PROGRAM AGENDA

Texas Pain Society 18th Annual Scientific Meeting

Friday, October 23, 2026

Preconference Workshop: Ultrasound Workshop | 7:30 AM–11:00 AM | Room: Dallas 6-7

Chair: Maged Mina, MD, FASA

TimePresentation or EventSpeaker
7:30–8:00 AM Didactic Lecture Maged Mina, MD, FASA
8:00–11:00 AM Rotating Hands-On Workshop
with 30-Minute Break (9:00–9:30 AM)		 Workshop Faculty
Station 1 Cervical and Peripheral Nerve Blocks
  • Cervical sympathetic (stellate ganglion) block under ultrasound guidance
  • Ilioinguinal and iliohypogastric nerve blocks under ultrasound guidance
  • Lateral femoral cutaneous nerve block under ultrasound guidance
 Saba Javed, MD
and Maged Mina, MD, FASA
Station 2 Shoulder Blocks for Pain Practice
  • Suprascapular nerve block under ultrasound guidance
  • Axillary nerve block under ultrasound guidance
  • Lateral pectoral nerve block for motor-sparing techniques in shoulder radiofrequency ablation (RFA)
  • Subdeltoid/subacromial bursa injection under ultrasound guidance
 Enas Kandil, MD, MSc
and Chris Yopp, MD, MPH, MBA
Station 3 Targeting Hip & Knee Pain Using Ultrasound
  • Conventional intra-articular hip injection under ultrasound guidance
  • Pericapsular Nerve Group (PENG) block for hip pain
  • Greater trochanteric bursa injection under ultrasound guidance
  • Genicular nerve blocks for knee pain under ultrasound guidance
 Yashar Eshraghi, MD
and Grant Chen, MD

Preconference Workshop: Addiction Workshop | 7:30 AM–11:00 AM | Room Dallas 5

Chair: Michael Sprintz, DO, DFASAM

TimePresentation or EventSpeaker
7:30–8:30 AM Alcohol, THC, and Pain Corey Waller, MD
8:30–9:00 AM Drug Testing: Who? Why? When? Answers to take home to your practice Michael Sprintz, DO, DFASAM
9:00–9:30 AM Break  
9:30–10:00 AM Comfortably Uncomfortable: The Conversations Pain Doctors Need to Have Michael Sprintz, DO, DFASAM
10:00–11:00 AM Effect of Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 (GLP-1) Agonists on Pain & Addiction Emanuel Husu, MD

APP Concurrent Workshop | Room: Fort Worth 6-7

Chair: Kaycee Frederick , MSN, APRN, FNP-C | Co-Chair: Kelley Pennell, DNP, APRN, ACNS-BC

TimePresentation or EventSpeaker
7:30 AM Welcome and Introductions Kelley Pennell, DNP, APRN, ACNS-BC and
Kaycee Frederick , MSN, APRN, FNP-C
7:30–8:15 AM Urine Drug Screening in Pain Management Kelley Pennell, DNP, APRN, ACNS-BC
8:15–8:45 AM Navigating Difficult Conversations in Pain Management Alyson Brzezinski, APRN, FNP-C
8:45–9:15 AM Tapering with Dignity Alyson Brzezinski, APRN, FNP-C
9:15–9:30 AM Break  
9:30–10:30 AM Required Components of a Pain Management Medical Evaluation Kelley Pennell, DNP, APRN, ACNS-BC
10:30–11:15 AM AI in Clinical Practice Chris Massey, MD
11:15–12:00 PM Orthopedic Joint Pain  Earl Kilbride, MD, MHA
12:00–12:30 PM Q&A —
12:30 PM–1:30 PM Lunch —
1:30–2:00 PM Spine & Joint Exam Angela Ash, MPAS, PA-C
2:00–2:45 PM Bridging the Gap: When Pain Management Ends and Neurosurgery Begins Nicole Busch, APRN
2:45–3:00 PM Q&A —
3:00–3:45 PM Right Procedure, Right Patient: A Selection Framework for Interventional Pain Therapies Kaycee Frederick, MSN, APRN, FNP-C
3:45–4:15 PM A Culture of Safety Bennjamin Fronk, MD
4:15–5:15 PM Red Flags in Imaging Sixtus Z. Atabong DMSc, PA-C 

Friday, October 23, 2026 Main Session | Grapevine Ballroom C

Session 1   Beyond the Prescription Pad

Moderator: Stephanie Jones, MD, FASA

TimePresentation or EventSpeaker
11:00 AM Welcome & Introductions Dhanalakshmi Koyyalagunta, MD
11:00–11:30 AM Rewiring Pain: Clinical Psilocybin, Neuroplasticity, and the Next Frontier in Pain Medicine Lynn Puana, MD
11:30 AM–12:00 PM Kratom Use in Chronic Pain Patients: Clinical Insights for Pain Management Michael Sprintz, DO, DFASAM
12:00–12:30 PM Panel Discussion Session Faculty
12:30–1:30 PM Sponsored Lunch (Non-CME) Grapevine Ballroom D
1:30–2:00 PM Exhibit Hall Break  

Session 2   Multidisciplinary Pain Strategies

Moderator: Gulshan Doulatram, MD

TimePresentation or EventSpeaker
2:00–2:20 PM Liability and Risks of Chronic Opiate Therapy Brent Van Dorsten, PhD
2:20–2:40 PM Buprenorphine Allen Dennis, MD, DABA, DABAPM, ABIPP, FIPP
2:40–3:00 PM A Review of the Efficacy of Treatments for Opioid and Substance Use Disorder Brent Van Dorsten, PhD
3:00–3:30 PM Panel Discussion Session Faculty
3:30–4:00 PM Heavner Lectureship: Neurobiology and the Basic Science of Addiction Corey Waller, MD
4:00–4:30 PM Exhibit Hall Break  

Session 3   Streaming Stimulation: Updates & Complications

Moderator: Marte Martinez, MD

TimePresentation or EventSpeaker
4:30–5:00 PM Updates in Spinal Cord Stimulation Donald Atkins, MD
5:00–5:30 PM Complications in Neuromodulation Damiano Barone, MD, PhD, FRCS
5:30–6:00 PM Panel Discussion Session Faculty
6:00–6:45 PM Exhibit Hall Reception and Fellowship Reunion Meet-Up  

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Saturday, October 24, 2026

Session 4   Brave New World: Managing MIS Therapies

Moderator: Marte Martinez, MD

TimePresentation or EventSpeaker
7:30- 8:30 AM Sponsored Breakfast (Non-CME)  Grapevine Ballroom D
8:30–8:50 AM Medico-Legal Considerations Daniel Sternthal, JD
8:50–9:10 AM Pain Physician Perspective Maged Mina, MD, FASA
9:10–9:30 AM Neurosurgical Perspective Mazin Al Tamimi, MD
9:30–10:00 AM Panel Discussion  

Session 5   The Digital Doctor

Moderator: Saba Javed, MD

TimePresentation or EventSpeaker
10:30–11:00 AM Artificial Intelligence Arumugarajah Tharaneetharan, MD, PhD
11:00–11:30 AM Know Thyself: A Pain Practice's Guide to Building, Buying, and Negotiating AI  Leon Anijar, MD
11:30 AM–12:00 PM Panel Discussion  
12:00–1:30 PM Fellows Case Presentations During Lunch (CME Event) Samuel Merrill, MD
Michael Lin, MD
Gustavo Faria Mendez, MD
Austin Shokraeifard, DO
Austin Ricks, MD
1:30–2:00 PM Exhibit Hall Break  

Session 6   Cutting-Edge Therapies

Moderator: Maged Mina, MD, FASA

TimePresentation or EventSpeaker
2:00–2:20 PM Regenerative Medicine Yashar Eshraghi, MD
2:20–2:40 PM Endoscopic Medial Branch Ablation and Transection Kenneth Wu, MD
2:40–3:00 PM Targeting Anterior Column Pain: Intradiscal therapy vs Basivertebral nerve ablation Matthew McClure, MD
3:00–3:30 PM Panel Discussion Session Faculty
3:30–4:00 PM Hassenbusch Lectureship Brian Bruel, MD, MBA
4:00–4:30 PM Awards, Prize Drawings and Gavel Transition Dhanalakshmi Koyyalagunta, MD
4:30–5:30 PM TPS Member Networking Event  
5:30 PM Adjourn; Dinner on Your Own  

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Sunday, October 25, 2026

Session 7   Regulatory Updates

Moderator: Marte Martinez, MD

TimePresentation or EventSpeaker
  Breakfast On Your Own  
9:00–10:00 AM Texas Medical Board Update Sherif Zaafran, MD
10:00–10:30 AM TMA “Ambulatory Medicare” Update Kim Harmon
10:30–11:30 AM Legislative Landscape and 2026 Elections & TPS Initiatives Courtney Williamson; Baominh Vinh, MD
11:30 AM–12:00 PM Panel Discussion Session Faculty
12:00 PM Closing Remarks and Adjournment Mitch Engle, MD, PhD

Fellows Workshop Dry Lab (Fellows ONLY Lab) : Grapevine A Ballroom

Instructors: Saba Javed, MD; Maxim Eckmann, MD and Gulshan Doulatram, MD

TimePresentation or EventSpeaker
8:30 AM Registration and Coffee  
9:00 AM Didactic Lecture Workshop Instructors
9:30 AM Rotating Stations (every 30 minutes) Workshop Instructors
Station 1 Spinal Cord Stimulation (SCS)
Practice epidural access, lead advancement, positioning, anchoring, and fluoroscopic guidance.		 Workshop Instructors
Station 2 Dorsal Root Ganglion (DRG) Stimulation
Perform foraminal access, guide catheter manipulation, lead placement, loop creation, and final lead positioning.		 Workshop Instructors
Station 3 Kyphoplasty / Vertebral Augmentation
Practice pedicle access, balloon placement and inflation, cement delivery techniques, and fluoroscopic confirmation.		 Workshop Instructors
Station 4 Minimally Invasive Lumbar Decompression (MILD®)
Perform portal placement, tissue debulking techniques, instrument handling, and fluoroscopic localization of the ligamentum flavum.		 Workshop Instructors
Station 5 Basivertebral Nerve Ablation (BVN)
Practice transpedicular access, trajectory planning, target localization within the vertebral body, probe placement, and ablation workflow.		 Workshop Instructors
12:00 PM Adjourn  

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Accreditation and Credit Designation
The Texas Pain Society is accredited by the Texas Medical Association to provide continuing medical education for physicians.
The Texas Pain Society designates this live activity for a maximum of 18.00 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.
Credit will be awarded based on verified attendance. Participants requesting CME credit must complete the conference
evaluation. Credit cannot be awarded for meals, breaks, exhibits, receptions, awards, networking events, non-CME activities, or overlapping sessions.
Depending on the sessions and concurrent program attended, an individual participant may be eligible to claim up to:
• 18.00 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™
• 13.00 ABA MOCA® credits
• 7.50 hours of Texas medical ethics and/or professional responsibility
• 5.50 hours of DEA MATE Act training
• 4.50 hours of Texas Medical Board pain management and opioid prescribing education
• 10.00 hours applicable to the Texas Medical Board pain management clinic education requirement

Maintenance of Certification in Anesthesiology® and MOCA® are registered certification marks of the American Board of Anesthesiology®.

These specialty and regulatory hours are included within, and are not additional to, the AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™
awarded. Because certain workshops and sessions occur concurrently, the category maximums represent different
attendance pathways and cannot necessarily all be earned by the same participant.

Selected sessions have been registered with the American Board of Anesthesiology for MOCA® credit. Up to 13.00 MOCA® credits are available based on verified attendance in eligible sessions. TPS will report eligible physician participation through PARS after completion of the required evaluation and credit-claim process. Please consult the ABA website, www.theABA.org, for a list of all MOCA requirements.

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