Here are 11 spine surgeons and neurosurgeons for National Basketball Association teams.
Information was not available on all teams. If you would like to add a spine surgeon to this list, contact Anuja Vaidya at avaidya@beckershealthcare.com.
Scott Blumenthal, MD (Texas Back Institute, Plano). Dr. Blumenthal is the spine consultant for the Dallas Mavericks. He is a partner at Texas Back Institute and a clinical assistant professor of orthopedic surgery at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School in Dallas. He has also served as a principle investigator for SB III Charite Artificial Disc. He focuses on artificial disc replacement and was one of the first surgeons in the U.S. to perform lumbar disc replacement. He is a member of the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons, North American Spine Society and International Society of the Study of the Lumbar Spine. He earned his medical degree at Northwestern University Medical School in Evanston, Ill., and completed his residency at the University of Texas Health Science Center in Dallas. He has completed a fellowship in spinal trauma at Midwestern Regional Spinal Cord Injury Care System at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago.
Michael F. Coscia, MD (Ortho Indy, Indianapolis). Dr. Coscia is a spine consultant for the Indiana Pacers. He has also served as a physician at several Olympic trials, NCAA championships and for the Indy 500. Dr. Coscia has a special interest in trauma, scoliosis and deformities, arthritis of the spine and treating spinal infections. He is a member of the North American Spine Society and Scoliosis Research Society. He earned his medical degree from the Bowman Gray School of Medicine in Winston-Salem, N.C. He completed his orthopedic surgery residency at the University of Tennessee/Campbell Foundation and completed fellowships at the Minnesota Spine Center and Twin Cities Scoliosis Center at the University of Minnesota.
Edward J. Goldberg, MD (Midwest Orthopaedics at Rush, Chicago). Dr. Goldberg is a spine consultant for the Chicago Bulls and team physician for the Chicago White Sox. He is an assistant professor in the orthopedic surgery department at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago. He has a professional interest in spinal injuries and diseases of the cervical, thoracic and lumbar spine. He performs motion preservation techniques such as disc replacement and is a member of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons and North American Spine Society. He earned his medical degree at the University of Illinois College of Medicine and completed his residency training at the University of Illinois Hospitals and Clinics in Chicago. He has also completed fellowship training at Rush University Medical Center.
Jonathan Lewin, MD (Brooklyn Premier Orthopaedics, N.Y.). Dr. Lewin is the official spine sponsor of the Brooklyn Nets. He is the director of spine surgery at North Shore University Hospital in Forest Hills, N.Y. He performs endoscopic fusion surgery, a minimally invasive spinal surgery technique that can be used to correct degenerative disc disease, spondylolisthesis, scoliosis and other disorders of the spine. His hospital affiliations include Englewood (N.J.) Hospital and Holy Name Hospital in Teaneck, N.J., among others. He earned his medical degree at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and completed his orthopedic surgery residency at Montefiore Medical Center, both located in New York. He completed his pediatric and adult medicine surgery fellowship at the Shriner's Hospital of Philadelphia, Temple University Hospital and Jefferson University Hospital, all located in Philadelphia, and Cooper University in Camden, N.J.
Paul Marcotte, MD (Penn Medicine, Philadelphia). Dr. Marcotte is the team neurosurgeon for the Philadelphia 76ers. Throughout his career, Dr. Marcotte has published several articles in spine-focused journals and is a member of the American College of Surgeons and Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons. He earned his medical degree and completed his fellowship at the University of Ottawa in Canada. His additional training includes a fellowship at Barrow Neurological Institute.
Jean-Pierre Mobasser, MD (Goodman Campbell Brain & Spine, Indianapolis). Dr. Mobasser is the team neurosurgeon for the Indiana Pacers and serves as a spinal consultant to the National Football League Combine. He is a clinical assistant professor of neurosurgery at Indiana University in Bloomington and serves on the faculty of Richard L Roudebush VA Medical in Indianapolis. He has served as a member of the Medtronic focus group on O-arm image-guided navigation. He is a member of Congress of Neurological Surgeons and American Association of Neurological Surgeons as well as a founding member of Society for Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery. He earned his medical degree at Medical College of Georgia in Augusta and completed his neurosurgery residency at Semmes-Murphey Clinic in Memphis, Tenn., where he also completed a minimally invasive spine surgery fellowship.
Duane D.H. Pitt, MD (Desert Institute for Spine Disorders, Scottsdale, Ariz.). Dr. Pitt is a consultant on sports injuries for the Phoenix Suns. He is a medical director for Scottsdale healthcare Osborn, Shea and Thompson Peak. He also served as a flight surgeon in the Air National Guard. Dr. Pitt earned his medical degree at the University of California at Irvine School of Medicine and completed his orthopedic surgery residency at Loma Linda (Calif.) University Medical Center. His additional training includes a spine surgery fellowship at Southern California in Los Angeles where he focused on minimally invasive spine surgery and spinal deformity reconstruction.
Bernard A. Rawlins, MD (Hospital for Special Surgery, New York City). Dr. Rawlins is the spine consultant for the New York Knicks and New York Mets. He has an interest in sports-related injuries, sports biomechanics, gene-mediated spine fusion and innovative surgical techniques. Dr. Rawlins has a background in engineering and has expertise in the development of patents used in complex spine surgery. He is a member of the Cervical Spine Research Society, Scoliosis Research Society and American Board of Spine Surgery. He earned his medical degree at Weill Cornell Medical College and completed his residency at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center. His additional training includes Minnesota Spine Center in Minneapolis.
David Schwartz, MD (OrthoIndy, Indianapolis). Dr. Schwartz is a spinal consultant to the Indiana Pacers. He is the director of the OrthoIndy Spine Fellowship as well as an assistant clinical professor at the Indiana University's department of orthopedic surgery. He has also been recognized with the North American Spine Society's outstanding research award and he is the inventor of the Anteres Spinal Instrumentation System used for treating spinal fractures, scoliosis and tumors. His clinical interests include disc herniation, spinal stenosis, spondylolisthesis, kyphosis, spinal deformities and cervical disc disease. He earned his medical degree at Loyola University and completed his orthopedic surgery residency at Northwestern University, both located in Chicago. He completed his spine fellowship at Leatherman Spine Center in Louisville, Ky., Kosair Children's Hospital in Louisville and the University of Louisville.
Hal Silcox III, MD (Peachtree Orthopaedic Clinic, Atlanta). Dr. Silcox is a spine surgeon at Peachtree Orthopaedic Clinic, an orthopedic provider for the Atlanta Hawks. In June 2011, he performed spine surgery on forward Marvin Williams. Dr. Silcox also served as a physician for the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games and works with various local college teams. Throughout his career, Dr. Silcox has authored several peer-review research articles focusing on spinal disorders and been the principle investigator in FDA and NIH studies. He serves as the president of the Georgia Orthopaedic Society. Dr. Silcox earned his medical degree at Emory University School of Medicine and completed his orthopedic surgery residency and fellowship in spine surgery at Emory University Affiliated Hospitals in Atlanta.
Allen Kent Sills Jr., MD (Vanderbilt University, Franklin, Tenn.). Dr. Sills is the consulting team neurosurgeon to the Memphis Grizzlies. Dr. Sills is an associate professor in the department of neurological surgery at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. He has completed several research articles throughout his career and has a special interest in brain tumors, sports neurosurgery and general surgery. Dr. Sills earned his medical degree at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, where he also completed his residency training in neurological surgery. He completed a two-year neuro-oncology fellowship at Johns Hopkins.
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