SHERIDAN — Dr. Cristian Balcescu has been working in Sheridan for less than a month, but he’s already fallen in love with the community.
Balcescu loves the schools and his neighborhood and the chance to enjoy the solitude of Wyoming after living in California. But most of all, he loves the people and especially his patients.
“I love sitting down for an hour with my patients and just talking,” Balcescu said. “Just getting to know their journeys and how they made it to me. I can’t imagine having any job where I’m not day-to-day meeting new people and helping them troubleshoot their problems like I am now.”
Balcescu brings that love for people and problem-solving to Sheridan Orthopaedic Associates, where he serves as the orthopedic spine surgeon.
Balcescu fills a valuable niche in the community, according to Dr. Jeremy Zebroski, sports medicine doctor at Sheridan Orthopaedic. Sheridan has been without a spine surgeon for two years, which meant patients would have to travel as far as Billings, Gillette and Casper for many complicated spine surgeries.
“It took us a while to find the right person for this community with the right mix of skills and abilities,” Zebroski said. “We appreciated Dr. Balcescu’s approach to things and the conservative manner in which he approaches spine conditions. We think he’ll be a great fit for our community, and he will provide an incredibly valuable service.”
Balcescu was born in Romania and moved to Southern California with his parents when he was a teenager. Balcescu said his fascination with bone health started after his best friend broke multiple bones in an accident.
“Since he was my best friend, we would always hang out together, and I would go to his orthopedist appointments with him,” Balcescu said. “I always loved when they would show us the bone models and explain how things worked. I thought it was fascinating.”
Balcescu had his first exposure to spine surgery during his time in the San Francisco Orthopedic Residency Program, and he said he was intrigued by the challenges of it. Medical science still has much to learn about the spine and how it works, Balcescu said, which means there are always opportunities for learning and growth.
“Unlike much of medicine, we still don’t know everything about the spine,” Balcescu said. “We don’t know why people have back pain, or why certain pinched nerves hurt and others don’t. That means I get to discover things and evolve with the field, which is exciting.”
As exciting as it can be, it also can provide challenges in the operating room, Balcescu said, and he does his best to prepare for every possibility.
“Every single patient is different and brings their own difficulties,” Balcescu said. “It is important to not only have Plan A and Plan B, but also Plans C, D, E and F. The bright side is that you have to be constantly engaged, and it’s always stimulating. But the hard part is not being able to tell people with 100% certainty that they’ll get better. Just because we think something will work doesn’t necessarily mean it will.”
Even though he’s a spine surgeon, Balcescu tries to find every possible way to avoid surgery including sending his patients to the chiropractor, physical therapy or acupuncture, and providing pain medications. If it gets to the point where surgery is unavoidable, he tries to make it as quick and invasive as possible with the goal of reducing hospitalization time.
Since there is so much to learn about the spine, Balcescu said he can’t promise pain relief. But he does promise to provide a listening ear and do what he can.
“I strive to provide as minimally invasive and accurate a treatment as modern science can provide,” Balcescu said. “It’s not always perfect, but I’ll always do what I can to help.”
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