Dr. Eellan Sivanesan, MD

Dr. Eellan Sivanesan serves as the Director of Neuromodulation and an Associate Professor in the Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. He treats a wide range of pain conditions at the Blaustein Pain Treatment Center, including chronic back, joint, abdominal, pelvic, facial, and headache pain, as well as neuropathic pain, cancer-related pain, complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS), and post-amputation pain. His clinical expertise includes advanced image-guided procedures using fluoroscopy and ultrasound to target the spine, peripheral nerves, muscles, and joints. He also performs radiofrequency ablation, chemodenervation (such as botulinum toxin injections), and neurolytic procedures to relieve severe or cancer-related pain when appropriate.

Dr. Sivanesan also specializes in advanced neuromodulation and minimally invasive spine procedures to manage complex chronic pain conditions. He is a nationally and …internationally invited speaker on these topics. His expertise includes all forms of spinal cord stimulation, including the latest waveforms and technologies. He also performs dorsal root ganglion (DRG) stimulation, peripheral nerve stimulation, craniofacial stimulation, basivertebral nerve ablation (Intracept), vertebral augmentation procedures (such as vertebroplasty, kyphoplasty, and SpineJack), and intrathecal drug delivery. He has introduced numerous new pain treatment modalities to The Johns Hopkins Health System, including minimally invasive lumbar decompression, indirect decompression device/interspinous spacers, temporary peripheral nerve stimulation, closed-loop spinal cord stimulation, ‘wireless’ spinal cord and peripheral nerve stimulation, restorative neurostimulation, and multiple other neuromodulation and minimally invasive spine advancements.

Dr. Sivanesan serves on the editorial boards of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine, Pain Medicine (Section-Neuromodulation and Minimally Invasive Spine), Neuromodulation, and Molecular Pain. He is also an Ad-Hoc reviewer for Nature Communications, Anesthesiology, Anesthesia and Analgesia, JAMA Pediatrics, Neuromodulation, Physical Therapy, Pain Practice, Pain Reports, Translational Neuroscience, European Journal of Pain, Bioelectronic Medicine, Cancer Reports, Annals of Clinical and Translational Neurology and multiple other pain and neuromodulation journals. He also serves on committees of the International Neuromodulation Society (INS), the American Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine (ASRA), the International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP), and the North American Neuromodulation Society (NANS).

Dr. Sivanesan’s neuromodulation and cancer pain research is driven by his mission to discover new pain treatments to help his patients at the Johns Hopkins Blaustein Pain Treatment Center and all patients suffering from pain across the globe. His lab is particularly interested in the use of targeted electrical stimulation (e.g., spinal cord stimulation) for painful chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) and cancer-related pain.  His work has been published in The Lancet, Anesthesiology, Neuromodulation, Pain, Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine, The British Journal of Anaesthesia, Journal of Clinical Anesthesia, Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology, Journal of Pain & Palliative Care Pharmacotherapy, Pain Reports, Pain Medicine, Anesthesia and Analgesia, Neuroscience Bulletin, Molecular Pain, and featured on the covers of Anesthesia & Analgesia and Neuromodulation.

Education: After graduating from The University of Oklahoma with a dual bachelors of science in Biochemistry and Zoology, Dr. Sivanesan stayed near his childhood home and completed medical school at The University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center-College of Medicine. He then completed an anesthesiology residency (clinical scientist track) and pain medicine fellowship at The University of Miami-Miller School of Medicine. After this clinical training, Dr. Sivanesan completed a National Institutes of Health (NIH) postdoctoral research fellowship for clinician scientists. Dr. Sivanesan has received research awards from The National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, The Jacob and Hilda Blaustein Foundation, The American Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine (ASRA), The Thompson Family Foundation, and The Foundation of Anesthesia Education and Research (FAER).

Contact Dr. Eellan Sivanesan

The Johns Hopkins Pain Clinic

Johns Hopkins Blaustein Pain Treatment Center

Johns Hopkins Outpatient Center

601 North Caroline Street, Suite 3062

Baltimore, MD 21287

Phone: 410-955-7246

Fax: 410-367-2047

Directions to the Outpatient Center

Appointment Information: 410-955-PAIN (7246)