Robert D. Heros, M.D.

Expert in Neuromodulation and Pain Management

Dr. Robert Heros, co-founder of the Northwest Continence Center, is recognized as one of the leading experts in the United States in restorative neurostimulation, a pioneering therapy for lower back pain.

Internationally renowned in the field of neuromodulation, he specializes in spinal cord and dorsal root ganglion stimulation. Actively engaged in clinical research, Dr. Heros has co-authored numerous peer-reviewed journal articles and frequently teaches other physicians about emerging interventional therapies.  

Education

Residency

Certification

Memberships

Awards & Recognition

Clinical Research & Publications

Dr. Heros is actively involved in clinical research, particularly in neuromodulation and spinal cord stimulation. He has authored or co-authored several peer-reviewed publications and participates in scientific committees within national and international neuromodulation societies. His publications include:

Pope JE, Smith GL, Goree JA, Heros R, et al. Clinical utility of ECAP dosing in a real-world population delivered via EVOKE therapy: the ECAP study. Regional Anesthesia & Pain Medicine Published Online First: 01 December 2025. doi: 10.1136/rapm-2025-107051

Hunter CW, Raskin JS, Mekhail NA, Petersen EA, Lad SP, Pope JE, Costandi SJ, Kapural L, Boeding RB, Antony A, Rosen SM, Heros RD, Sayed D, Li S, Raslan AM, Smith GL, Goree JH, Leitner A, Soliday N, Duarte RV, Deer TR. ECAP-controlled Closed-loop Spinal Cord Stimulation for Chronic Non-surgical Refractory Back Pain: Subgroup Analysis from Two Prospective Multicenter Clinical Trials. Spine (Phila Pa 1976). 2025 Jul 1. doi: 10.1097/BRS.0000000000005445. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 40590186.

Deer T, Heros R, Scarfo K, Gilligan C, Jameson J, Pilitsis JG, Desai MJ, Panchalingam T, Goates S, Benison AM, Okaro U, Falowski S. A Cost Effectiveness Analysis of Spinal Cord Stimulation versus Conventional Medical Management for the Treatment of Low Back Pain Using Data from DISTINCT RCT and Medical Claims from a U.S. Commercial Payer Database. J Pain Res. 2025;18:2823-2838 
https://doi.org/10.2147/JPR.S486759   

Falowski S, Dorsi MJ, Heros R, Sales R, Tavel E, Lansford T, et al. Paddle leads for the treatment of nonsurgical back pain—The DISTINCT study. Pain Pract. 2025; 25:e70033. https://doi.org/10.1111/papr.70033   

Deer TR, Pope JE, Petersen EA, Abdallah RT, Amirdelfan K, Azeem N, Bansal V, Barkoh K, Chapman KB, Denis DR, Dorsi MJ, Escobar A, Falowski SM, Garcia RA, Hagedorn JM, Heros RD, James WS, Kalia H, Lansford T, Malinowski MN, Manzi SM, Mehta P, Moghim RZ, Moore GA, Motivala SL, Navalgund YA, Patel RG, Pilitsis JG, Schatman ME, Shumsky PM, Strand NH, Tomycz ND, Yue JJ, Sayed D. An Evidence-Based Consensus for the Use of Neurostimulation for the Treatment of Non-Surgical Low Back Pain: The NEURON Group. J Pain Res. 2025 Mar 14;18:1247-1274. doi: 10.2147/JPR.S500342. PMID: 40104824; PMCID: PMC11917438.   

Schwab F, Mekhail N, Patel KV, Langhorst M, Heros RD, Gentile J, Costandi S, Moore G, Gilmore C, Manion S, Chakravarthy K, Meyer SC, Bundy JV, Tate JL, Sanders R, Vaid S, Szentirmai O, Goree J, Patel VV, Lehmen J, Desai MJ, Pope JE, Giuffrida A, Hayek S, Virk SS, Paicius R, Klemme WR, Levy R, Gilligan C; RESTORE investigators. Restorative Neurostimulation Therapy Compared to Optimal Medical Management: A Randomized Evaluation (RESTORE) for the Treatment of Chronic Mechanical Low Back Pain due to Multifidus Dysfunction. Pain Ther. 2025 Feb;14(1):401-423. doi: 10.1007/s40122-024-00689-0. Epub 2025 Jan 15. PMID: 39812968; PMCID: PMC11751280.   

Deer T, Heros R, Tavel E, Wahezi S, Funk R, Buchanan P, Christopher A, Weisbein J, Gilligan C, Patterson D, Antony A, Ibrahim M, Miller N, Scarfo K, Johnson G, Panchalingam T, Okaro U, Yue J. Comparing Conventional Medical Management to Spinal Cord Stimulation for the Treatment of Low Back Pain in a Cohort of DISTINCT RCT Patients. J Pain Res. 2024 Aug 23;17:2741-2752. doi: 10.2147/JPR.S472481. PMID: 39193462; PMCID: PMC11348985.   

Yue JJ, Gilligan CJ, Falowski S, Jameson J, Desai MJ, Moeschler S, Pilitsis J, Heros R, Tavel E, Wahezi S, Funk R, Buchanan P, Christopher A, Weisbein J, Patterson D, Levy R, Antony A, Miller N, Scarfo K, Kreiner S, Wilson D, Lim C, Braun E, Dickerson D, Duncan J, Xu J, Candido K, Mohab I, Michael F, Blomme B, Okaro U, Deer T. Surgical treatment of refractory low back pain using implanted BurstDR spinal cord stimulation (SCS) in a cohort of patients without options for corrective surgery: Findings and results from the DISTINCT study, a prospective randomized multi-center-controlled trial. N Am Spine Soc J. 2024 Jun 21;19:100508. doi: 10.1016/j.xnsj.2024.100508. PMID: 39139617; PMCID: PMC11321325.   

Carayannopoulos A, Johnson D, Lee D, Giuffrida A, Poply K, Mehta V, Amann M, Santillo D, Ghandour Y, Koch A, Langhorst M, Heros R. Precision Rehabilitation After Neurostimulation Implantation for Multifidus Dysfunction in Nociceptive Mechanical Chronic Low Back Pain. Arch Rehabil Res Clin Transl. 2024 Mar 21;6(2):100333. doi: 10.1016/j.arrct.2024.100333. PMID: 39006113; PMCID: PMC11240036.   

Deer T, Gilligan C, Falowski S, Desai M, Pilitsis J, Jameson J, Moeschler S, Heros R et al. Treatment of Refractory Low Back Pain Using Passive Recharge Burst in Patients Without Options for Corrective Surgery: Findings and Results From the DISTINCT Study, a Prospective Randomized Multicenter Controlled Trial. Neuromodulation. 2023 Oct;26(7):1387-1399.   

Patterson, D.G., Wilson, D., Fishman, M.A., Heros R. et al. Objective wearable measures correlate with self-reported chronic pain levels in people with spinal cord stimulation systems. npj Digit. Med. 6, 146 (2023)   

Huygen, F., Hagedorn, J.M., Falowski, S., Heros RD et al. Core patient-reported outcome measures for chronic pain patients treated with spinal cord stimulation or dorsal root ganglia stimulation. Health Qual Life Outcomes 21, 77 (2023).    

Heros R, Patterson D, Huygen F, Skaribas I, Schultz D, Wilson D, Fishman M, Falowski S, Moore G, Kallewaard JW, Dehghan S, Kyani A, Mansouri M. Objective wearable measures and subjective questionnaires for predicting response to neurostimulation in people with chronic pain. Bioelectron Med. 2023 Jun 21;9(1):13.   

Heros RD, Anderson JG, Cariello C. Cephalad extraspinal spinal cord stimulator lead migration & salvage: A case report. Pain Pract. 2023 Nov;23(8):974-977.    Hagedorn J, Vesper J, Schultz D, Falowski S, Fishell M, Heros RD et al. Burst Spinal Cord Stimulation for Treatment of Non-surgical and Surgical Chronic Low Back Pain: Results from the Prospective, Multicenter, International REALITY Study. Submitted for publication.   

Heros R, Gilligan CJ, Chakravarthy KV. Re: Strand N et al. Evidence-Based Clinical Guidelines from the American Society of Pain and Neuroscience for the Use of Implantable Peripheral Nerve Stimulation in the Treatment of Chronic Pain. J Pain Res. 2022 Aug 23;15:2483-2504 [Letter].     

Chakravarthy K, Lee D, Tram J, Sheth S, Heros R, Manion S, Patel V, Kiesel K, Ghandour Y, Gilligan C. Restorative Neurostimulation: A Clinical Guide for Therapy Adoption. J Pain Res. 2022 Jun 20;15:1759-1774. doi: 10.2147/JPR.S364081. PMID: 35756364; PMCID: PMC9231548.   

Deer, T., Wilson, D., Schultz, D., Falowski, S., Tavel, E., Moore, G., Heros, R., Patterson, D., Fahey, M., Capobianco, R. and Anitescu, M. (2021), Ultra-Low Energy Cycled Burst Spinal Cord Stimulation Yields Robust Outcomes in Pain, Function, and Affective Domains: A Subanalysis From Two Prospective, Multicenter, International Clinical Trials. Neuromodulation: Technology at the Neural Interface. https://doi.org/10.1111/ner.13507   

Pope, J.E., Fishman, M., Chakravarthy, K., Hanes M, Gerling, M., Heros, R.D., Falowski S, Shah J, Orhurhu V, Urits I, & Deer T. A Retrospective, Multicenter, Quantitative Analysis of Patients’ Baseline Pain Quality (PROMIS-29) Entering into Pain and Spine Practices in the United States (ALIGN). Pain Ther (2021).    

Heros R.D., Fishman MA, Pope JE, Falowski SM, Patterson DG. Pain Impact Scores are an Effective Predictive Tool for Neurostimulator Trial Success: Initial Results of the STIMPACT study. In: NANS Annual Meeting. Las Vegas; 2020.   

Pope, J.E., Schu, S., Sayed, D., Raslan, A.M., Baranidharan, G., Heros, R.D., Blomme, B., Capobianco, R.A. and Deer, T.R. (2020), Anatomic Lead Placement Without Paresthesia Mapping Provides Effective and Predictable Therapy During the Trial Evaluation Period: Results From the Prospective, Multicenter, Randomized, DELIVERY Study. Neuromodulation: Technology at the Neural Interface, 23: 109-117.