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Gabor Bela Racz
Gabor Racz in 2010
Born	1937 (age 86–87) Budapest, Hungary
Education	Semmelweis University Medical School University of Liverpool, M.B., Ch.B
Spouse	Enid Racz
Children	4
Medical career
Profession	Professor anesthesiologist pain management physician
Field	Anesthesiology pain management pharmacology emergency & critical care
Institutions	Messer-Racz International Pain Center
Sub-specialties	Interventional pain management CRPS RSDS
Research	Chronic complex pain, including cancer pain

Gabor Bela Racz (born 1937) is a board certified anesthesiologist and professor at Texas Tech University Health Science Center (TTUHSC) in Lubbock, Texas, where he is also Chairman Emeritus of the Department of Anesthesiology and Co-Director of Pain Services. He has pioneered procedures and designs in medical equipment and devices that have substantially advanced the treatment of patients suffering from chronic back pain, as well as complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) and reflex sympathetic dystrophy syndrome (RSDS). He designed the Racz Catheter, and pioneered what became known as the Racz procedure which has been recognized internationally as a substantial advancement in lysis of adhesions, a procedure used to reduce pain and inflammation involving passage of a catheter endoscopically or percutaneously under fluoroscopic guidance into the epidural space of the spine to break up adhesions from around entrapped nerves. Racz is a Fellow of Interventional Pain Practice (FIPP) and a founding member and past president of World Institute of Pain (WIP).

College and early medical training

Gábor Béla Rácz was born in Budapest, Hungary. He attended Semmelweis University Medical School in 1956 at the time of the Hungarian Revolution against Soviet occupation. In November 1956, a young Racz and his wife, Enid, fled Budapest with his sister and her husband at a time when hundreds of thousands of Hungarian refugees fled the country in fear of Soviet reprisal, taking nothing but the clothes on their backs. Racz fled to London, England, and in 1957 was able to attend second-year medical school with help from Betty and Ian McWhinney, M.D. In 1962, Racz graduated from the University of Liverpool School of Medicine, having earned his Bachelor of Medicine (M.B.) and Bachelor of Surgery (Ch.B) degrees, and served as house surgeon and physician at the Royal Southern Hospital in Liverpool. In 1963, he moved to the United States for an anesthesiology residency at State University of New York Upstate Medical University in Syracuse, New York, where he worked in numerous positions, including associate attending anesthesiologist and respiratory consultant in the neurological head injury unit. He also served as a consultant for the Veterans Administration Hospital, and the UHS Chenango Memorial Hospital in Norwich, New York.

Tenure at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center

In 1977, Racz was recruited to Texas Tech University to start an anesthesiology department and training program. He became the first Chairman of Anesthesiology at the then-new Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center (TTUHSC), and held that position until March 1, 1999. His attention focused on the treatment of patients, and as director of pain services, on the expansion of operations and future development of an international pain center. He also served as Director of Pain Services from 1977 to 2006. His title was changed to Co-Director when Mark Boswell joined the department as Interim Department Chairman and Director of the new Messer-Racz Pain Center.

Racz received the first Grover E. Murray Professorship in 1996 from TTUHSC. Racz's innovative work with nerve stimulators, spinal cord stimulators, radiofrequency thermocoagulation, and a wide range of other pain management procedures are being used in interventional pain practices throughout the world. He was among the first to use fluoroscopy, and also pioneered new designs in medical equipment and devices. Racz received a $1 million endowed chair from the University Medical Center.

Developments in the lysis of adhesions technique by Racz and his colleagues resulted in the treatment of many patients suffering from failed back and neck surgery and spinal stenosis without the need for additional surgery. It has also resulted in new Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) codes and multiple insurance approvals affecting interventional pain management treatments in clinics across the country.

In October 2012, Racz received a lifetime achievement award from the New York/New Jersey Societies of Interventional Pain Physicans and the Stella Traweek, MD/Gabor Racz, MD, Endowed Professorship in Pain Research by the TTUHSC School of Medicine.. According to the World Institute of Pain Newsletter, Racz's contributions in the field of interventional pain medicine over four decades are unparalleled.

Racz Catheter procedure

In 1982, Racz pioneered what became known as the Racz Catheter procedure for lysis of adhesions from around entrapped nerves in the epidural space of the spine, or epidural adhesiolysis. Candidates for this procedure are usually patients who have developed scar tissue after a previous back surgery, or are suffering severe acute pain of protruding or herniated disks, or other severe degeneration process affecting the lower back. Scar tissue pressing upon spinal nerves can cause radiating pain through the legs as well as debilitating lower back pain. For many patients with protruding or herniated disks, the Racz procedure has eliminated the need for major surgical procedures, and has a reported 85% success rate worldwide.

Racz designed and patented the Racz Catheter, a flexible, spring-wound catheter with a small fluoroscopic probe. The procedure is minimally invasive, and performed while the patient is under general anesthetic or conscious sedation. During the procedure, the Racz Catheter is introduced into the epidural space of the spine, either endoscopically or percutaneously, and is manipulated in a such a way as to mechanically break down some of the scar tissue around entrapped nerves so medications can reach the affected areas, and reduce inflammation and pain.

Complex regional pain syndrome

Racz is internationally recognized for procedural advancements in the treatment of complex regional pain syndromes (CRPS), a long-term disorder of the nervous system which is a challenging pain problem often misunderstood, and misdiagnosed. Chronic neurological syndrome is one form of CRPS which Racz has treated using a specific nerve block procedure he developed called a "long-lasting stellate ganglion block" (STGB). The procedure involves injecting a 3% phenol solution into the 7th cervical (C7) vertebra in the neck region using fluoroscopic guidance. A 2010 clinical investigation concluded "STGB using local anesthetic with an adjuvant ketamine is a safe and effective techinique" as it maintains circulation while enhancing the relief of pain and ischaemia in patients with peripheral vascular disease (PVD). During an interview, Racz said "It is not a procedure that should be attempted by anybody who is not trained in the specific technique".

Recognitions and certifications

His techniques in spinal cord and peripheral nerve stimulation, radio frequency thermocoagulation, neurolysis and other interventional procedures used in pain management have been described in numerous books and published journal articles.

References

1. ^ "Open Science Open Minds". InTech Open Access Publisher. Retrieved March 31, 2014.
2. ^ "Memories of escape from Hungary still burn bright". Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. November 5, 2006. Retrieved April 12, 2014.
3. "Soviets Put Brutal End To Hungarian Revolution". This Day In History - November 4th. The History Channel. 2014. Retrieved November 30, 2014.
4. "The Hungarian Uprising of 1956". HistoryLearningSite.co.uk. 2014. Retrieved November 30, 2014.
5. Racz, Gabor B. (1989). Techniques of Neurolysis. Vol. Current Management of Pain, Vol. 4. Springer U.S. p. Acknowledgement. ISBN 978-1-4899-6723-7.
6. ^ "Gabor B. Racz, MD, ABIPP, FIPP, Grover Murray Professor" (PDF). Kenes. Retrieved April 1, 2014.
7. "Author Details for Complex Regional Pain Syndrome". Intech. Retrieved April 1, 2014.
8. Paula Brashear (March 31, 2008). "CURRICULUM VITAE Gabor B. Racz, M.D. Ch.B. DABPM, FIPP". TTUHSC International Pain Institute. Retrieved April 1, 2014.
9. Interventional Pain Management: Image-Guided Procedures. Saunders. 2008. ISBN 978-1-4160-3844-3. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |authors= ignored (help)
10. "Intractable Pain Therapy Using a New Epidural Catheter". Journal of the American Medical Association. August 6, 1982. Retrieved April 5, 2014.
11. "Development-New Facility to Expand Research and Treatment for Pain". Texas Tech Today. p. Vol 1, pg 4. Retrieved April 5, 2014.
12. "Spine: Spinal Catheter Technique Minimal Invasive Epidural Catheter Technique - the Racz Method". Retrieved April 5, 2014.
13. "Racz Procedure". APM Spine and Sports. Retrieved April 1, 2014.
14. Ranee M. Albazaz, Yew Toh Wong, Shervanthi Homer-Vanniasinkam (2008). "Complex Regional Pain Syndrome: A Review". Annals of Vascular Surgery. 22 (2): 297–306. doi:10.1016/j.avsg.2007.10.006. PMID 18346583. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
15. Kalpana R. Kulkarni, Anita I. Kadam, Ismile J. Namazi (2010). "Efficacy of Stellate Ganglion Block with an Adjuvant Ketamine for Peripheral Vascular Disease of the Upper Limbs" (PDF). Indian Journal of Anesthesia. 54 (6): 546–551. doi:10.4103/0019-5049.72645. PMID 21224973. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: unflagged free DOI (link)
16. John Davis (November 10, 2005). "Procedure uses phenol, Botox to help restore normalcy to patients - Putting a stop to pain". Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. Retrieved April 5, 2014.
17. Hord, Allen H. and Wang, Linda H. (2002). Practical Pain Management. Lippencott, Williams, & Wilkins. pp. 513–514. ISBN 9780781731607.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
18. "Gabor B. Racz, MD, FIPP, DABIPP". World Institute of Pain. Retrieved April 4, 2014.

Books

• Racz G., 1985: Capnography In The Operating Room: An Introductory Directory. by May, Wr., J. E. Heavner, D. Mcwhorter And G. Racz. Vi 58p. Raven Press Books, Ltd: New York, N.Y., Usa. Illus. Paper. Vi 58p
• Racz, Gabor B. 1989 Techniques of Neurolysis Gabor Racz (Ed.), ISBN 978-1-4899-6723-7 (Print) 978-1-4899-6721-3 (Online), Current Management of Pain, Vol. 4, Springer U.S.
• Racz, Gabor B., (Ed.), (2012) Epidural Lysis of Adhesions and Percutaneous Neuroplasty, Pain Management - Current Issues and Opinions, by Gabor B. Racz, Miles R. Day, James E. Heavner, Jeffrey P. Smith, Jared Scott, Carl E. Noe, Laslo Nagy and Hana Ilner. ISBN 978-953-307-813-7, InTech, DOI: 10.5772/39173.
• Book Chapter, Complex Regional Pain Syndrome, by Gabor B. Racz and Carl E. Noe in the book "Pain Management - Current Issues and Opinions" edited by Gabor B. Racz and Carl E. Noe, ISBN 978-953-307-813-7, InTech, January 1, 2012
• Book Chapter, Epidurography, by Jeffrey P. Meyer, MD, Miles R. Day, MD, and Gabor B. Racz, MD in the two volume book, Pain Management by Steven Waldman ISBN 978-0-7216-0334-6
• Book Chapter. Percutaneous Epidural Neuroplasty, by Danilo Jankovic and William Harrop-Griffiths MA, MB, BS, FRCA, Consultant Anaesthetist James E. Heavner, Gabor B. Racz, Miles Day and Rinoo Shah, Published Online: 30 JAN 2008, DOI: 10.1002/9780470760291.ch49, 2004 ABW Wissenschaftsverlag GmbH, Berlin

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• Living people
• American people of Hungarian descent
• Hungarian refugees
• Hungarian physicians
• American anesthesiologists
• American physicians
• American medical researchers
• Hungarian medical researchers
• People from Budapest
• 1937 births