Here are 13 spine surgeons who have been instrumental in the development or are leading registries to collect data for quality improvement.
If you would like to recommend another surgeon for inclusion on this list, please contact Anuja Vaidya at avaidya@beckershealthcare.com.
Muwaffak Abdulhak, MD (Henry Ford Hospital, Detroit). Dr. Muwaffak is a neurosurgeon at Henry Ford Hospital and co-director of the Michigan Spine Surgery Improvement Collaborative. He has a wide array of clinical interests including cerebral aneurysm, cervical osteoarthritis, cervical spondylosis, complex spine surgery, intracranial hematoma, microdisectomy, minimally invasive spine surgery and spinal cord injury. His work has been published in numerous peer-reviewed journals, including Neurosurgery. He earned his medical degree at Weiss Memorial Hospital and has completed additional training in neurosurgery at London Health Science Center in Canada and spine surgery at Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee.
Anthony Asher, MD (Carolinas Neurosurgery & Spine Associates, Charlotte, N.C.). Dr. Asher is the director and founder of the National Neurosurgery Quality and Outcomes Database, a contiguous national clinical registry for neurosurgical procedures and practice patterns. He is a neurosurgeon providing care with Carolinas Neurosurgery & Spine Associates as well as an adjunct clinical professor of neurological surgery at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tenn. He is the program director of the Neurological Surgery Residency Program at Carolinas Medical Center as well as co-medical director of the Neuroscience Service Line at Carolinas Healthcare System. He is also a past president of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons and serves on the board of directors of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons. He earned his medical degree at Wayne State University School of Medicine in Detroit and completed his residency at University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. He has also completed a fellowship at Bethesda, Md.-based National Cancer Institute.
Ali Baaj, MD (University of Arizona Medical Center, Tucson). Dr. Baaj is director of spinal neurosurgery at the University of Arizona Medical Center — University Campus where the division of neurosurgery has launched a new prospective registry for spine surgery. He is also an assistant professor of surgery and focuses on spinal stenosis, disc herniations, spondylolisthesis, spinal tumors, spinal trauma and adult degenerative scoliosis and deformity. He earned his medical degree at Boston University School of Medicine and completed his residency at University of South Florida in Tampa. He completed a complex spine surgery fellowship at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.
Stephen Bartol, MD, MBA (Henry Ford Hospital, Detroit). Dr. Bartol is an orthopedic surgeon at Henry Ford Hospital and co-director of the Michigan Spine Surgery Improvement Collaborative. He previously served as the medical director of surgical services and established the Henry Ford Surgical Services Quality Forum. He is also an inventor and holds numerous patents. He founded Sentio, a medical device manufacturing company. His clinical interests include failed back syndrome, fractured spine, herniated disc, sciatica, scoliosis, spinal fusions and spinal deformity. He earned his medical degree at Dalhousie University in Canada, where he also completed additional training in orthopedic surgery.
Robert S. Bray Jr., MD (DISC Sports & Spine Center, Marina Del Rey, Calif.). Dr. Bray is the CEO and founding director of DISC Sports & Spine Center, which includes two surgery centers. He has participated with data collection and outcomes efforts and published several articles throughout his career. Prior to founding DISC, Dr. Bray founded The Institute for Spinal Disorders at Cedar Sinai in Los Angeles and spent 20 years of active and reserve duty in the United States Air Force. Dr. Bray completed his medical education at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston.
Zoher Ghogawala, MD (Lahey Hospital & Medical Center, Burlington, Mass.). Dr. Ghogwala was instrumental in the development of the North American Spine Society registry for collecting data on spine patients. He serves as chairman of neurosurgery at Lahey Hospital & Medical Center and practices with CSI-Greenwich Neurosurgery in Greenwich, Conn. He also serves as director of the Wallace Trials Center at Greenwich (Conn.) Hospital, which focuses upon comparative effectiveness research. He has served as principle investigator on several spine trials including the SLIP and CSM trials and has received multiple research grants from organizations such as the National Institutes of Health. He has authored or presented more than 30 peer-reviewed original research papers. He earned his medical degree at Harvard Medical School, and completed his residency in neurological surgery at Massachusetts General Hospital, both in Boston.
Sanjay K. Khurana, MD (DISC Sports & Spine Center, Marina Del Rey, Calif.). Dr. Khurana has performed more than 1,700 spine surgeries in his career and earned national distinction for his research. He is a member of the Society of Lateral Access Surgery and performs minimally invasive procedures. Previously, Dr. Khurana was the chief of spine surgery at Permanente Group San Diego. He earned his medical degree at Stanford University Medical School and completed a fellowship in spinal reconstruction at Jackson Memorial Hospital in conjunction with the University of Miami/Project to Cure Paralysis.
G. Michael Lemole, MD (University of Arizona Medical Center, Tucson). Dr. Lemole is chief of the division of neurosurgery at the University of Arizona Medical Center — University Campus in Tucson, where the division of neurosurgery has launched a new prospective registry for spine surgery. He also serves as a professor of surgery and chief of staff at the University of Arizona — Main Campus as well as medical director of UAMC La Cholla Physician Offices. His practice focuses on trauma surgery, complex cranial surgery, skull base surgery, minimally invasive endonasal approaches and radiosurgery. In 2011, he won the Physician of the Year presented by the Pima County Medical Society. He earned his medical degree at University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia and completed his residency at Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix. He has completed a cerebrovascular/skull base surgery fellowship as well as a complex spinal surgery fellowship St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center in Phoenix.
Baron Lonner, MD (Hospital for Joint Diseases/NYU Langone Medical Center, New York City). Dr. Lonner is the principal investigator for the Scoliosis Outcomes Database Registry. He is director of Scoliosis and Spine Associates in New York City as well as director of the Spinal Deformity Center at the Hospital for Joint Diseases/NYU Medical Center. He is a member of the Eastern Orthopaedic Association, North American Spine Society and Scoliosis Research Society. He currently serves as a member of the Compelling Stories Task Force for SRS and serves as a reviewer for Spine. He earned his medical degree at Boston University and completed his residency at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Montefiore Medical Center in New York City. He has also completed a spine surgery fellowship at The Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City.
Matthew McGirt, MD (Carolinas Neurosurgery & Spine Associates, Charlotte, N.C.). Dr. McGirt is the vice-director of the National Neurosurgery Quality and Outcomes Database, a contiguous national clinical registry for neurosurgical procedures and practice patterns. He also serves on the NASS Registry Committee of the North American Spine Society. He practices with Carolinas Neurosurgery & Spine Associates as well as an adjunct research associate professor at Chapel Hill-based University of North Carolina. He serves on AO Spine North America's Research Committee as well as American Association of Neurological Surgeons' Maintenance of Certification/CME Committee. He has won numerous awards over the course of his career, including the Sam Hassenbusch Young Neurosurgeon Award from the Congress of Neurological Surgeons in 2013. He earned his medical degree at Duke University School of Medicine in Durham, N.C. He completed his residency and a spine surgery fellowship at The Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore.
Daniel Resnick, MD (University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison). Dr. Resnick was instrumental in the development of the North American Spine Society registry for collecting data on spine patients. He is a professor and vice chairman of neurological surgery as well as co-director of the spine surgery program at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health in Madison. Dr. Resnick is board certified and has a professional interest in brain and central nervous system tumors, carpal tunnel syndrome, chiari malformation, hemifacial spasms and spinal stenosis. He is a member of American Academy of Neurological Surgery, Congress of Neurological Surgeons and Joint Section on Spine and Peripheral Nerves. He earned his medical degree at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine in Philadelphia and completed his residency at University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.
Jonathan Slotkin, MD (Geisinger Neurosciences Institute, Danville, Pa.). Dr. Slotkin is the co-chair of the Operations Committee for the National Neurosurgery Quality and Outcomes Database and a leader among the efforts to implement Geisinger's ProvenCare® Lumbar Spine program. He is the director of spinal surgery and spinal cord research at Geisinger Health System's Neurosciences Institute. His clinical interests include brain tumor surgery and complex spinal surgery, including degenerative conditions, spinal oncology, spine trauma and surgical back pain. He is an active researcher and a member of the scientific advisory board of InVivo Therapeutics. He earned his medical degree at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and completed his neurosurgery residency at Harvard Medical School. He has completed a fellowship in complex spinal surgery with Eric Woodard, MD.
John Smith, MD (University of Utah Health Care, Salt Lake City). Dr. Smith created the Chest Wall and Spine Deformity Registry for surgeons to access data about patients with chest wall and spinal disorders. He is a professor in the department of orthopedics and practices at Primary Children's Medical Center in Salt Lake City and the University of Utah. He also serves as the director of the Scoliosis Clinic. His research interests include pediatric spine disorders, fractures and cost-effective care. He has also been involved in the development of the Vertical Expandable Prosthetic Titanium Rib, for treatment of children with neuromuscular scoliosis. He earned his medical degree at the University of Florida in Gainesville. He completed his residency at the University of Utah and also completed a fellowship in pediatric orthopedics and spinal deformities at Scottish Rite Hospital in Atlanta.
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