Here are 25 spine surgeons who lead or have led state medical societies.
If you would like to recommend another surgeon for inclusion on this list, please contact Anuja Vaidya at avaidya@beckershealthcare.com.
Lee V. Ansell, MD (Houston Orthopedic & Spine Physicians). Dr. Ansell is a past president of the Texas Association of Neurological Surgeons and Southern Neurosurgical Society. He previously served in the military and received several recognitions during his distinguished career, including a Bronze Star. He is a consultant in spine surgery with the Texas State Board of Medical Examiners and an alternate representative on the Joint Committee of State Neurosurgical Societies, AANS and CNS.
John Patrick Barrett, MD (Mississippi Spine Clinic, Jackson). Dr. Barnett was the president of the Mississippi State Medical Association from 2008 to 2009 and served as chairman of the board of trustees for MSMA 2004 to 2007. He previously served as chief of surgery at St. Dominic Hospital as well as clinical assistant professor of orthopedic surgery at University Mississippi Medical Center, both located in Jackson. He is board-certified and a member of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, North American Spine Society and Southern Orthopedic Association.
H. Chester Boston Jr., MD (University Orthopaedic Clinic & Spine Center, Tuscaloosa, Ala.). Dr. Boston has served as president of the Alabama Orthopaedic Society. He is one of the founders of University Orthopaedic Clinic and focuses his practice on the care and treatment of spinal disorders utilizing both non-surgical and surgical methods. He has a professional interest in spinal deformities such as scoliosis and degenerative diseases of the spine. He has previously served as president of the DCH Regional Medical Center staff in Tuscaloosa.
Stephene D. Burstein, MD, FACS (Neurological Surgery, Great Neck, N.Y.). Dr. Burstein is a past president and former executive director for the New York State Neurosurgical Society. He has a special interest in the X-Stop procedure and represents neurosurgery on the Interspecialty Committee for the New York State Medical Society. In addition to his clinical practice, he is the medical director for Think First and served as chief of neurosurgery at South Nassau Communities Hospital from 1980 to 2011.
Stephen G. J. Eckrich, MD (Black Hills Orthopedic Center, Rapid City, S.D.). Dr. Eckrich has been president of the South Dakota State Orthopedic Society. He joined Black Hills Orthopedic and Spine Center in 1995 and has a special interest in pediatric spine disorders. Dr. Eckrich was elected as the South Dakota State Representative for the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons.
James Graham, MD (Northwest Spine Center, The Woodlands, Texas). Dr. Graham served as president of the Texas Spine Society from 2000 to 2001. He has been in private practice for 23 years focusing on spine surgery. In addition to his clinical practice, Dr. Graham was a member of the North American Spine Society Patient Safety Committee from 2007 to 2013 and a member of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons.
Dale S. Horne, MD, PhD (Riverhills Neuroscience, Cincinnati). Dr. Horne is the former secretary and current president of the Ohio State Neurological Society. He is among a handful of surgeons in the country pioneering robotic applications for surgery. He has a special interest in performing cervical procedures, including cervical disc replacement. Dr. Horne is a fellow for the American College of Surgeons and a member of several hospital committees.
John K. Hsiang, MD, PhD (Comprehensive Spine Program at Swedish Neuroscience Institute, Seattle). Dr. Hsiang has served as president of the Washington State Association of Neurological Surgeons and delegate to the Washington State Medical Association. He focuses on cervical injury, lumbar degenerative disorders, disc problems, sciatica and spinal cord injury, and he performs endoscopic surgery and minimally invasive spine surgery. He has served as the principal investigator for a number of clinical trials and studies such as the NuVasive Osteocel Bone Graft for anterior cervical fusion trial. He is also a board member of the credentials committee of the American Board of Spine Surgery.
Kade Huntsman, MD (Coral Desert Spine, Saint George, Utah). Dr. Huntsman was the president of the Utah State Orthopedic Society 2010 to 2011. Dr. Huntsman has a special interest in minimally invasive spine surgery and has participated in several research projects related to spinal procedures. During his career, Dr. Huntsman served as a volunteer missionary for 18 months in Thailand.
Ezriel E. Kornel, MD, FACS (Brain & Spine Surgeons of New York, White Plains). Dr. Kornel has been president of the New York State Neurological Society and a board member of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons. He has been a principal of Brain & Spine Surgeons of New York since 1990 and has a special interest in minimally invasive neurosurgery. He was among the first neurosurgeons in the New York metropolitan area to replace damaged cervical discs with artificial discs. He serves as the director of the Institute for Neurosciences at Northern Westchester Hospital in Mount Kisco, N.Y.
Walter Krengel III, MD (UW Medicine, Seattle). Dr. Krengel served as vice president of the Washington State Orthopedic Association from 2004 to 2007 and then president from 2008 to 2010. Dr. Krengel is the spine chief at Seattle Children's Hospital and has a special interest in deformity and pediatric patients. In addition to his clinical practice, Dr. Krengel is a clinical associate professor at the University of Washington School of Medicine.
James M. Loddengaard, MD (Torrance Orthopaedic & Sports Medicine Group, Torrance, Calif.). Dr. Loddengaard has been the president of the Los Angeles Chapter of the California Medical Association. He focuses on outpatient disc surgery and minimally invasive fusion, and has a professional interest in spinal stenosis, spondylolisthesis and herniated discs. He is affiliated with Torrance (Calif.) Memorial Medical Center and Little Company of Mary Hospital in Torrance. He has also previously served as chairman of the department of surgery at Little Company of Mary Hospital.
Dean Martz, MD (Providence Health Services, Spokane, Wash.). Dr. Martz was elected president of the Washington State Medical Association in 2010. He focuses on neurosurgery, spine surgery, pituitary tumors and acoustic neuroma. He provides care with a physician group, Inland Neurosurgery and Spine Associates in Spokane, and he is a member of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons, American College of Surgeons and North American Spine Society.
Charles D. Pence, MD (Via Christi Health, Wichita). Dr. Pence has been the president of the Kansas Orthopedic Society and Kansas Surgical Society. He is an associate clinical professor at the University of Kansas School of Medicine in Kansas City. He is affiliated with Via Christi Hospitals and Wesley Medical Center in Wichita. He is a member of American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, North American Spine Society and Mid-America Orthopedic Society.
Steven C. Poletti, MD (Southeastern Spine Institute and Ambulatory Surgery Center, Mt. Pleasant, S.C.). Dr. Poletti has been president of the South Carolina Spine Society and South Carolina Orthopedic Association. He practices with Southeastern Spine Institute in Charleston, S.C., and is on the teaching staff of the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston. His clinical interests include back injuries, bone transplantation, cervical herniated discs and cervical spine disorders. He has a professional interest in developing spinal devices, and he has collaborated with Donald R. Johnson II, MD, to develop the minimally invasive Globus Percutaneous spine fixation system.
Michael Reiter, MD (New Jersey Spine Specialists, Summit). Dr. Reiter is the vice president of the New Jersey Orthopedic Society and secretary of the New Jersey Spine Surgery Society. He serves as an assistant clinical professor of orthopedic surgery at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School in Newark, where he served as chief of the division of spine surgery from 1998 to 2008. He is actively involved in research and his work has been published in numerous journals. His research interests include techniques to reduce scar tissue formation that occurs following spinal operations and the biomechanics of spinal fixation.
Robert L. Remondino, MD (Neuroscience Specialists, Oklahoma City). Dr. Remondino has been the president of the Oklahoma Association of Neurosurgeons. He focuses on complex spine surgery and instrumentation and serves as chief of staff at Oklahoma Spine Hospital in Oklahoma City. His research interests include congenital club foot and comparative treatments of scoliosis. He has been published in numerous professional journals and frequently lectures at medical conferences and symposiums. He is a member of American Association of Neurological Surgeons and Oklahoma State Medical Association.
Kenneth L. Renkens, MD (Indiana Spine Group, Indianapolis). Dr. Renkens is a past president of the Neurological Society of Indiana. He is a neurosurgeon focusing on spine surgery and is a founding physician of the Indiana Spine Group. He is also a clinical instructor for neurosurgery and orthopedic surgery at the Indiana University School of Medicine in Indianapolis. He has completed additional training in spinal instrumentation in France and is actively involved in the research of new surgical techniques. He is a member of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons, American College of Surgeons and North American Spine Society.
Timothy Schoettle, MD (Howell | Allen, Nashville, Tenn.). Dr. Schoettle is past president of the Tennessee Neurological Society and Meacham Neurological Society. He has been selected for several honors by Nashville Magazine and Consumer's Research Council of America. In addition to his clinical practice, he serves as a member on the board of directors for the Nashville Symphony, Nashville Ballet and Nashville Public Radio. He has served as an investigator for several spine-related research studies and given presentations at international meetings.
Hal Silcox III, MD (Peachtree Orthopaedic Clinic, Duluth, Ga.). Dr. Silcox has been president of the Georgia Orthopaedic Society. He is a partner at Peachtree Orthopaedic Clinic and previously served as chief of spine surgery at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center. He has been the principal investigator in Georgia for two U.S. Food and Drug Administration investigational device exemption studies and has served on the faculty of more than five dozen continuing medical education courses. His clinical interests include back injuries, cervical herniated discs, cervical spine disorders, degenerative spine, lumbar degenerative disc disease and scoliosis.
Ann R. Stroink, MD, FAANS (Central Illinois Neuro Health Sciences, Bloomington). Dr. Stroink has been the president of the Illinois Neurological Society. She is a partner at Central Illinois Neuro Health Sciences. She is an active clinical researcher and her interests include the applications of biomedical materials and spinal instrumentation specific to the cervical spine. She has been involved in the design and implementation of CyberKnife — a non-invasive radiation system. She is a member of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons and the Congress of Neurological Surgeons.
Steven Michael Theiss, MD (UAB School of Medicine, Birmingham). Dr. Theiss has been president elect of the Alabama Orthopaedic Society and served on the board of directors. He is the John D. Sherrill Chair of Orthopaedic Surgery at UAB as well as director of the orthopedic surgery division. He has published 23 articles in peer-reviewed journals and six book chapters. He serves as the co-chair of the Surgical Simulation Subcommittee of AOSpine North America and as an oral examiner for the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery. He is also on the Academic Leadership Council of the American Orthopaedic Association.
George W. Tipton, MD (Seton Brain & Spine Institute, Austin, Texas). Dr. Tipton is an orthopedic spine surgeon and former president of the Texas Spine Society. He has also served as chief of orthopedic surgery for Seton Medical Center and was co-founder of the Spine and Rehabilitation Center where he currently serves as medical director. In addition to his clinical work, Dr. Tipton has been involved in protocol development for spine patients and is a fellow of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons.
John J. Vaughan, MD (The Kentucky Spine Institute, Lexington). Dr. Vaughan has been the president of the Kentucky Orthopaedic Society and past president of the Bluegrass Orthopaedic Society. He is an assistant clinical professor of orthopedic surgery at the University of Kentucky in Lexington. He has had his work published in numerous peer-reviewed journals, including Spine, Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research and the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery. In addition to his practice, Dr. Vaughan conducts scoliosis clinics in Somerset, Ky., for the Commission for Children with Special Health Care Needs.
Richard Wohns, MD (NeoSpine, Puget Sound Region, Wash.). Dr. Wohns was president of the Washington State Association of Neurological Surgeons from 2003 to 2005. He is the founder and managing member of NeoSpine as well as a special consultant for spine surgery for Symbion. He also served as an associate clinical professor of neurological surgery at the University of Washington in Seattle. He has previously served as medical director of the neuro unit at St. Joseph Medical Center in Tacoma, Wash., and has served as the medical director for a number of climbs and expeditions, including the Ultima Thule Everest Expedition.
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