PINEHURST — A neurosurgeon with more than 20 years of experience in surgery of the spine, brain and peripheral nerves will become part of the FirstHealth Neurosurgery team this month.

Dr. Cynthia Zane Africk will join Drs. Dennis Campbell and Larry Van Carson in the practice that is located at 10 Aviemore Drive in Pinehurst. She comes to FirstHealth from The Clinical Neuroscience Institute in Dayton, Ohio.

Africk said she is excited to be joining the FirstHealth program.

“This is a wonderful opportunity where both the facility and its doctors are widely respected,” she said. “I look forward to serving the community and contributing to FirstHealth’s reputation for excellence.”

A California native, Africk earned her undergraduate degree in psychobiology from UCLA and her medical degree from the Loyola University of Chicago-Stritch School of Medicine in Maywood, Illinois.

She completed an internship in general surgery at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, a post-doctoral fellowship in neurosurgery at the UCLA School of Medicine and a residency in neurosurgery at the University of Illinois College of Medicine in Peoria.

In addition to her position with The Clinical Neuroscience Institute, Africk served as a clinical professor of surgery and an assistant clinical professor of neurology at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio.

Her professional goal is to improve her patients’ quality of life by relieving their pain.

“When patients come to me, they are often in very real pain,” she said. “I enjoy bringing them relief through a variety of approaches including conservative measures and surgery. It is very gratifying to improve a patient’s quality of life by relieving his pain.”

Dr. John Krahnert Jr., FirstHealth’s chief medical officer, calls Africk “a skilled surgeon and compassionate caregiver.”

“Dr. Africk comes to us with impressive credentials in both training and professional background,” he said. “We feel very fortunate that she has chosen to join FirstHealth Neurosurgery, and we look forward to welcoming her to our neurosurgical team.”

Certified by the American Board of Neurological Surgery, Africk is married and the mother of two sons — one a junior at Duke University in Durham and the other a sophomore at Emory University in Atlanta.

FirstHealth neurosurgeons treat a variety of diagnoses, including cervical and lumbar disc disease, spinal stenosis, brain tumors, carpal tunnel syndrome, ulnar neuropathy and spinal fractures. To make an appointment, call 855-535-8700 toll-free. For more information, visit www.firsthealth.org/neurosurgery.

Africk
https://www.laurinburgexchange.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/web1_Africk-Cynthia-mug.jpgAfrick

By Brenda Bouser

For The Exchange

Brenda Bouser works in corporate communications for FirstHealth of the Carolinas.