Frank D. Vrionis, MD, MPH, PhD

BOARD CERTIFICATION:
          •  Neurological Surgery

FELLOWSHIP:
          •  University of Tennessee College of Medicine - Skull Base Surgery

RESIDENCY:
          •  Tufts University - Neurosurgery

MEDICAL SCHOOL:
          •  University of Athens School of Medicine - MD

• Doulgeris JJ, Aghayev K, Gonzalez-Blohm SA, Del Valle M, Waddell J, Lee WE, Vrionis FD. Comparative analysis of posterior fusion constructs as treatments for middle and posterior column injuries: An in vitro biomechanical investigation. Clin Biomech (Bristol, Avon). 2013 May. Pubmedid: 23707137.


• Aghayev K, Vrionis FD. Letter to the Editor: Syringomyelia. J Neurosurg Spine. 2013 Apr;18(6):661-662. Pubmedid: 23540736.


• Papanastassiou ID, Gerochristou M, Aghayev K, Vrionis FD. Defining the indications, types and biomaterials of corpectomy cages in the thoracolumbar spine. Expert Rev Med Devices. 2013 Mar;10(2):269-279. Pubmedid: 23480095.


• Papanastassiou ID, Phillips FM, Van Meirhaeghe J, Berenson JR, Andersson GB, Chung G, Small BJ, Aghayev K, Vrionis FD. Comparing effects of kyphoplasty, vertebroplasty, and non-surgical management in a systematic review of randomized and non-randomized controlled studies. Eur Spine J. 2012 Sep;21(9):1826-1843. Pubmedid: 22543412.


• Papanastassiou ID, Aghayev K, Saleh E, Gerochristou M, Vrionis FD. The actual management of tumor and vertebral compression fractures. J Neurosurg Sci. 2012 Jun;56(2):77-86. Pubmedid: 22617170.


• Papanastassiou ID, Aghayev K, Berenson JR, Schmidt MH, Vrionis FD. Is vertebral augmentation the right choice for cancer patients with painful vertebral compression fractures?. J Natl Compr Canc Netw. 2012 Jun;10(6):715-719. Pubmedid: 22679116.


• Setzer M, Eleraky M, Johnson WM, Aghayev K, Tran ND, Vrionis FD. Biomechanical comparison of anterior cervical spine instrumentation techniques with and without supplemental posterior fusion after different corpectomy and discectomy combinations: Laboratory investigation. J Neurosurg Spine. 2012 Jun;16(6):579-584. Pubmedid: 22423633.


• Eleraky M, Papanastassiou I, Tran ND, Dakwar E, Vrionis FD. Comparison of polymethylmethacrylate versus expandable cage in anterior vertebral column reconstruction after posterior extracavitary corpectomy in lumbar and thoraco-lumbar metastatic spine tumors. Eur Spine J. 2012 May;20(8):1363-1370. Pubmedid: 21390557. Pmcid: PMC3175854.


• Aghayev K, Bal E, Rahimli T, Mut M, Balc? S, Vrionis F, Akalan N. Aquaporin-4 expression is not elevated in mild hydrocephalus. Acta Neurochir (Wien). 2012 Apr;154(4):753-759. Pubmedid: 22146847.


• Vovoras D, Vrionis FD, Tsokos CP, Prokhel K. A join point survival model for brain tumor patients. Int J Biomed Sci. 2011 Dec;7(4):249-254. Pubmedid: 23675243. Pmcid: PMC3614843.


• Aghayev K, Bal E, Rahimli T, Mut M, Balc? S, Vrionis F, Akalan N. Expression of water channel aquaporin-4 during experimental syringomyelia: laboratory investigation. J Neurosurg Spine. 2011 Oct;15(4):428-432. Pubmedid: 21682559.


• Papanastassiou ID, Jain S, Baaj AA, Eleraky M, Papagelopoulos PJ, Vrionis FD. Vertebrectomy and expandable cage placement via a one-stage, one-position anterolateral retroperitoneal approach in L5 tumors. J Surg Oncol. 2011 Oct;104(5):552-558. Pubmedid: 21520091.


• Aghayev K, Papanastassiou ID, Vrionis F. Role of vertebral augmentation procedures in the management of vertebral compression fractures in cancer patients. Curr Opin Support Palliat Care. 2011 Sep;5(3):222-226. Pubmedid: 21734582.


• Fourney DR, Frangou EM, Ryken TC, Dipaola CP, Shaffrey CI, Berven SH, Bilsky MH, Harrop JS, Fehlings MG, Boriani S, Chou D, Schmidt MH, Polly DW, Biagini R, Burch S, Dekutoski MB, Ganju A, Gerszten PC, Gokaslan ZL, Groff MW, Liebsch NJ, Mendel E, Okuno SH, Patel S, Rhines LD, Rose PS, Sciubba DM, Sundaresan N, Tomita K, Varga PP, Vialle LR, Vrionis FD, Yamada Y, Fisher CG. Spinal instability neoplastic score: an analysis of reliability and validity from the spine oncology study group. J Clin Oncol. 2011 Aug;29(22):3072-3077. Pubmedid: 21709187.


• Aghayev K, Vrionis F, Chamberlain MC. Adult intradural primary spinal cord tumors. J Natl Compr Canc Netw. 2011 Apr;9(4):434-447. Pubmedid: 21464147.


• Brem SS, Bierman PJ, Brem H, Butowski N, Chamberlain MC, Chiocca EA, Deangelis LM, Fenstermaker RA, Friedman A, Gilbert MR, Hesser D, Junck L, Linette GP, Loeffler JS, Maor MH, Michael M, Moots PL, Morrison T, Mrugala M, Nabors LB, Newton HB, Portnow J, Raizer JJ, Recht L, Shrieve DC, Sills AK, Vrionis FD, Wen PY. Central nervous system cancers. J Natl Compr Canc Netw. 2011 Apr;9(4):352-400. Pubmedid: 21464144.


• Papanastassiou ID, Setzer M, Eleraky M, Baaj AA, Nam T, Binitie O, Katsares K, Cheong D, Vrionis FD. Minimally Invasive Sacroiliac Fixation in Oncologic Patients With Sacral Insufficiency Fractures Using a Fluoroscopy-based Navigation System. J Spinal Disord Tech. 2011 Apr;24(2):76-82. Pubmedid: 20634734.


• Eleraky M, Papanastassiou I, Setzer M, Baaj AA, Tran ND, Vrionis FD. Balloon kyphoplasty in the treatment of metastatic tumors of the upper thoracic spine. J Neurosurg Spine. 2011 Mar;14(3):372-376. Pubmedid: 21250808.


• Berenson J, Pflugmacher R, Jarzem P, Zonder J, Schechtman K, Tillman JB, Bastian L, Ashraf T, Vrionis F. Balloon kyphoplasty versus non-surgical fracture management for treatment of painful vertebral body compression fractures in patients with cancer: a multicentre, randomised controlled trial. Lancet Oncol. 2011 Mar;12(3):225-235. Pubmedid: 21333599.


• Papanastassiou ID, Baaj AA, Dakwar E, Eleraky M, Vrionis FD. Failure of cervical arthroplasty in a patient with adjacent segment disease associated with Klippel-Feil syndrome. Indian J Orthop. 2011 Mar;45(2):174-177. Pubmedid: 21430874. Pmcid: PMC3051126.


• Papanastassiou ID, Eleraky M, Vrionis FD. Contralateral femoral nerve compression: An unrecognized complication after extreme lateral interbody fusion (XLIF). J Clin Neurosci. 2011 Jan;18(1):149-151. Pubmedid: 20965732.


• Weber MH, Burch S, Buckley J, Schmidt MH, Fehlings MG, Vrionis FD, Fisher CG. Instability and impending instability of the thoracolumbar spine in patients with spinal metastases: a systematic review. Int J Oncol. 2011 Jan;38(1):5-12. Pubmedid: 21109920.


• Baaj AA, Vrionis FD. Atlantoaxial stabilization utilizing atlas translaminar fixation. J Clin Neurosci. 2010 Dec;17(12):1578-1580. Pubmedid: 20800494.


• Eleraky M, Setzer M, Baaj AA, Papanastassiou I, Conrad BP, Vrionis FD. Biomechanical comparison of posterior cervicothoracic instrumentation techniques after one-level laminectomy and facetectomy. J Neurosurg Spine. 2010 Nov;13(5):622-629. Pubmedid: 21039154.


• Fisher CG, Dipaola CP, Ryken TC, Bilsky MH, Shaffrey CI, Berven SH, Harrop JS, Fehlings MG, Boriani S, Chou D, Schmidt MH, Polly DW, Biagini R, Burch S, Dekutoski MB, Ganju A, Gerszten PC, Gokaslan ZL, Groff MW, Liebsch NJ, Mendel E, Okuno SH, Patel S, Rhines LD, Rose PS, Sciubba DM, Sundaresan N, Tomita K, Varga PP, Vialle LR, Vrionis FD, Yamada Y, Fourney DR. A Novel Classification System for Spinal Instability in Neoplastic Disease: An Evidence-Based Approach and Expert Consensus From the Spine Oncology Study Group. Spine (Phila Pa 1976). 2010 Oct;35(22):E1221-E1229. Pubmedid: 20562730.


• Eleraky M, Papanastassiou I, Vrionis FD. Management of metastatic spine disease. Curr Opin Support Palliat Care. 2010 Sep;4(3):182-188. Pubmedid: 20671554.


• Bilsky MH, Laufer I, Fourney DR, Groff M, Schmidt MH, Varga PP, Vrionis FD, Yamada Y, Gerszten PC, Kuklo TR. Reliability analysis of the epidural spinal cord compression scale. J Neurosurg Spine. 2010 Sep;13(3):324-328. Pubmedid: 20809724.


• Setzer M, Murtagh RD, Murtagh FR, Eleraky M, Jain S, Marquardt G, Seifert V, Vrionis FD. Diffusion tensor imaging tractography in patients with intramedullary tumors: comparison with intraoperative findings and value for prediction of tumor resectability. J Neurosurg Spine. 2010 Sep;13(3):371-380. Pubmedid: 20809733.


• Eleraky MA, Setzer M, Papanastassiou ID, Baaj AA, Tran ND, Katsares KM, Vrionis FD. Role of motor-evoked potential monitoring in conjunction with temporary clipping of spinal nerve roots in posterior thoracic spine tumor surgery. Spine J. 2010 May;10(5):396-403. Pubmedid: 20421074.


• Eleraky M, Setzer M, Vrionis FD. Posterior transpedicular corpectomy for malignant cervical spine tumors. Eur Spine J. 2010 Feb;19(2):257-262. Pubmedid: 19823877. Pmcid: PMC2899823.


• Setzer M, Vrionis FD, Hermann EJ, Seifert V, Marquardt G. Effect of apolipoprotein E genotype on the outcome after anterior cervical decompression and fusion in patients with cervical spondylotic myelopathy. J Neurosurg Spine. 2009 Dec;11(6):659-666. Pubmedid: 19951017.


• Fehlings MG, David KS, Vialle L, Vialle E, Setzer M, Vrionis FD. Decision making in the surgical treatment of cervical spine metastases. Spine (Phila Pa 1976). 2009 Oct;34(22 Suppl):S108-S117. Pubmedid: 19829270.


• Jain S, Houseknecht K, Rojiani A, Setzer M, Vrionis F. Management of nerve sheath tumors arising in the sympathetic chain. Cancer Control. 2008 Oct;15(4):352-357. Pubmedid: 18813203.


• Hussein MA, Vrionis FD, Allison R, Berenson J, Berven S, Erdem E, Giralt S, Jagannath S, Kyle RA, LeGrand S, Pflugmacher R, Raje N, Rajkumar SV, Randall RL, Randall L, Roodman D, Siegel D, Vescio R, Zonder J, Durie BG. The role of vertebral augmentation in multiple myeloma: International Myeloma Working Group Consensus Statement. Leukemia. 2008 Aug;22(8):1479-1484. Pubmedid: 18509352.


• Jain S, Sommers E, Setzer M, Vrionis F. Posterior midline approach for single-stage en bloc resection and circumferential spinal stabilization for locally advanced Pancoast tumors: technical note. J Neurosurg Spine. 2008 Jul;9(1):71-82. Pubmedid: 18590415.


• Chamberlain MC, Sloan A, Vrionis F. Systematic review of the diagnosis and management of malignant extradural spine cord compression: The Cancer Care Ontario Practice Guidelines Initiative's Neuro-Oncology Disease Site Group. J Clin Oncol. 2005 Oct;23(30):7750-7752. Pubmedid: 16234541.


• Brem S, Bierman P, Black P, Blumenthal D, Brem H, Chamberlain M, Chiocca E, DeAngelis L, Fenstermaker R, Fine H, Friedman A, Glass J, Grossman S, Heimberger A, Junck L, Levin V, Loeffler J, Maor M, Narayana A, Newton H, Olivi A, Portnow J, Prados M, Raizer J, Rosenfeld S, Shrieve D, Sills AK J, Spence A, Vrionis F. Central nervous system cancers: Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology. J Natl Compr Canc Netw. 2005 Oct;3(5):644-690. Pubmedid: 16194456.


• Vrionis F, Kienstra M, Rivera M, Padhya T. Malignant tumors of the anterior skull base. Cancer Control. 2004 May;11(3):144-151. Pubmedid: 15153838.


• Naing A, Messina J, Vrionis F, Daud A. Uncommon manifestations of common malignancies: case 3. Malignant melanoma arising from a spinal nerve root. J Clin Oncol. 2004;22(15):3194-3195. Pubmedid: 15284274.


• Ignatova T, Kukekov V, Laywell E, Suslov O, Vrionis F, Steindler D. Human cortical glial tumors contain neural stem-like cells expressing astroglial and neuronal markers in vitro. Glia. 2002;39(1):191-204. Pubmedid: 12203386.


• Vrionis F, Saatman D, Sorenson J, Brem S. Microscopic paraseptal sphenoidotomy approach for pituitary tumors. Cancer Control. 2002;9(3):223-231. Pubmedid: 12060820.


• Andrade-Rozental AF, Rozental R, Hopperstad MG, Wu JK, Vrionis FD, Spray DC. Gap junctions: the "kiss of death" and the "kiss of life". Brain Res Brain Res Rev. 2000 Apr;32(1):308-315. Pubmedid: 10751679.


• Vrionis FD. Gene therapy of neoplastic meningosis. J Neurooncol. 1998 June;38(2-3):241-244. Pubmedid: 9696378.


• Vrionis FD, Wu JK, Qi P, Waltzman M, Cherington V, Spray DC. The bystander effect exerted by tumor cells expressing the herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase (HSVtk) gene is dependent on connexin expression and cell communication via gap junctions. Gene Ther. 1997 Jun;4(6):577-585. Pubmedid: 9231074.


• Vrionis FD, Wu JK, Qi P, Cano WG, Cherington V. Preservation of the bystander cytocidal effect of irradiated herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase (HSV-tk) modified tumor cells. J Neurooncol. 1996 Dec;30(3):225-236. Pubmedid: 8943097.


• Vrionis FD, Wu JK, Qi P, Cano WG, Cherington V. Tumor cells expressing the herpes simplex virus-thymidine kinase gene in the treatment of Walker 256 meningeal neoplasia in rats. J Neurosurg. 1996 Feb;84(2):250-257. Pubmedid: 8592228.


• Vrionis FD, Wu JK, Qi P, Cano W, Cherington V. A more potent bystander cytocidal effect elicited by tumor cells expressing the herpes simplex virus-thymidine kinase gene than by fibroblast virus-producer cells in vitro. J Neurosurg. 1995 Oct;83(4):698-704. Pubmedid: 7674020.


• Vrionis FD, Wikstrand CJ, Bigner DD. Relevance for neurobiology and neurooncology of antigens of malignant gliomas as defined by monoclonal antibodies. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 1988;540:64-77. Pubmedid: 2462837.


• Moody P, Bui MM, Vrionis F, Setzer M, Rojiani AM. Synovial chondromatosis of spine: case report and review of the literature. Ann Clin Lab Sci. 2010 Winter;40(1):71-74. Pubmedid: 20124333.

Dr. Frank Vrionis is a leading spine surgeon recognized for his expertise in benign and malignant tumors of the brain and spinal cord.  He is chief of neurosurgery at Moffitt Cancer, as well as director of Moffitt’s Complex Spine and Skull Base Surgery Program and the Spine Research Laboratory. 

In addition to his commitment to patient care and research, Dr. Vrionis is a professor of orthopedic surgery and neurosurgery within the Department of Oncology at the University of South Florida College of Medicine.  He is the founder and director of Moffitt’s Spine Oncology Fellowship Program for physician-scientists pursuing advanced education in this medical specialty.

On a national level, Dr. Vrionis serves as a scientific advisor for several orthopedic companies, including Orthofix-Blackstone, Kyphon, Stryker-Spine, AO North America and Synthes.

Prior to coming to Tampa, Dr. Vrionis was at the University of Tennessee College of Medicine, where he was an assistant professor in neurosurgery, anatomy and neurobiology, as well as founder and director of the college’s Human Brain Tumor Research Laboratory.  In addition, Dr. Vrionis was in private practice as a neurosurgeon with the renowned Semmes-Murphey Neurologic & Spine Institute.

Dr. Vrionis is native of Greece and is fluent in Greek and English.