Carmen Petraglia, M.D.
Carmen Petraglia, M.D., has come home to Pittsburgh, and that is very good news for the people of the South Hills.
Dr. Petraglia is an exceptionally skilled orthopaedic surgeon who specializes in spine surgery, performing the most advanced procedures to treat cervical and lumbar stenosis, scoliosis, spinal cancer and other disorders and deformities of the spine. He joined South Hills Orthopaedic Surgery Associates on August 1, 2014 and is a member of the Medical Services staff of St. Clair Hospital.
Dr. Petraglia greatly appreciates the challenges and rewards of his specialty, and looks forward to offering his clinical and surgical expertise to help patients suffering with the pain and disability of spine problems. “Performing spinal surgery is satisfying. There is so much innovation in the field, with many different approaches to treatment. Advances such as minimally invasive surgery enable us to do precise procedures through minimal incisions, and make recovery easier for patients. Because of advances in diagnostic technology, we are better able to identify the sources of back pain and to avoid unnecessary surgery.”
The Bloomfield native, who has a graduate degree in biology from Duquesne University in addition to his master’s of science degree, began his professional career at Duquesne, where he piloted the program in stem cell research. In 2003, he decided that he wanted to be a physician and enrolled in medical school at Temple University, graduating in 2007. He then completed an orthopaedic surgery residency at Union Memorial Hospital in Baltimore and a spine surgery fellowship at Shock Trauma Hospital of the University of Maryland, which is the world’s leading trauma center. There, Dr. Petraglia gained experience in treating severe spinal injuries, often the result of motor vehicle accidents.
Most back problems can be treated with non-surgical options, Dr. Petraglia says. “Most of the time, people with back pain do not need surgery. But you should never ignore back pain, especially if it is severe enough to disrupt sleep or is accompanied by weight loss, fatigue or loss of appetite.”
