The Brain & Spine Institute at Gwinnett Medical Center (GMC) recently opened in the 575 medical office building in order to support the needs of both physicians and patients for neurosurgery in Gwinnett.

Before coming to the metro Atlanta area in 2003, Dr. Amaral was an instructor of neurosurgery in the upper Midwest. Dr. Amaral has particular expertise in sacroiliac dysfunction and other spinal disorders. He has operated on patients from around the world for the issue. Although he is a board certified physician, he finds time outside the practice of medicine to focus on his passion for physics and write books on the subject.

Dr. Stechison has been a member of the medical staff for the last three years. Since 1989, he has been both an educator and a practitioner of neurosurgery serving on the faculty of Ohio State University in several faculty and research capacities. He founded the neurosurgery clinical electrophysiology service at Ohio State to enhance the safety of brain and spine procedures for both neurosurgeons and orthopedic surgeons.

Dr. Stechison specializes in brain tumor surgery, trigeminal neuralgia, hemi facial spasm as well as cranial nerve disorders. He performs cervical, thoracic and lumbar spinal surgeries ranging from minimally invasive microsurgical disectomy to complex instrumented spinal fusions.

While he has done extensive research and is widely published, Dr. Stechison has also been the first physician to pioneer many procedures. Among them, he was the first physician in Atlanta to use OptiMesh, a minimally invasive system that uses polyethylene mesh and bone graft to treat vertebral compression fractures. Dr. Stechison is a marathon runner as well as a semi-professional musician.

The Brain & Spine Institute at Gwinnett Medical Center opened this summer in suite 350 of the 575 professional building. The practice physicians are Michael A. Amaral MD FACS, and Michael Stechison, MD FACS. For more information, call 678-312-2700.

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About Gwinnett Medical Center — Gwinnett Medical Center is a not-for-profit healthcare network providing high quality facilities and services to Gwinnett and the surrounding community. With over 4,300 employees and 800 physicians, the GMC provided care in 2007 to over 400,000 patients. In 2007, Gwinnett Medical Center launched Project PATH — to plan, advance and transform healthcare in Gwinnett County. To learn more, visit www.gwinnettmedicalcenter.org.