Blessen is a Physician Assistant at New York Spine Institute (NYSI). He specializes in spine and neurosurgery. Blessen works with NYSI’s world-renowned spine surgeons in helping patients to restore their health and provide lifetime support and care. In his role, Blessen directly assists NYSI surgeons with procedures involving the cervical, thoracic, and lumbar spine. He is trained in surgeries including anterior and posterior cervical fusion, thoracic/lumbar decompressive laminectomy/microdiscectomy, & open transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (TLIF). In addition, he has extensive experience in minimally invasive surgical techniques including MIS transforaminal lumbar interbody fusions (MIS-TLIF), lateral lumbar interbody fusions (LLIF/XLIF), anterior lumbar interbody fusions (ALIF). Blessen sees patient for surgical consultations, pre-operative/post-operative/follow up visits in addition to assisting to surgery. He focuses on improving the patient’s quality of life. Patients have confidence and trust in Blessen as he is accessible and helps patients understand surgical procedures to reduce their anxiety and fear. Blessen is consistently pursuing professional development and acquiring new skills as well as learning about new techniques.
Prior to joining NYSI in 2021, Blessen was a Physician Assistant at Mt. Sinai Hospital in Manhattan and Queens specializing in neurosurgery and vascular surgery. Blessen is a board-certified Physician Assistant.
He completed his undergraduate degree at Binghamton University and earned a BS in Psychobiology before receiving his MS from Pace University’s Physician Assistant program. Blessen always had an interest in medicine and was inspired by a mentor to pursue a career as a physician assistant.
He was raised in Queens and currently resides on Long Island in Garden City.