement the treatment plan when appropriate.