Dr. Vaccaro is certified by the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery, and he has won a wide array of awards over the course of his career, such as the Louis A. Goldstein Award for Best Clinical Poster Presentation from the Scoliosis Research Society in 2011 and the North American Spine Society’s 2010 Leon Wiltse Award for excellence in leadership and/or clinical research in spine care.
Dr. Vaccaro is a deputy editor and reviewer for Spine as well as past chairman of the Journal of Neurosurgery Spine editorial board. He has numerous research interests, including the spinal injury classification system development, spinal biomechanics and the biochemistry of the intervertebral disc. He is also an assistant team physician for the Philadelphia Eagles.
“Patient satisfaction is based on the fact that patients want to make sure that we are listening to their problems,” says Dr. Vaccaro. “Listening to patients makes them feel valued. Communication is key for improving patient care and satisfaction. In order to provide value and quality we need to conduct appropriate risk assessments, use universal evidenced base guidelines and provide demand-matching postoperative rehabilitation to improve patient outcomes. We need to know that we are offering the right patient the right care at the appropriate time to ensure that patients have a good experience and successful procedure.”
Dr. Vaccaro earned his medical degree at Georgetown University School of Medicine in Washington, D.C., and completed his orthopedic surgery residency at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia. He also completed a spine fellowship at the University of California, San Diego.
More Articles on Spine Leaders:
Spine Surgeon Leader to Know: Dr. Thomas Errico of NYU Hospital for Joint Diseases
Spine Surgeon Leader to Know: Dr. Nader Dahdaleh of Northwestern Medicine
Spine Surgeon Leader to Know: Dr. Alan Moskowitz of Kansas Orthopaedic Center
