12 Spine Surgeons Performing Minimally Invasive Scoliosis Surgery

Spine
Laura Dyrda -

Here are 12 spine surgeons who perform minimally invasive scoliosis surgical techniques.
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Neel Anand, MD (Cedars-Sinai Spine Center, Los Angeles).
Dr. Anand is the Director of Spine Trauma, Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery at Cedars-Sinai Spine Center. He has pioneered the combination of three minimally invasive spine surgery procedures to treat adults with scoliosis. The procedures include lateral lumbar interbody fusion, direct lateral interbody fusion and rod placement with the CD Horizon Longitudinal system. He published results of his outcomes on these procedures for 12 cases. Dr. Anand is a founding member of the Society for Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery and Society for Lateral Access Surgery as well as the national director for ONE Spine Society. He is a member of the International Society for the Advancement of Spine Surgery and North American Spine Society. Dr. Anand earned his medical degree at the University of Bombay Medical College in India and completed residencies at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in Philadelphia, Texas Back Institute in Plano and Royal College of Surgeons in England. His additional training includes fellowships in reconstructive spine surgery at Spine Associates of North Central Florida in Gainesville, trauma at Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City and scoliosis and spinal deformities at HSS and Cornell University.

Richard Fessler, MD (Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Chicago).
Dr. Fessler is a spine surgeon with Northwestern Memorial Hospital who performs minimally invasive scoliosis correction. He is a former chief of neurological surgery at the University of Chicago and has extensive experience with minimally invasive instrumentation. In addition to his clinical practice, Dr. Fessler is a professor of neurological surgery at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and has been a visiting professor at numerous universities. Throughout his career he has served as an honored guest in countries such as Japan, Mexico, Egypt, South Africa, China and Argentina. He also focuses on research and has published numerous spine-related articles in professional journals. Dr. Fessler earned his medical degree at the University of Chicago School of Medicine and completed his residency at the University of Chicago Medical Center.

Matthew Geck, MD (Seton Spine and Scoliosis Center, Austin, Texas).
Dr. Geck is the co-chief of Seton Spine and Scoliosis Center and has a professional interest in minimally invasive scoliosis reconstruction. He was among the first spine surgeons in the southwestern region of the country to perform a minimally invasive technique and the first in central Texas to perform and integrate ScoliScore genetic testing into his practice. In addition to his clinical practice, Dr. Geck is actively researching minimally invasive scoliosis reconstruction, surgical planning and complex osteotomy surgery. Dr. Geck is also the founder and medical director of SpineHope, a charitable organization for advancing spine treatment to underprivileged children around the world. He is a fellow of the Scoliosis Research Society and member of the Cervical Spine Research Society. He earned his medical degree at the University of Wisconsin Medical School and completed his residency at UCLA Medical Center. He also completed an adult and pediatric spine surgery fellowship at the University of Miami/Jackson Memorial Hospital and Miami Children's Hospital.

Adam Kanter, MD (University of Pittsburgh).
Dr. Kanter is the director of the minimally invasive spine program and an assistant professor of neurological surgery at the University of Pittsburgh. He has a professional interest in treating spinal conditions through a minimally invasive approach, including scoliosis deformity correction. He uses a nerve decompression technique and lateral lumbar interbody fusion approach. In addition to his clinical practice, Dr. Kanter is a member of the Society of Minimally Invasive Spine Surgeons, North American Spine Society and Society of Lateral Access Surgeons. He also focuses on research and has published spine-related articles in several professional journals. During his career, he has served on the editorial board of SpineLine. Dr. Kanter earned his medical degree at the University of Vermont in Burlington and completed his neurosurgical residency at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. His additional training includes a fellowship in minimally invasive spine surgery at the University of California, San Francisco and Auckland (New Zealand) City Hospital.

Kaveh Khajavi, MD (Georgia Spine and Neurosurgery Center, Atlanta).
Dr. Khajavi is a founding member of the Society for Lateral Access Surgery and has been treating degenerative scoliosis patients with minimally invasive surgical techniques since 2004. Dr. Khajavi recently co-founded the Institute for Neurosurgical and Spine Research Foundation, a scientific research organization designed to facilitate research collaborations among minimally invasive spine surgeons. The foundation also collaborates with other spine surgeons participating in data collection and research, with studies focusing on clinical outcomes and comparative effectiveness for minimally invasive procedures and emerging technologies. The practice has been collecting outcomes since 2003 and has more than 1,000 patients in the database. He earned his medical degree from Georgetown University School of Medicine in Washington, DC, and completed his neurosurgical residency at Cleveland Clinic. He is also the neurosurgical consultant to the Atlanta Falcons.

Hooman M. Melamed, MD (Marina Del Rey Hospital, Marina Del Rey, Calif.). Dr. Melamed is a spine surgeon with Marina Del Rey Hospital and has a special interest in minimally invasive solutions for spinal disorders, including scoliosis. In addition to his clinical work, he has been lead author on multiple published peer-reviewed papers and has presented research at several professional meetings. He is also lead author on the spinal deformity textbook "Cervico-Thoracic Junction: Fixation Options" and a member of North American Spine Society and American Academy for Orthopaedic Surgeons. Dr. Melamed earned his medical degree at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and completed his residency in orthopedic surgery at the University of Illinois at Chicago. His additional training includes a fellowship in complex spine surgery at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center's Institute for Spinal Disorders.

Praveen Mummanei, MD (University of California, San Francisco). Dr. Mummanei is the director of minimally invasive and cervical spine surgery, director of the minimally invasive and complex spine fellowship program and co-director of spine surgery and the UCSF Spine Center at the University of California, San Francisco. He also serves as an associate professor and vice chair of neurological surgery at UCSF. He performs minimally invasive scoliosis correction and was a member of DePuy Spine's VIPER 3D surgeon design team. The device promotes a three-dimensional correction for patients with adult degenerative scoliosis or adolescent idiopathic scoliosis, designed to facilitate a minimally invasive approach. He was the first neurosurgeon elected to active membership in the Scoliosis Research Society and the first neurosurgeon to win the SRS Edgar Dawson Memorial Scholarship and SRS Traveling Fellowship Award. He has been editor for several spine-related textbooks and has published more than 100 manuscripts in professional journals. Dr. Mummaneni earned his medical degree at Boston University School of Medicine and completed his residency in neurological surgery at the University of California, San Francisco. His additional training includes a complex spine fellowship at Emory University in Atlanta.

George D. Picetti, MD (Sutter Health, Sacramento).
Dr. Picetti is a spine surgeon with Sutter Health's Sutter Neuroscience Institute and Sutter Neuroscience Medical Group. He has a special interest in a minimally invasive approach to scoliosis treatment, developing new treatment options for adult and pediatric patients with scoliosis and lumbar disorders. His approach to minimally invasive scoliosis surgery is through a smaller incision to minimize scarring and reduce tissue damage and blood loss. He began using endoscopes in the mid-1990s and has become an expert at the procedure since then. Dr. Picetti is the head of minimally invasive spine surgery at the Children's Center and director of Spine Overseas, a volunteer program for orthopedic and neurosurgeons to treat complex spine pathologies overseas in developing countries. Dr. Picetti earned his medical degree at Creighton University in Omaha and completed his residency at Kaiser Foundation Hospital. His additional training includes the San Francisco Orthopaedic Resident Training Program at St. Mary's Hospital and an orthopedic spine surgery fellowship at Texas Back Institute in Plano.

Vishal Sarwahi, MD (Montefiore Medical Center, Bronx, N.Y.).
Dr. Sarwahi is the chief of scoliosis surgery at Montefiore Medical Center and has a special interest in treating patients with minimally invasive scoliosis surgery. He is pioneering the minimally invasive technique for adolescent scoliosis surgery and is involved in several research projects on scoliosis at the basic science and clinical level. Dr. Sarwahi is a member of the Scoliosis Research Society and has given presentations on spine research and techniques internationally. Dr. Sarwahi earned his medical degree at the University of Bombay in India and completed his residency at King Edward the VIIth Memorial Hospital and BJ Wadia Hospital for Children. His additional training includes the Edwin Warner Ryerson Fellowship in Pediatric Orthopedics at McGaw Medical Center of the Northwestern Memorial University in Chicago and a second fellowship in spine deformity at the Hospital of Special Surgery in New York City.

William D. Tobler, MD (Mayfield Chiari Center, Cincinnati).
Dr. Tobler is a neurosurgeon at Mayfield Chiari Center with a professional interest in minimally invasive deformity correction, outpatient minimally invasive lumbar spinal fusion and artificial disc replacement. He is chairman of the board of managers at The Christ Hospital Spine Surgery Center, where he formerly served as president and medical director. He is also director of neurosurgery at The Christ Hospital and a professor in the department of neurosurgery at UC College of Medicine. Dr. Tobler is a member of the Society of Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery, North American Spine Society and Congress of Neurological Surgeons. He earned his medical degree at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine and completed his residency at UC Medical Center, Christ Hospital, Children's Hospital Medical Center and Good Samaritan Hospital.

Vikas V. Varma, MD (Manhattan Orthopedic & Sports Medicine Group).
Dr. Varma is a spine surgeon at Manhattan Orthopedic & Sports Medicine Group with a special interest in minimally invasive techniques for scoliosis and degenerative conditions of the cervical and lumbar spine. He is also trained in sports medicine with arthroscopic surgical techniques. Dr. Varma is a member of the Scoliosis Research Society, North American Spine Society and American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. In addition to his clinical practice, Dr. Varma is actively involved in several spine-related research projects. Dr. Varma earned his medical degree at the University of Maryland in Baltimore and completed his orthopedic surgery residency at the University of Connecticut in Farmington. His additional training includes a sports medicine and arthroscopy fellowship at Orthopaedics Sports Specialists in Glastonbury, Conn., and a spine surgery fellowship at the San Diego Center for Spinal Disorders.

Joseph M. Zavatsky, MD (Ochsner Medical Center, New Orleans).
Dr. Zavatsky is the section chief of orthopedic spine surgery at Ochsner Medical Center with a special interest in minimally invasive spine surgery for adult and pediatric deformity correction. He is one of a few surgeons in his region to perform adult deformity surgery and his additional expertise includes motion preservation surgery and total cervical disc replacement. In addition to his clinical practice, Dr. Zavatsky serves as a team spine consultant for the New Orleans Hornets. Dr. Zavatsky earned his medical degree at the University of Pittsburgh and completed his residency at Albert Einstein Medical Center in Philadelphia. His additional training includes a fellowship at the New York University Hospital for Joint Diseases. He also completed the traveling AO Spine International Fellowship at the Instituto Ortopedico Galeazzi in Milan, Italy.

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