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Innovative advancements in interventional orthopedics, complex spine, brain, nerve, pain, & sports medicine with a focus on novel regenerative minimally-invasive 3D image-guided interventions and tissue engineering techniques: AlpineSpineOrthopedics.com Interventional Orthopedics, Nerve, Pain, & Complex Spine Disorders: Focusing on Novel Regenerative Approaches using Minimally-Invasive 3D Image-Guided Interventions.

The future of complex upper-cervical spine interventions using minimally-invasive 3D-guided interventions for stem cell ...
06/28/2026

The future of complex upper-cervical spine interventions using minimally-invasive 3D-guided interventions for stem cell patching using scaffolding matrix, hydrogels, and signaling factors placed exactly onto damaged tissues for optimal integration and repair. Our ultra-high-resolution 3D imaging enables the best visualization and confirmation with submillimeter resolution with far more detail and accuracy than any 2D imaging.

This patient had multiple MVAs with underlying connective tissue disorder and congenitally small airway requiring fiberoptic intubation to minimize neck traction. The images show exact patching of alar and transverse ligaments using our unique quad approach, and this level of visualization and accuracy have never been achieved before. 

Dr. McMurtrey trained with some of the greatest names in neurosurgery treating complex spinal traumas and deformities including complex upper cervical fusions, and now he combines that knowledge and expertise to these more minimally-invasive cutting-edge advancements. He is also the only doctor with both surgical training and stem cell research background doing these types of procedures for such complex procedures of spine, ligaments, nerves, discs, joints, cartilage, etc. He led innovative 3D stem cell tissue engineering research at the University of Oxford and continues more advanced research to this day.

Sadly many doctors are still unaware of the critical functions of scaffolding matrix, without which stem cells generally undergo a process of programmed cell death and disintegration called anoikis. The sticky scaffolding matrix adheres the cells directly to the injuries and enables them to integrate and thrive, giving them a structure to build upon, plus it has a hydrolocking effect similar to how we use it in intra-discal injections. No other clinic in the world is capable of such advanced tissue engineering technologies using stem cell patches with 3D image-guidance.  

Copyright © 2026 
Richard J. McMurtrey MD, MSc 
Alpine Spine & Orthopedics Institute 
All Rights Reserved





We are leading further breakthroughs in stem cell scaffolding matrix design and architecture. Our enhanced scaffolding t...
06/21/2026

We are leading further breakthroughs in stem cell scaffolding matrix design and architecture. Our enhanced scaffolding techniques now enable incredible results with larger gap patching and better promotion of ossification in fractures, producing many more successful cases of provable large fracture gap bridging. These images from a collegiate football player clearly show preop fracture gaps of 5-6mm, then successful post-op stem cell patching repair with bridging and ossification. He followed post-op instructions religiously and achieved outstanding bilateral pars fracture repair, as also verified by a surprised unbiased radiologist. He is now training for fall football pain free.

No success rate applies broadly to everyone, you must analyze all the details of each case, including gap size, chronicity, segmental instability, bone quality, morphology, adjacent tissue injuries, anatomical variances, and many other variables, and even then you cannot fully predict outcomes. We simply offer an intermediate solution that has achieved incredible successes saving many people from much bigger surgeries and enabling them to get back to activities they love. However, sadly there are also cases of failed repair, so if you cannot accept the potential risk of repair failure (especially with large gaps, worse bone quality, more instability, older fractures, etc) or cannot comprehend that biologic grafting of spine fractures may not always be enough to repair everything in every case, then these procedures are not for you. Even spinal hardware frequently fails for many reasons, but this approach is the least invasive, least painful, least risky approach to spine fracture repair using grafted stem cell scaffolding matrix patches with the incredible accuracy of robotic 3D image-guidance to patch, bridge, reinforce, and rebuild tissue architecture, demonstrating extensive proof of success in a vast number of cases. Creating these groundbreaking innovative tissue engineering approaches to injuries is the future of minimally-invasive surgical repair.

Copyright ©️ 2026 ASOI





Fascinating craniocervical case of an Odontoid Fracture (Type I) due to a wrestling injury resulting in severe craniocer...
03/29/2026

Fascinating craniocervical case of an Odontoid Fracture (Type I) due to a wrestling injury resulting in severe craniocervical instability and alar ligament dysfunction. We were able to stabilize the alar ligaments and patch directly into the fracture using 3D image-guidance. The images show exact placement of the needle tip into the fracture margins, and this level of visualization and  accuracy could never be achieved with other forms of imaging like X-ray/Fluoroscopy, and we also found it to be a complex fracture with both vertical and horizontal components. Furthermore, we use a sticky fibrin protein scaffolding matrix to adhere the stem cells on the ligaments, fill the fracture with the stem cell matrix graft, and patch the damaged cartilage in the atlanto-dental interval, which is like patching with mortar while the cells act as the construction workers who remodel and rebuild over time. The scaffolding matrix adheres the cells directly to the injuries and enables them to integrate and thrive while rebuilding these structures. We can also place a variety of optional peptide signaling molecules to further promote tissue repair. No other place on the planet is using such cutting-edge technologies of tissue-engineered stem cell patches with 3D image-guidance. 

Copyright © 2026
Richard J. McMurtrey MD, MSc 
Alpine Spine & Orthopedics Institute 
All Rights Reserved 



 

Incredible case of a woman with 6 months of hip pain found to have severe erosive arthritis with "pothole" formation int...
03/29/2026

Incredible case of a woman with 6 months of hip pain found to have severe erosive arthritis with "pothole" formation into the weight-bearing cartilage, formation of a large subchondral intraosseous cyst into the acetabular ilium, and a non-displaced stress fracture of the femoral neck. She was planning to travel anywhere in the world for treatment, and she pushed through the pain seeking solutions from several surgeons before she found us, but was shocked to find we were just a few miles away! 

Because cartilage has no nerves in it, you often do not realize how quickly it is eroding. Due to a combination of low bone density and arthritis, she had rapidly formed an extremely large worm-like subchondral cyst that extended up into the weight-bearing portion of the pelvic bone as well as a stress fracture. Note how the cyst actually was starting to erode up into the pelvic inlet as well.

Dr. McMurtrey used 3D image-guidance to perfectly patch all these targets with a sticky fibrin protein scaffolding matrix to adhere the stem cells onto the cartilage (like re-paving a pothole in the road with asphalt) and into the stress fracture and subchondral intraosseous cyst (like patching a foundation with mortar). The high-resolution intra-operative 3D imaging enables perfect filling of the defects with the stem cell matrix graft, which adheres the stem cells directly to the injuries and enables them to integrate and thrive while rebuilding these structures. We can also place a variety of optional peptide signaling molecules to further promote repair, and we discussed several bone density treatments. She also had severe destabilization of the SI joints which were also patched. No other place on the planet is using such cutting-edge technologies of tissue-engineered stem cell patches with 3D image-guidance. 

Copyright © 2026
Richard J. McMurtrey MD, MSc 
Alpine Spine & Orthopedics Institute 
All Rights Reserved 





Incredible to see another successful athlete fully return to sports with no pain and good repair after our stem cell mat...
02/22/2026

Incredible to see another successful athlete fully return to sports with no pain and good repair after our stem cell matrix patching procedures on her pars fractures! This was a uniquely interesting and complex case due to multiple prior failed back surgeries with loosening pars screws and additional fractures below the failed hardware. A local ABC News channel did this story on her spectacular return and recovery despite being told more surgery was her only option. This would not have been possible without our precision 3D image-guidance to patch around the screws and in the fractures with novel stem cell scaffolding matrix advancements, and we are grateful for the privilege to help her healing and recovery to return to the sports she loves! 🙏
She and her parents discuss more details of her journey through her injuries and recovery in the news article here: https://www.inforum.com/sports/prep/horace-senior-back-on-the-court-for-one-last-run





Interesting case of a 41yr senior software engineer who came to us for focal right-sided back pain, but his MRI only men...
02/21/2026

Interesting case of a 41yr senior software engineer who came to us for focal right-sided back pain, but his MRI only mentioned disc bulges that didn't match his pain. We found stress reactions in the pedicle and confirmed complete unilateral pars fracture on the right, as well as a variant of Bertolotti's with LSTV (blue arrows), and significant right L3-4 facet arthritis which we found was due to an L4 SAP fracture (purple arrows). The patient was shocked how these complex issues could be entirely missed and misunderstood at the big "academic" hospital systems yet so quickly elucidated at our clinic. Our novel stem cell scaffolding matrix patching procedure on the pars fracture and facet has now healed incredibly well with clear connective tissue bridging and medullary callus ossification in the pars (green arrow), which required using a trocar to puncture small holes through the fracture margins, and even though the new bone is not as dense, it will continue to solidify over time. We also patched the facet joint, and told him the fragment would likely not re-unionize because it was small and already had some reabsorption, but we could help the more important aspect of restoring capsular integrity and cartilage of the facet joint to be able to properly move and bear weight. As predicted, the small facet fragment has not fused, but his pain and activity have improved dramatically ("night to day difference") and he was extremely grateful he found us. Nevertheless, there is not any surgery on earth that can fix everything in every case or that fully resolves everyone's pain (data show that nearly half of spinal hardware fusions eventually results in worse back pain, failed back surgery syndrome, inevitable adjacent segment disease, etc), so naturally not all of these regenerative approaches with stem cell scaffolding matrix will result in complete repair. But we give every effort we can to repair these complex injuries with our 3D-guided minimally-invasive tissue engineering procedures, which have enabled numerous patients to heal, repair, return to function, and avoid surgical hardware from a wide variety of injuries.

ASOI © 2026


02/17/2026

Another case of clavicle fracture from a traumatic fall which also resulted in craniocervical ligament injuries that were missed, similar to the prior case we posted. This patient took a hard hit in D1 Lacrosse that resulted in a clavicle fracture that was left to heal on its own. Persistent neck pain, headaches, chest pain, and shoulder pain led her to seek further treatment, but doctors repeatedly dismissed her telling her that nothing else was wrong and her pain was all in her head. We recommended further imaging including an upper cervical MRI which revealed significant ligament and joint injuries that correlated with her symptoms. We also discovered that not only had she fractured her clavicle but also had a significant manubriosternal joint subluxation and large AC joint shoulder separation. We also found that she had congenital posterior arch dysplasia (type A unfused hemiarches resulting in a posterior median cleft, making her more susceptible to injury). We perfectly targeted all these injuries with 3D image-guided stem cell patching with sticky protein/peptide matrix scaffolding, which involved our unique "double quad" approach (both anteriorly and posteriorly) to target the damaged ligaments and joints.

Copyright © 2026
Richard J. McMurtrey MD, MSc
Alpine Spine & Orthopedics Institute
All Rights Reserved





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920 E 800 N Suite 202
Orem, UT
84097

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