Dr. Mahendru started the first national Residents Section at the American Society for Regional Anesthesia (ASRA) and become a member of the American Society of Anesthesiology Committee on Pain Medicine while he was the Chief Fellow at Brigham and Women’s Harvard teaching institution. After this, he was appointed to lead and chair the CPT advisory committee of the American Academy of Pain Medicine Committee on Pain Medicine and represent the pain management physician community at the American Medical Association Board of Directors meetings. Dr. Mahendru recently completed training on the mild® Procedure.

Dr. Mahendru is an accomplished author and lecturer and speaks, teaches, and volunteers his time in underdeveloped nations in his specialty. He is also a former consultant to the Texas Medical Board.

Given his 25-year history of being a successful Pain Medicine physician, Dr. Mahendru has notable accolades that he is proud of:

1. He audits, supervises, and manages his providers to provide best-in-class, high-quality care in a cost-effective setting.
2. He meets with his staff and providers once a month to review quality improvement strategies.
3. His patients do NOT utilize the ER for after-hours care or for pain management services.
4. He minimizes and creates an opioid-free environment for his patients.
5. He does NOT utilize spine fusions as a cure for his patients, therefore, minimizing post-fusion failures in treatments which can be costly to the carriers and patients.

Dr. Mahendru believes advanced technology in a compassionate setting with patient outreach provides good outcomes and results. This is a highly cost-effective approach to achieving best-in-class care with outstanding results. Outcomes are tracked on a quarterly basis to demonstrate this.

Dr. Raymond Yu is a board-certified anesthesiologist and fellowship-trained interventional pain medicine physician who completed his residency training at Allegheny Health Network Medical Education Consortium in Pittsburgh, PA, where he also served as chief resident. Following his residency, he completed his fellowship at the University of Louisville, Kentucky.

His special interests within his field include interventional pain modalities for chronic and cancer pain as well as acute postoperative pain management, where he has a particular passion for creating care plans tailored to each patient’s individualized goals for improvement.

In his free time, Dr. Yu enjoys high intensity and weight training but also loves exploring Austin and the city’s many cuisines – especially in the company of his wife and the best pup ever, Luffy.

Dr. Asim Aijaz grew up in Arkansas and graduated from the University of Arkansas in Little Rock with Summa Cum Laude honors. He went on to complete his medical degree and anesthesiology residency at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. During his residency he developed an interest in pain management and pursued a pain management fellowship at New York Medical College in Manhattan, NY. After completing his advanced training in pain management, he moved to Austin, TX, where he has been practicing pain management for over 15 years.

In his free time, Dr. Aijaz enjoys spending time with his wonderful family, reading, motorcycles, exercising, hiking, and traveling. He has participated in medical outreach trips to Guatemala and Ghana. He is fluent in Hindi / Urdu.

Dr. Aijaz enjoys any opportunity to expand his education. He believes learning is not restricted to childhood or the classroom but occurs through life. “Commit yourself to lifelong learning. The most valuable asset you will ever have is your mind and what you put into it.” -Albert Einstein.

Dr. Erica Rivas-Rodriguez is a post-doctoral trained subspecialist in multiple sclerosis and neuroimmunology from the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, California and completed her specialty training in neurology from the University of Texas Southwestern in Dallas, Texas. She is a graduate from the Universidad Central del Caribe School of Medicine in Bayamon, Puerto Rico. She completed her Bachelor of Science degree in biology from the University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras Campus. She is board certified in Neurology by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology.

She has 11 years of experience as a neurologist, of which she has dedicated 7 years providing subspecialty care in the area of multiple sclerosis. Dr. Rivas-Rodriguez has offered her expertise at Baylor Scott & White Health System for 4 years. Dr. Rivas is an active member of the American Academy of Neurology, the American Medical Association and the Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers and the Texas Medical Association.

Ascent Pain Solutions is proud to announce Stephanie Borgstrand, ANP has joined our group of exceptional providers.

Stephanie has 15 years of experience in chronic pain management. She completed undergraduate training in Wisconsin at Cardinal Stritch University. Then moved to Texas to complete an Adult Nurse Practitioner degree at UTHealth Houston Cizik School of Nursing.

Stephanie works closely with our physicians to provide state-of-the-art treatment options that ensure fast, effective patient care plans. Stephanie’s goal is to provide attentive, compassionate care for her patients.

In her free time, she enjoys traveling with her husband and two daughters. She and her daughters enjoy being active and are blackbelts in TaeKwonDo.

Laura is a dedicated data enthusiast with over a decade in Chronic Pain Management. Laura is always searching for innovative technology integration opportunities in clinics that are both meaningful and cost-effective.

When it comes to ensuring that the team performs at its optimal level, Laura’s goal is to make administration as simple as possible, so that the patient can remain the priority.

Laura devotes spending time with her husband, their three children, and dogs when she isn’t leading the Ascent Pain Solutions team to greatness.