Dr. Bacu Bio

A rheumatologist is an internist or pediatrician who received further training in the diagnosis (detection), and treatment of diseases that affect the muscles, bones, joints, ligaments, and tendons. These diseases can cause pain, swelling, stiffness, and potentially cause joint deformities. An old-fashioned word for these problems is “rheumatism.” Therefore, a “rheumatologist” is the doctor that treats rheumatism.

Rheumatologists also treat a group of diseases called “systemic autoimmune diseases.” Other terms that you may hear or read that mean the same as systemic autoimmune diseases are “collagen vascular diseases,” and “connective tissue diseases.” This is a group of diseases where a person’s immune system attacks the person’s own body. This ends up causing inflammation in areas of the body where it is not needed, causing problems such as pain, swelling, and organ damage.

While the role of an orthopedic surgeon is to perform surgery on bones and joints (the musculoskeletal system), the purpose of the rheumatologist is to diagnose what type of musculoskeletal disease a person has and to treat it using nonsurgical methods.

Dr. Geri Bacu, MD is a Rheumatology Specialist in Ambridge, PA and has over 32 years of experience in the medical field. Dr. Bacu has extensive experience in Osteoporosis & Screening and Arthritis & Arthropathy. She graduated from Hahnemann Universtiy - Philadelphia medical school in 1990.

While I shadowed Dr. Bacu at Armstrong County Memorial Hospital (ACMH), she is affiliated with Heritage Valley Beaver and has her own practice too.