Dr. Antranig Kalaydjian is an interventional pain management physician in the Department of Orthopedics. Born in Massachusetts, he studied Chemistry at the University of Massachusetts- Amherst. His desire to apply the basic sciences to help people outside of the lab is what ultimately inspired him to pursue a career in medicine.  After completing medical school in Worcester he trained in Anesthesiology and subsequently completed a fellowship in Pain Management at St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center in Brighton, MA. “During my training, it was very clear that the population of Central Massachusetts was underserved in terms of access to pain management specialists. I’m very happy to have the opportunity to help provide this much-needed aspect of patient care”.

In his practice Dr. Kalaydjian offers a multi-modal approach to patients suffering from pain. “In medicine, benefits must always be weighed against risk, and no therapeutic intervention is entirely risk-free. Therefore, I generally recommend beginning with more conservative treatments before escalating to more invasive interventions.” Given his background in the sciences, Dr. Kalaydjian emphasizes the need to guide medical decision-making using the highest level of evidence available in the clinical literature.  “Skilled physical therapy is often the cornerstone of an evidence-based pain management program.” He offers a number of procedural interventions to help patients who suffer from everything from joint problems to spinal pain. Some of the procedures that Dr. Kalaydjian performs include corticosteroid and anesthetic injections, spinal cord stimulation, and radiofrequency ablations.

In his practice, Dr. Kalaydjian has a particular interest in using pain management techniques to help patients delay or avoid surgery, or as a temporary solution until surgery can be completed. “In addition to treating pain itself, a successful treatment program focuses on restoring or improving function to help raise the overall quality of life,” he explains. “While ultimately some patients may go on to undergo successful surgeries, others may achieve effective pain relief and increased functionality with more conservative measures.”

Dr. Kalaydjian believes it’s important to establish good communication with primary care providers and other specialists when caring for patients. “The team approach centered around the patient really works best, and that’s what we are committed to here at Reliant Medical Group.” Most of all, Dr. Kalaydjian enjoys building strong relationships and a good rapport with his patients. “It’s tremendously satisfying when you can offer a solution to a patient and they come back later and tell you that’s it’s really helped them. It really makes it all worthwhile.”