History of Our Practice

Our practice has a long history on the north side of Chicago and the Northwest Suburbs.  After serving in WWII, Dr. Viggo Sorensen became an associate of  Drs. Ben and John Svoboda, whose Chicago office was located at Six Corners (Irving Park Road, Cicero Avenue, and Milwaukee Avenue). In 1948, Dr. Sorensen purchased the practice and began building the foundation of our current practice, The Associates for Oral, Maxillofacial and Implant Surgery.

In the early 1960’s the practice began to expand. Dr. John Giannini joined the practice in 1960, followed by Dr. John Sachs in 1961. Both Dr. Giannini and Dr. Sachs completed their residencies at Northwestern University/Cook County Hospital in Chicago. Together they opened an office in Mt. Prospect, which was the first oral and maxillofacial surgery practice in the Northwest suburbs of Chicago; including Arlington Heights and Des Plaines.

The two offices continued to grow and in 1970 another Northwestern University/Cook County Hospital resident, Dr. Gerald Spinazze joined the practice. In 1973, Dr. Steven Verona completed his residency at Michael Reese Hospital and became a member of practice. The 1970’s also brought sadness when Dr. Viggo Sorensen passed away in 1974.

The 1980’s were another period of growth and change. In 1982 Dr. Dennis Spinazze (Dr. Gerald Spinazze’s brother), following the completion of his residency at Detroit Macomb Hospital and the Children’s Hospital of Michigan, joined the practice. In 1985 our third office was opened in the western suburb of Bartlett. Dr. John Sachs retired in 1988.

The 1990’s saw the addition of three new surgeons to the practice. Dr. Michael Zak became a member of the practice in 1992 after completing his residency at Duke University and a fellowship at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit. In 1997, Dr. Russell Spinazze (Dr. Gerald Spinazze’s son and Dr. Dennis Spinazze’s nephew) joined the group after completion of his residency at the University of Illinois at Chicago. In 1999, Dr. Anthony Spina joined the practice after a two-year academic position at the University of Kentucky in Lexington. Dr. Spina completed his residency at the University of Buffalo in New York as well as a cosmetic facial surgery fellowship in Gainesville Florida. Two surgeons retired from the practice in the 1990’s, Dr. Steven Verona in 1995 and Dr. John Giannini in 1999.

The new millennium brought growth and change to our practice. In 2001, Dr. Gerald Spinazze retired. The year 2003 was marked by an expansion of the practice with the opening of the Elk Grove Village Office at Alexian Brothers Medical Center. In 2004, the practice welcomed Dr. William Perkinson, who completed his residency at John Stroger/Cook County Hospital.