Thomas Larkin, M.D.

 

     The Pain Management Institute is pleased to have Dr. Thomas Larkin join our staff on a full-time basis.He has worked as a part-time staff here for the past 10 years. In this part-time capacity he has worked on our most challenging cases. He has provided the clinic with a unique expertise in performing our most complex interventional procedures. Dr. Larkin is highly skilled in all interventional pain procedures, especially cervical spine procedure for treatment of headaches.  He has performed over 25,000 procedures in the past 20 years. We are fortunate to have such a skilled and experienced provider in our practice. He also brings with him a breadth of knowledge in non-interventional pain management as well. Dr. Larkin prides himself in keeping abreast of the latest, cutting edge therapies for pain management.  

 

     Dr. Larkins focus is tailoring therapy for each individual patient. That begins with a comprehensive evaluation, listening, thinking carefully about what will work for each individual patient, not just using a simple algorithm that may not work. This may take longer but the ultimate goal is to get the patient in the best possible care in the short and long term management of their pain.

 

     Dr. Larkin graduated from medical school with Honors from the State University of New York, Upstate Medical Center in Syracuse. After that he had his internship, residency and fellowship training in anesthesiology and pain management at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. He was selected as a Chief Resident of his class during his training. After finishing his residency and fellowship training he stayed on as staff at Walter Reed for another 7 years. During this period he served at various times as the chief of the pain management clinic as well as the chief of the anesthesia department. During this tenure at Walter Reed the pain service grew from an afterthought to a nationally known and respected institution in the field of pain management which has been featured in national magazines and profiled on television. He left the Army as a Lieutenant Colonel to pursue a career in private practice.

 

     Dr. Larkin has been practicing interventional pain management for over 20 years. He has taught countless residents and fellows on how and why to apply these treatments. Dr. Larkin is also active in research in the field of pain management, having authored and co-authored more than 30 research papers and book chapters. He has lectured and instructed others on techniques in pain management both nationally and internationally.

 

     Dr. Larkin has also received several honors from both is peers and patients. In Medical School he was elected to the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Society for his academic excellence. He was named a SuperDoctor in pain management, an honor given to only the Top 5% of all physicians in his specialty and chosen by his peers. Vitals.com has awarded Dr. Larkin with a Top 10 Doctor Award, a Compassionate Doctor Award and a Patients Choice award 5 years running. He proudly served in the Army for 14 years. He was promoted to several prestigious posts in his military career. As a captain in the Army he served as the Brigade Physician of the 10th Aviation Brigade at Fort Drum, NY, and as the Combat Brigade Physician, in charge of 10 other physicians in Mogadishu, Somalia during Operation Continue Hope. He was the Chief of the Pain Clinics at both Walter Reed Army Medical center and Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany. Finally he served as the Chief of the Anesthesiology Service at Walter Reed Army Medical Center before leaving to private practice. He was awarded the Army Commendation Medal and the Meritorious Service Medal three times. He is a reviewer for the Journal of Pain Medicine.

 

     Dr. Larkin is board certified in anesthesiology and pain management. He is an active member of the International Spinal Injection Society, American Society of Interventional Pain Physicians, and a member of the Maryland Board of Physicians Review Panel. He holds a position as an Assistant Professor of Anesthesiology at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences.

 

     Dr. Larkin is married and has two children. He likes to spend his free time with his family and friends. He is an avid, although mediocre golfer and a plodding runner.

 

 

Recent Publications:

 

Cohen SP, Moon JY, Brummett CM, White RL, Larkin TM. Medial Branch Blocks or Intra-Articular Injections as a Prognostic Tool Before Lumbar Facet Radiofrequency Denervation: A Multicenter, Case-Control Study. Reg Anesth Pain Med. 2015 Jul-Aug;40(4):376-83.

 

Cohen SP, White RL, Kurihara C, Larkin TM, Chang A, Griffith SR, Gilligan C, Larkin R, Morlando B, Pasquina PF, Yaksh TL, Nguyen C. Epidural steroids, etanercept, or saline in subacute sciatica: a multicenter, randomized trial. Ann Intern Med. 2012 Apr 17;156(8):551-9.

 

Williams KA, Gonzalez-Fernandez M, Hamzehzadeh S, Wilkinson I, Erdek MA, Plunkett A, Griffith S, Crooks M, Larkin T, Cohen SP. A multi-center analysis evaluating factors associated with spinal cord stimulation outcome in chronic pain patients. Pain Med. 2011 Aug;12(8):1142-53. doi: 10.1111/j.1526-4637.2011.01184.x. Epub 2011 Jul 12.

 

Cohen SP, Williams KA, Kurihara C, Nguyen C, Shields C, Kim P, Griffith SR, Larkin TM, Crooks M, Williams N, Morlando B, Strassels SA. Multicenter, randomized, comparative cost-effectiveness study comparing 0, 1, and 2 diagnostic medial branch (facet joint nerve) block treatment paradigms before lumbar facet radiofrequency denervation. Anesthesiology. 2010 Aug;113(2):395-405.

 

Larkin, TM, DeMarco, M. Suros, J and Cohen SP. Disc Herniations: Injections and Minimally Invasive Techniques for Treatment. In Deere et al. 1st Edition of Diagnosis, Management, and Treatment of Discogenic Pain.