About Dr. Frenkel
Dr. Frenkel graduated from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, the medical school of the renowned Cleveland Clinic. His degree was awarded with Honors with a Distinction in Research as a result of research he completed on anterior cervical surgery at The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis.
Subsequently he attended residency at Wake Forest University where he dedicated seven years to mastering the intricacies of neurosurgery under the tutelage of Dr. Charles Branch. Dr. Branch, a luminary in the field, is celebrated for pioneering numerous groundbreaking techniques in spinal surgery. Dr. Frenkel’s other mentors and teachers included Neurosurgeons trained at some of the most renowned institutions in the world, including Harvard and Johns Hopkins. He performed thousands of complex procedures during his training, culminating in the extraordinary privilege of being appointed Chief Resident for two consecutive years—a rarity in the field. Dr. Frenkel had one of the highest Neurosurgery Board scores in the country and in 2018 won the Congress of Neurological Surgery’s SANS Challenge – an annual national tournament of neurosurgical knowledge.
Following his training, he was offered the opportunity to join Neuroscience and Spine Associates (NASA), one of the premiere neuroscience practices in the country. He relocated to Naples, Florida where he currently resides with his wife Dr. Lindsay Frenkel, an Intensive Care Physician, and his two young children, Cooper and Chloe.
Dr. Frenkel has written numerous articles in the most esteemed neurosurgical publications and authored several textbook chapters on advanced techniques in spinal surgery which underscore his status as an authority in the field. He is recognized worldwide as a leader in spine surgery because of his excellent outcomes. He has several patents pending for new spinal surgery techniques, implants, and minimally invasive retractors. Dr. Frenkel’s expertise has garnered the attention of numerous medical device companies, who seek his invaluable insights for the development of cutting-edge surgical instruments.
Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles
- Renfrow JJ, Soike MH, West JL, Ramkissoon SH, Metheny-Barlow L, Mott RT, Kittel CA, D’Agostino RB Jr, Tatter SB, Laxton AW, Frenkel MB, Hawkins GA, Herpai D, Sanders S, Sarkaria JN, Lesser GJ, Debinski W, Strowd RE. Attenuating hypoxia driven malignant behavior in glioblastoma with a novel hypoxia-inducible factor 2 alpha inhibitor. Sci Rep. 2020 Sep 16;10(1):15195.
- Juneja P, Frenkel MB, Carmichael SP, Sarwal A. Gray-Scale Sonography of the Spinal Cord in Postlaminectomy Patient. J Diag Med Sonography. 2021;37(2):200-205.
- West JL, Frenkel MB, Renfrow JJ, Wilson JA. Craniocervical Osteoradionecrosis Treated with Neoadjuvant and Adjuvant Hyperbaric Oxygen in Combination with Posterior Spinal Fusion. World Neurosurgery. Accepted, pending publication. 2019.
- Renfrow JJ, Soike MH, Debinski W, Ramkissoon SH, Mott RT, Frenkel MB, Sarkaria JN, Lesser GJ, Strowd RE. Hypoxia-inducible factor 2α: a novel target in gliomas. Future Med Chem. 2018;10(18):2227-2236.
- Frenkel MB, Frey CD, Renfrow JJ, Wolfe SQ, Powers AK, Branch CL Jr. A Call for Consistent Radiographic Definition of Lumbar Lordosis. J Neurosurg Spine. 2018;29(2):231-234.
- McDonald ML, Patel N, Masmoudi Y, Frenkel M, Taxter A, Miller DM, Dharod A. “A WHIRL-wind innovation: Revolutionizing inpatient rounding with the WHIRL”. Journal of General Internal Medicine 2018;33(2 Suppl):S757.
- Frenkel MB, Sarwal A, Wren MP, Newey CR, Couture DC. Subdural Instillation of a Thrombolytic Agent for Treatment of Recurrent Subdural Hematoma. Clin Neuropharmacol. 2017;40(6):279-280.
- Frenkel MB, Renfrow JJ, Singh J, Garg N, Wolfe SQ. Combined interventional and surgical treatment of tandem middle cerebral artery embolus and internal carotid artery occlusion: case report. J Neurosurg. 2018;129(3):718-722.
- Renfrow JJ, Frenkel MB, Edwards MS, Wilson JA. Evaluation of a Traumatic Vertebral Artery Occlusion. World Neurosurg. 2017 Feb 27.
- Renfrow JJ, Frenkel MB, Hsu W. Fungal Contamination of Methylprednisolone Causing Recurrent Lumbosacral Intradural Abscess. Emerg Infect Dis. 2017 Mar;23(3):552-553
- Ahmad FU, Frenkel MB, Levi AD. Spinal stability after resection of nerve sheath tumors. J Neurosurg Sci 2015
- Frenkel MB, Cahill KS, Javahary RJ, Zacur G, Green BA, Levi AD. “Fusion rates in multilevel, instrumented anterior cervical fusion for degenerative disease with and without the use of bone morphogenetic protein”. J Neurosurg Spine. 2013 Mar;18(3):269-73.
- Krishnamurthy RG, Senut M-C, Zemke D, Min J, Frenkel MB, et al. “Asiatic acid, a pentacyclic triterpene from Centella asiatica, is neuroprotective in a mouse model of focal cerebral ischemia.” J. Neurosci. Res. 2009;87(11):2541–2550.
- Rajanikant GK, Zemke D, Senut M-C, Frenkel MB, et al. “Carnosine is neuroprotective against permanent focal cerebral ischemia in mice.” Stroke. 2007;38(11):3023–3031.
Textbook Chapters
Pre-psoas (oblique) lateral interbody fusion at L5/S1
Frenkel MB, Hart DJ. Pre-psoas (oblique) lateral interbody fusion at L5/S1. Modern Techniques in Lumbar Interbody Fusion. Elsevier. 2018
Cortical Screw Fixation
Frenkel MB, Renfrow JR, Branch CL. Lumbar Cortical Screw Fixation. Essentials of Spinal Stabilization. Springer Science. 2018
MAST MIDLIF
Renfrow JR, Frenkel MB, Branch CL. MAST MIDLIF. Modern Techniques in Lumbar Interbody Fusion. Elsevier. 2018
Odontoid Screw Fixation
Frenkel MB, Hart DJ. Odontoid Screw Fixation. Essentials of Spinal Stabilization. Springer
Science. 2018
Abstracts/Scientific Exhibits/Presentations
- Gomez J, Frenkel M, Carmicheal S, Sarwal A. Case Report: B mode ultrasound images of the thoracic spine. American Academy of Neurology 71st Annual Meeting. May 2019. Philadelphia, PA
- Frenkel M, Gomez J, Carmicheal S, Sarwal A. Case Report: B mode ultrasound images of the thoracic spine. 42nd Annual Meeting of the American Society of Neuroimaging, Rio Grande, Puerto Rico, USA 2018
- Frenkel MB, Taxter A, Dharod A. “Institution-Wide Implementation of a Custom-Developed Inpatient Rounding List System: Preliminary Outcome.” Congress of Neurological Surgeons 2018 Annual Meeting; October 2018, Houston, TX
- Frenkel MB, Taxter A, Dharod A. “WHIRL: Wake Health Inpatient Rounding Data: Preliminary Data”. Presentation at 2018 Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center Quality Improvement Showcase; May 2018. Oral and Poster Presentation. Award – QI Project of the Year Finalist
- McDonald ML, Patel N, Masmoudi Y, Frenkel MB, Taxter A, Miller DM, Dharod A. “A WHIRL-wind innovation: Revolutionizing inpatient rounding with the WHIRL”. Presentation at Annual Society of General Internal Medicine Conference; April; 2018. Denver, CO.
- Dharod A, Frenkel MB, Babcock D, Taxter A. Wizarding aROUND the WHIRLd with FHIR: Improving Inpatient Rounding Lists. North Carolina Epic UGM 2018. Greensboro, NC. February 22-23, 2018
- McDonald ML, Patel N, Masmoudi Y, Frenkel MB, Taxter A, Miller DM, Dharod A. “A NOVEL INPATIENT ROUNDING LIST: GIVE IT A WHIRL”. Society of Hospital Medicine 2018 Annual Meeting. Poster Presentation. April 2018.
- Frenkel MB, Countryman C, Mathes AR, Branch Jr CL. “Cortical Bone Trajectory Screws for Midline Lumbar Fusion”. Congress of Neurological Surgeons 2017 Annual Meeting. Poster Presentation. Boston, MA. September 2017.
- Dharod A, Frenkel MB, Babcock D, Taxter A. UGM008: Wizarding Around the WHIRLd with FHIR: Improving Inpatient Rounding Lists (CME, CNE, and CPE). Oral presentation at: Annual Epic Users Group Meeting (UGM); September; 2017. Verona, WI.
- Frenkel, MB. “Will Augmented Reality Prove to be a Useful Tool for Spine Surgery and The Natural Evolution of Intraoperative Navigation?” Oral Presentation. North Carolina Spine Society Annual Meeting. August, 2017
- Frenkel, Mark B., MD, Mathes, Adam R., MD, Hart, David J., MD, Branch Jr., Charles L., MD. Lordotic Cages Contribute to Segmental Lordosis In Posterior Lumbar Interbody Fusions. Poster Presentation. Wake Forest Department of Surgical Services Research Day, November, 2016
- Frenkel MB. “Lordotic Cages Contribute to Segmental Lordosis in Posterior Lumbar Interbody Fusions.” Poster presentation. AANS Annual Scientific Meeting. May, 2016
- Frenkel MB. “Placement of Lordotic Cages Maintains Segmental and Lumbar Lordosis in Posterior Lumbar Interbody Fusions.” Oral Presentation. CNS Section on Disorders of the Spine and Peripheral Nerves annual meeting. March, 2016
- Mark B. Frenkel MD, Stacey Q. Wolfe MD. A Customized Patient List System with Electronic Medical Record Integration. Poster presentation. AANS Annual Scientific Meeting 2015
- Mark B. Frenkel MD, Stacey Q. Wolfe MD. A Customized Patient List System with Electronic Medical Record Integration. Poster presentation. Wake Forest Department of Surgical Services Research Day, 2014
- Mark B Frenkel MD, Aarti Sarwal MD, Daniel Couture MD. Subdural Injection of a Thrombolytic Agent for Treatment of Recurrent Subdural Hematoma. Poster presentation. AANS Annual Scientific Meeting 2015.
- Frenkel MB. “The Use Of BMP In Anterior Cervical Discectomy and Fusion.” Oral presentation. University of Miami Rosomoff Research Day, May 2012.
