Doctor Profile: Syed M. Zaffer, MD

Dr. Zaffer: My name is Syed Zaffer and I have been with Florida Orthopaedic Institute for a little more than a year. I’m trained in physical medicine rehabilitation that’s the residency. And I followed that with a one year advanced training in neuromuscular disease and electro-diagnostic medicine. So patients that I commonly see in my practice come in with back pain, neck pain, sciatica nerve-related neuropathic pain, and also those who have disabilities that might need my care. Patients I see usually come and for conservative management of the condition that could be pain or it could be any form of injury or illness and myself as a physiatrist will help them out in choosing the most appropriate conservative options. Those might involve physical, occupational therapy, medication management, alternative complementary medicine interventional spine techniques that I make referral to or it could involve surgical options.
My name is Pat and I’m a patient of Dr. Zaffer. And I came to him for some pain management and having pain down my right leg resulting from an unhappy nerve in my back that resulted from some surgery I had before I came to Dr. Zaffer. I wouldn’t be able to hardly walk. I would probably need a walker and there would be very little personal activity walking the dog or, or cleaning house or any normal functions of going to the store, you know, would have been extremely painful and very difficult to do. But with the medications that we’ve we’ve put together for me I’m able to, you know function very nicely and very happily right now getting out and walking the dog, going to the grocery store, you know, running errands and I’m doing very light housework, but it’s, I’m, I’m functioning very nicely.

I live with a great, amazing person, my wife and three children here in Tampa. I had an academic and private practice in Chicago, 15 years. Then my wife and I decided to move on to something warmer and somewhere. Why be involved in orthopedic practice? Tampa is a great place where it loved it. And in my free time, I like to spend some quality time with my wife and kids. We take a lot of vacations. I like to drive and have fun together. I do get myself involved with some charity work related to disability and the empowerment of women and children. In my free time.