Who are the most-liked spine surgeons on the internet? Judging from the volume of Facebook Likes on their articles and videos, these 10 surgeons are all in the running.
1. Ari Ben-Yishay, MD: Dr. Ben-Yishay is an orthopedic spine surgeon who has contributed several articles to Spine-health.com with over 2,000 Likes, including the top-ranked article “When Back Pain May Be a Medical Emergency.” Dr. Ben-Yishay is an orthopedic surgeon and Founder of Comprehensive Spine Care in New Jersey.
2. David DeWitt, MD: Dr. DeWitt is a regular contributor to Spine-health.com, with top-ranked articles on topics ranging from L5-S1 pathology to ACDF postoperative care. His articles have received over 15,000 Likes, and his spinal pathology series has reached over 1 million people on Facebook. Dr. DeWitt is an orthopedic surgeon at the Neurospine Center of Wisconsin.
3. Jeffrey A. Goldstein, MD: Dr. Goldstein's articles on cervical ADR rank number 1 in Google search results and have received over 8,000 Likes on Facebook, making them the go-to patient education resource on this type of surgery. Dr. Goldstein is Director of the NYU Langone Medical Center Spine Service in New York City.
4. Stephen Hochschuler, MD: Dr. Hochschuler contributed the original article on sciatica, which now has over 17,000 Likes and has reached over 2 million people on Facebook. Dr. Hochschuler is a co-founder of Texas Back Institute in Plano, Texas and a Medical Advisor for Veritas Health.
5. Paul C. McAfee, MD: Dr. McAfee is a Medical Advisor and Contributing Author for Spine-health.com whose articles have garnered over 15,000 Likes, including the top-ranked article Lumbar Spine Fusion for Degenerative Disc Disease. Dr. McAfee is Chief of Spinal Reconstructive Surgery at the University of Maryland St. Joseph Medical Center.
6. Larry Parker, MD: Dr. Parker has penned several original patient education articles on sciatica and back pain with over 2,000 Likes. Dr. Parker is an orthopedic spine surgeon in practice at The Orthopedic Center in Alabama.
7. Ralph S. Rashbaum, MD: Dr. Rashbaum has contributed articles on neuropathy and chronic back pain that are widely read and have over 4,000 Likes. He is an orthopedic surgeon and co-founder of the Texas Back Institute in Plano, Texas.
8. John E. Sherman, MD: Dr. Sherman has written several articles on various aspects of lumbar spine fusion. His article Postoperative Care for Spinal Fusion Surgery has over 3,000 Likes and is read more than 200,000 times each year. Dr. Sherman is an orthopedic surgeon at Twin City Orthopedics in Minnesota.
9. John Shim, MD, FACS: Dr. Shim has contributed several patient education articles and videos on spinal conditions and minimally invasive spine surgery options, garnering over 12,000 Likes and a reach of over 100,000 people on Facebook. He is an orthopedic spine surgeon in Tampa, Florida.
10. Jeffrey Spivak, MD: Dr. Spivak was one of the original contributing authors published on Spine-health.com. His articles and videos have over 5,000 Likes—and his article “Multi-level Spine Fusion” is the top-ranked article about this topic on Google. Dr. Spivak is the Director of the Hospital for Joint Diseases Spine Center in New York.
11. Michael Hasz, MD, of Virginia Spine Institute in Reston, received more than 685,000 views on his August 2011 article "Get To The Root of Arm Numbness Or Tingling" addressing carpal tunnel syndrome and cervical radiculopathy symptoms.
12. Brian Subach, MD, president of Virginia Spine Institute in Reston penned an article titled "Pain In The Neck: Tips to Alleviate Symptoms" in July 2016 that already has more than 45,000 views. The article discusses radiculopathy and tactics to avoid neck pain in the future.
The impressive reach and engagement from the above spine surgeons shows how much patients rely on in-depth, peer-reviewed information—and how committed these surgeons are to educating patients.