Spine surgeons are taking on expanded leadership roles as health systems invest in specialty programs, recruit physicians and develop new models for delivering care.
From Sutter Health’s nearly $500 million neuroscience complex to leadership changes at academic medical centers and a Texas spine practice, six surgeons are helping shape the direction of spine care.
Here are six spine surgeons taking on influential leadership roles, as highlighted in recent Becker’s reporting.
1. Shane Burch, MD, is leading Sutter Health’s new spine institute. Dr. Burch and three fellow former University of California, San Francisco spine surgeons joined Sacramento, Calif.-based Sutter Health to establish the Sutter Advanced Neuroscience & Spine Institute in San Francisco. Dr. Burch serves as chief of spine surgery at the institute, which is tied to a nearly $500 million neuroscience and spine complex expected to open in 2028.
The program brings orthopedic and neurosurgical spine care under unified leadership.
2. Rajiv Sethi, MD, PhD, is overseeing orthopedic spine surgery at UCSF. Dr. Sethi was appointed chief of orthopedic spine surgery, co-director of the UCSF Spine Center and system medical director of value-based musculoskeletal initiatives, effective April 1.
His responsibilities include expanding coordinated spine care and value-based musculoskeletal initiatives across the system.
3. Puya Alikhani, MD, is leading spine surgery at Tampa General. Dr. Alikhani serves as director of the division of spine surgery and chief of neurosurgery at Tampa (Fla.) General Hospital.
In October, the hospital’s Neuro Spine Program became the first worldwide to earn Surgical Review Corp.’s Center of Excellence in Neuro Spine Surgery designation, while Dr. Alikhani became the first surgeon worldwide to earn the organization’s Master Surgeon designation in neuro spine surgery.
4. Timothy Witham, MD, is leading spine surgery at UChicago Medicine. Dr. Witham joined UChicago Medicine as section chief of spine surgery amid an expansion of its neurosurgery department.
The system announced the addition of four neurosurgeons in July. The department has added eight faculty members since Mohamad Bydon, MD, became chair in 2025, bringing its total to 18, and recent additions include a robotic spine program.
5. Neil Patel, MD, is leading Spine Team Texas. Dr. Patel was named president and board chair of the Southlake, Texas-based practice in January.
The group has 27 physicians across 11 locations in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, 22 of whom are nonoperative spine physicians. More than 90% of its patients never see a surgeon, Dr. Patel told Becker’s.
6. Bassel Diebo, MD, is co-leading the Spine Center at The Miriam Hospital. Dr. Diebo was named co-director of the Spine Center at The Miriam Hospital in Providence, R.I., in January. He joins co-director Adetokunbo Oyelese, MD, in leading the center, which is part of Brown University Health.
His role includes strengthening collaboration across services and driving quality and safety initiatives. Dr. Diebo focuses on posture and spinal alignment and treats complex conditions such as scoliosis, flatback syndrome and hip-spine syndrome.
At the Becker’s 32nd Annual Meeting: The Business and Operations of ASCs, taking place October 29-31 in Chicago, ASC leaders, surgeons and healthcare executives will explore strategies to drive growth, enhance operational performance, navigate reimbursement challenges and prepare for the future of ambulatory surgery. Apply for complimentary registration now.
