Orthopaedic Associates of West Florida Welcomes Five New Team Members, Including Advanced Spine Surgeon

CLEARWATER, Fla. – March 3, 2016 – Orthopaedic Associates of West Florida is proud to welcome Ali Zahrai, M.D. to their surgical team. He will be joined by two physician’s assistants, a physical therapist, and an occupational therapist.

Dr. Zahrai earned his medical degree from the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, Canada, and went on to complete his residency in orthopaedic surgery at the University of Toronto.

He moved to the United States in 2011 to complete a spine surgery fellowship at Emory University.

“We are incredibly lucky to have Dr. Zahrai on the OAWF team. His unsurpassed surgical skills and compassionate care for patients are a huge asset to the bay area community,” said Richard Pigeon, M.D. of Orthopaedic Associates of West Florida.

Dr. Zahrai has been specializing in minimally invasive spine surgery and regenerative medicine in the Tampa bay area for more than four years. In addition to his many accomplishments, he is a member of the spine surgery teaching faculty for the Largo Medical Center Orthopaedic Surgery Residency program.

Dr. Zahrai is a member of the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery Part I and is also board certified in orthopaedic surgery by the Fellow of the Royal College Surgeons of Canada.

Daniel Ruyle, P.A., and Erin Wildt, PA-C are also joining the OAWF team. Ruyle received a Masters from the University of Nebraska and brings more than five years of experience working for a multispecialty orthopaedic group. Wildt is a native of the Tampa bay area. She graduated with a Masters from the University of South Alabama, and has more than 17 years of experience working in the medical field including as an athletic trainer for the Florida Southern College’s division II men’s basketball team.

They are joined by occupational therapist, Kristen Hicks and physical therapist, Adam Pignon, DPT. Hicks has a Masters in occupational therapy from the University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences, and brings extensive experience working in orthopaedic care. Pignon received his doctorate from the University of Tennessee Health Sciences Center. He has extensive experience working with bay area patients recovering from post-surgical orthopaedic conditions, total joint replacements, degenerative neurological conditions and post-amputees.

For more information about our services, visit www.oawf.com or call (727) 461-6026.

About Orthopaedic Associates of West Florida:

At Orthopaedic Associates of West Florida, our family of board-certified physicians have been taking care of bay area patients for more than 50 years. We merge state-of-the-art technology with unsurpassed physician skills. OAWF provides patients with complete care offering two

in-house MRI locations, X-ray at each of our four offices, Bone Densitometry, EMG/NCV, Physical and Hand Therapy and an Orthotics/Prosthetics department. We have four convenient locations to serve patients across the entire bay area.