Physician Bios

Amit Sharma, MD

Board-certified in Interventional Pain Medicine
Interventional Spine Care Specialist
Director of Interventional Pain Management at SpineCare Long Island

Dr. Amit Sharma is a board certified physician who specializes in interventional pain management. Dr. Sharma is the Director of the Pain Program at Good Samaritan Hospital Medical Center, and also serves as its Chairman of the Division of Pain Medicine for the Department of Anesthesiology.

Recognized by his peers for his skills and commitment, Dr. Sharma has been selected by Castle Connolly as one of the Top Doctors in the US for Pain Medicine for the last several years. He was also recognized recently by New York Magazine and Newsday as a Best Doctor in his field.  He has also consistently received the “Patients Choice Awards” and “Compassionate Doctor Award” for many years.  He is a lifetime member of American Society of Interventional Pain Physicians and a member of numerous national and international pain societies.

Dr. Sharma did his residency in anesthesiology at The College of Physicians & Surgeons of Columbia University in New York City. On completion, he was rewarded as the best resident of the year.  He then obtained fellowship training in interventional pain medicine at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. He was honored with Pfizer best fellow of the year by Johns Hopkins. Dr. Sharma served as an Assistant Professor at Columbia University prior to going in private practice.

Having performed over 18,000 interventional procedures over the past few years, Dr. Sharma specializes in the diagnosis and management of back and neck problems, along with neuropathic and cancer pain.  He also has special interest in ischemic pain and peripheral vascular disease related issues.  He has an expertise in neuromodulation (spinal cord stimulation), intrathecal drug delivery systems, minimally invasive spine procedures (Kyphoplasty, Intradiscal Electrothermy, Nucleoplasty, MILD) and radiofrequency ablative procedures.  Along with the other physicians at SpineCare Long Island, he is a strong proponent of non-operative options such as physical therapy and acupuncture.

Dr. Sharma is well published in peer-reviewed journals and has authored numerous textbook chapters.  He has been invited as a guest speaker at several national pain meetings.  He has also done research in the field of Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS or RSD).  His team at Johns Hopkins was provided a financial grant to conduct the largest study on CRPS patients which was published in a renowned journal.  Having served as a teaching faculty, training residents and fellow doctors, Dr. Sharma carries the passion of education with him.  He believes in educating patients and spends time explaining every aspect of their treatment plan with them.

Publications (In Peer Review Literature)

• Sharma A, Agarwal S, Broatch JW, Raja SN. A Web Based Epidemiological Survey of Complex Regional Pain Syndrome. Reg Anesth Pain Med. 2009 Mar-Apr;34(2):110-5.
• Sharma A, Williams K, Raja SN. Advances in treatment of complex regional pain syndrome: recent insights on a perplexing disease. Curr Opin Anaesthesiol. 2006 Oct;19(5):566-572.
• Sharma A, Pagel PS, Bhatia A. Intraoperative iatrogenic acute pericardial tamponade: use of rescue transesophageal echocardiography in a patient undergoing orthotopic liver transplantation. J Cardiothorac Vasc Anesth. 2005 Jun;19(3):364-6.
• Jooste EH, Sharma A, Zhang Y, Emala CW. Rapacuronium Augments Acetylcholine-induced Bronchoconstriction via Positive Allosteric Interactions at the M3 Muscarinic Receptor. Anesthesiology. 2005 Dec;103(6):1195-1203.
• Christo PJ, Hobelman JG, Sharma A. Aging and the Neurobiology of Addiction. J Geriatrics & Aging, 2005 Nov/Dec;8(10):48-52.

Editorial Experience

• Section Editor (Acute and Chronic Pain): Marcucci: Avoiding Common Anesthesia Errors, Catherine Marcucci, Norman A. Cohen, David G. Metro, Jeffery R. Kirsch (Eds), Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2008.
• Referee, Cochrane Pain, Palliative & Supportive Care (PaPaS) Review Group (2007 – Present).

Textbook Chapters

• Sharma A, Raja SN. Assessment and Management of Chronic Pain and Palliative Care. In: Geriatric Anesthesia, Fredirick E. Sieber (Ed.). The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 2007. PP 319-336.
• Sharma A. The basal infusion mode in patient controlled analgesia is both friend and foe, In: Marcucci: Avoiding Common Anesthesia Errors, Catherine Marcucci, Norman A. Cohen, David G. Metro, Jeffery R. Kirsch (Eds), Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2008. PP 725-30.
• Sharma A. Rule out facet arthropathy before initiating expensive and invasive maneuvers for back and spine pain, In: Marcucci: Avoiding Common Anesthesia Errors, Catherine Marcucci, Norman A. Cohen, David G. Metro, Jeffery R. Kirsch (Eds), Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2008. PP 741-47.
• Sharma A. Do not guess at the equivalent dose when determining an opioid conversion, In: Marcucci: Avoiding Common Anesthesia Errors, Catherine Marcucci, Norman A. Cohen, David G. Metro, Jeffery R. Kirsch (Eds), Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2008. PP 712-19.
• Sharma A. Management of perioperative pain in opioid dependent patient – Out of the frying pan, into the fire, In: Marcucci: Avoiding Common Anesthesia Errors, Catherine Marcucci, Norman A. Cohen, David G. Metro, Jeffery R. Kirsch (Eds), Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2008. PP 732-35.
• Sharma A., Kathuria SS. Anesthesia for eye surgery – The innate culture of “1-N-1”, In: Marcucci: Avoiding Common Anesthesia Errors, Catherine Marcucci, Norman A. Cohen, David G. Metro, Jeffery R. Kirsch (Eds), Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2008. PP 339-343.
• Sharma A. Consider the paramedian approach for the thoracic epidural placement, especially at the mid-thoracic level, In: Marcucci: Avoiding Common Anesthesia Errors, Catherine Marcucci, Norman A. Cohen, David G. Metro, Jeffery R. Kirsch (Eds), Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2008. PP 441-46.
• Sharma A. Consider discussing use of ketorolac (toradol) in perioperative setting with your surgical team before the need arises, In: Marcucci: Avoiding Common Anesthesia Errors, Catherine Marcucci, Norman A. Cohen, David G. Metro, Jeffery R. Kirsch (Eds), Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2008. PP 720-24.
• Sharma A., Campbell JN, Raja SN. Sympathetic Blocks for Pain, In: The Senses: A Comprehensive Reference, Volume 5, Allan I. Basbaum, Peter Dallos, Gary K. Beauchamp, Jon H. Kaas, M. Catherine Bushnell (Eds), Elsevier Company, 2007.
• Sharma A., Raja SN. Chronic Pain and the Sympathetic Nervous System: Mechanisms and potential implications for pain therapies, In: Translational Pain Research. Volume 2: Comparing Preclinical Studies and Clinical Pain Management. Lost in Translation?, Jianren Mao (Ed), Nova Science Publishers, Inc., 2006. PP 169-188.

Book Review(s)

• Sharma A., Raja SN.  CRPS: Current Diagnosis and Therapy. Wilson PR, Stanton-Hicks M, Harden RN (Eds) Progress in Pain Management Research, Vol 32.  IASP Press, 2005; Book Review. Clin J Pain. 2006 Feb;22(2):225.

Electronic Publications

• Sharma A., Raja SN. Use and abuse of opioids: The eternal debate. Original Article. MD Consult: Pain Medicine, Perspectives on contemporary topics. Retrieved on Feb 7, 2005 from https://www.mdconsult.com.
• Sharma A., Raja SN. Sex differences in clinical pain: The need for further research. Editorial. MD Consult: Pain Medicine, Perspectives on contemporary topics. Retrieved on Jan 5, 2005 from https://www.mdconsult.com.

Over the past 20 years, the spine physicians at Spine Care Long Island have been the preferred back doctor for low back pain and neck pain patients from across Long Island, from the North Shore and South Shore of Nassau County and Suffolk County, and from Manhattan, Queens and Brooklyn to the East End. Those with back pain or neck pain often struggle to find a back doctor or spine center that can provide a second opinion for spine surgery and offer nonsurgical treatment for back pain, neck pain, scoliosis (curvature of the spine) and pain symptoms related to a herniated disc. Spine Care Long Island is a regional spine center that provides spinal injections, minimally invasive spine surgery, artificial disc surgery and other advances in spine care.