Here are 10 spine surgeon leaders to know:
Aaron Bianco, MD. Syracuse (N.Y.) Orthopedic Specialists. Dr. Bianco is an orthopedic spine surgeon who's trained on minimally invasive techniques. His areas of interest include adult spinal problems such as degenerative trauma, tumors and infections.
Thomas Cha, MD. Massachusetts General Hospital (Boston). Dr. Cha specializes in disorders of the cervical, thoracic and lumbar spine. He received his medical degree and an MBA from Drexel University in Philadelphia, and he completed an orthopedic surgery residency at the New York Orthopaedic Hospital in New York City.
Wade Jensen, MD. CNOS (Dakota Dunes, S.D.). Dr. Jensen has several spine implant patents and is a well-known scoliosis surgeon for his region. He specializes in minimally invasive surgery.
Jay Khanna, MD. MedStar Health (Columbia, Md.). Dr. Khanna was recently named to three leadership positions: MedStar Orthopaedic Institute's Washington, D.C., center; chief of orthopedic surgery at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital in Washington, D.C.; and academic chair of the department of orthopedic surgery at Georgetown University School of Medicine. He received his undergraduate and medical degrees at Georgetown.
Elizabeth Lord, MD. University of California Los Angeles Health. Dr. Lord is an orthopedic spine surgeon, and her research interests include spinal deformities and innovation in spine surgery. She was named on the 2020 "20 Under 40" list from SpineLine, the primary publication for North American Spine Society members.
Thuy Nguyen, MD. Joseph Spine Institute (Tampa, Fla.). Dr. Nguyen's specialties are degenerative disc disease and minimally invasive surgery. He was chief resident during his training at Southfield, Mich.-based Beaumont Health.
Chima Ohaegbulam, MD. New England Baptist Hospital (Boston). Dr. Ohaegbulam was appointed chief of spine surgery at New England Baptist Hospital April 1. His specialties include minimally invasive and robotic spine surgery.
Kris Radcliff, MD. Rothman Orthopaedic Institute (Philadelphia). Dr. Radcliff has offices at three of Rothman's New Jersey locations. He's received the best paper award from the Cervical Spine Research Society for a study comparing cervical disc replacement and fusion.
John Rhee, MD. Emory Healthcare (Atlanta). Dr. Rhee specializes in cervical spine surgery, lumbar spine surgery, spinal deformity and spinal tumors. He was named among "Top 28 spine surgeons in North America" by Orthopaedics This Week in 2013.
Nima Salari, MD. Desert Institute for Spine Care (Phoenix). Dr. Salari was reportedly the first spine surgeon to implant Amplify Surgical's 12-degree hyperlordotic DualX interbody cage. His specialties include pathologic conditions of the spine and minimally invasive surgery.
Note: This is not an exhaustive list. Surgeons are listed in alphabetical order. To nominate a surgeon for future lists, contact Carly Behm at cbehm@beckershealthcare.com.