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VOLUME 9, ISSUE 20 JULY 2, 2013The 28 Top Spine Surgeons in North AmericaOTW STAFFWho do spine surgeons want to seewhen they or a loved one needtreatment? Find out here. We askedleading spine surgeons to select the bestof their peers.Here is that list. It isn’t the be-all and end-alllist—but a list of the finest spine physicians,teachers, investigators or administrators inthe country. This information was obtainedvia a telephone survey of thought leaders inthe field. The information in quotes is whatwe heard about these surgeons.Todd J. Albert, M.D. is the RichardH. Rothman Professor and Chairmanof the Department of OrthopaedicSurgery at Thomas Jefferson Universityin Philadelphia. He is also president ofthe Rothman Institute and serves as CoDirector of Reconstructive Spine Surgeryand the Spine Fellowship Program atThomas Jefferson University Hospitals.He is past president of The Cervical SpineResearch Society (CSRS). “He is a go-tospine surgeon for any kind of procedure.He is also an outstanding leader andtalented researcher.”Howard S. An, M.D. is an orthopedicsurgeon with Midwest Orthopaedics atRush in Chicago. Dr. An is the MortonInternational Endowed Chair, Director ofSpine Surgery and Director of the SpineFellowship Program at Rush UniversityMedical Center. He is a past president ofthe International Society for the Study ofthe Lumbar Spine. “He has made greatadvances in cell biology and has been areal leader in trying to understand theImage created by RRY Publications, LLC / Photography by Andrew Huthbasic science behind a lot of the commonspine problems.”Sigurd H. Berven, M.D. is associateprofessor in Residence in the Departmentof Orthopaedic Surgery at the Universityof California, San Francisco. “He is atrue health outcomes guru who is alwaysthinking of cost effectiveness. He isan ‘outside-the-box’ thinker, and is anexceptionally nice guy.”Mark H. Bilsky, M.D. is a neurosurgeonwith Memorial Sloan-Kettering in NewYork City. He is also Director of MemorialSloan-Kettering multi-disciplinary spinetumor team. “He is an exceptionaltumor surgeon who has developed noveltechniques for complex surgeries. Hereally thinks about the entire patientand is very knowledgeable about bothoperative and nonoperative care.”Christopher M. Bono, M.D. is Chief ofSpine at Brigham and Women’s Hospitaland assistant professor in the Departmentof Orthopedic Surgery at HarvardMedical School. “He is a leader in thepolitics of spine surgery, and is helpingto define the future of spine by workingwith the government and other relevantparties.”Keith H. Bridwell, M.D. is the J.Albert Key Distinguished Professor ofOrthopaedic Surgery at WashingtonUniversity School of Medicine, and heis Chief of Pediatric and Adult Spinalryortho.com 1-888-749-2153

ORTHOPEDICS THIS WEEKVOLUME 9, ISSUE 20 JULY 2, 2013Surgery in the Orthopaedic Departmentat Washington University in St. Louis.He is a former president of the ScoliosisResearch Society. “He is a great surgeon,teacher, and researcher who has donegroundbreaking work on the surgicalmanagement of spinal deformities.”Bradford L. Currier, M.D. is Professorof Orthopedics at Mayo Clinic inMinnesota. He is President of theLumbar Spine Research Society (LSRS)and past president of The Cervical SpineResearch Society. “He has made manystrong contributions to the literature andhas trained numerous prominent spinesurgeons. He is exceptional at takingsomeone through difficult cases, workingat their level, and having them improvethroughout the year. He is extremelyethical and very well respected.”Jason Eck, D.O. is an orthopedicspine surgeon with the Center forSports Medicine and Orthopedics inChattanooga, Tennessee. “He has writtena series of seminal textbooks on spinesurgery, and is consistently contributingto the field via his research.”Michael G. Fehlings, M.D., F.A.C.S.,F.R.C.S.C., Ph.D. is a professor ofneurosurgery at the University of Toronto,and is the Krembil Chair in Neural Repair& Regeneration at the Toronto WesternHospital in Ontario. Dr. Fehlings is apast president of the CSRS. “He is a topnotch researcher, as well as an excellentclinician. He has done a great deal ofpioneering work in spinal cord injury.”Charles G. Fisher, M.D. is a surgeonat the Combined Neurosurgical andOrthopedic Spine Program at VancouverGeneral Hospital, University of BritishColumbia. “He is a great role model whohas a great deal of common sense, as wellas a sense of how to balance industryrelationships and science. He is a thoughtleader in epidemiology and spine.”Jeffrey S. Fischgrund, M.D. is Professorof Orthopaedic Surgery at OaklandUniversity, William Beaumont Schoolof Medicine in Rochester, Michigan. Heis also Fellowship Director of SpinalSurgery at William Beaumont Hospitalin Royal Oak, Michigan. Dr. Fischgrundis currently editor-in-chief of the Journalof the American Academy of OrthopaedicSurgeons. He is president-elect of theLSRS. “He is a well known authorityin spine, especially when it comes todegenerative lumbar conditions.”Steven Garfin, M.D. is Chair of theDepartment of Orthopaedic Surgery atthe University of California, San Diego;he is also Chief of the UC San DiegoSpine Program. “He is a brilliant mentor,a fearless surgeon, and is indefatigable nobody outworks Garfin. He is probablybest known for his work in spine traumaand revision spine surgery.”Ziya L. Gokaslan, M.D. is professorof Neurosurgery, Orthopedic Surgeryand Oncology at Johns Hopkins; heis the Donlin M. Long Professor ofNeurosurgery. He is also director ofthat institution’s spine center. “He isknown for his tumor work and forcomplex reconstructions. He knows theimportance of working with a team toreconstruct major segments of the spine,and has developed new ideas for thesesegmental problems. He has a meticuloussurgical technique.”James S. Harrop, M.D., F.A.C.S. isprofessor of Neurosurgery and DivisionDirector for Adult ReconstructiveSpine at Thomas Jefferson Universityin Philadelphia. “He is one of the mostthoughtful cervical spine and traumasurgeons in the United States. He is atechnical expert, is editor of Congress ofNeurological Surgeons quarterly, and hisopinion is extremely well respected.”John G. Heller, M.D. is the BaurProfessor of Orthopedic Surgery andspine fellowship director at EmoryUniversity. He is the past-president of theCervical Spine Research Society. “He isone of the first surgeons in the country2to perform laminoplasty; he championedthis operation and it has steadily gainedin popularity. He is an excellent spinesurgeon and a mentor to many youngsurgeons.”Harry N. Herkowitz, M.D. (deceasedJune 2013) was Chairman of Departmentof Orthopaedic Surgery at WilliamBeaumont Hospital and professor atOakland University, William BeaumontSchool of Medicine. He was a directorof the American Board of OrthopaedicSurgery. “Dr. Herkowitz was clearly oneof our ‘greats.’ He was a visionary leader,and was named president of many ofour spine organizations. His devotionto the field was enormous, and his highstandards for orthopedic education andtraining were a hallmark of his career.”Serena Hu, M.D. is the David S. BradfordEndowed Professor and Vice Chair ofOrthopedic Surgery at the University ofCalifornia, San Francisco (UCSF). She isalso co-director of the UCSF Spine Center.“She is a top female spine surgeon, andis very talented with handling deformitysurgery. She is also known for being agreat teacher and communicator.”Lawrence J. Lenke, M.D. is the JeromeJ. Gilden Distinguished Professor ofOrthopaedic Surgery and professor ofNeurological Surgery at WashingtonUniversity School of Medicine in SaintLouis, Missouri. He is also Chief of SpinalSurgery, Director of the Complex SpinalDeformity Institute and Fellowship at thatinstitution. Dr. Lenke is a past presidentof the Scoliosis Research Society. “He isrenowned for his work with patients whohave severe spinal deformities. He paysextra attention to the issue of maintainingsafety with respect to neurologic issues.He is detailed oriented, an honestreporter of his data, and is exceptionallyhardworking.”Frank M. Phillips, M.D. is professor ofOrthopaedic Surgery and co-director ofthe Spine Fellowship at Rush UniversityMedical Center. He is also Rush Universityryortho.com 1-888-749-2153