The 20 Best Spinal Fusion Doctors in California, US

Dr. Sigurd H. Berven has a strong interest in the care of children and adults with spinal disorders. He has expertise in pediatric and adult deformities, degenerative conditions of the spine, spinal tumors and spinal trauma. In research, Berven is interested in the assessment of outcomes for patients who have orthopedic surgery. He also studies minimally invasive techniques in spinal surgery, and he is exploring cellular and molecular techniques to biologically regenerate components of the spine, including the intervertebral disc. Berven studied human biology as an undergraduate at Stanford University. He was a graduate student in philosophy, politics and economics at the University of Oxford. He received his medical degree from Harvard Medical School and then completed his residency in the Harvard Combined Orthopaedic Residency Program, which provides training at four major city hospitals. Next, he advanced his training in spine surgery as a clinical fellow at UCSF and in pediatric orthopedic surgery as chief resident at Boston Children's Hospital. Often invited to speak at national and international conferences, Berven has lectured on topics including measurement of outcomes in spine surgery, evaluation and management of spinal disorders, and advanced techniques in spinal surgery. Dr. Berven is rated as an Elite provider by MediFind in Spinal Fusion. His top areas of expertise are Spondylolisthesis, Scoliosis, Kyphosis, Spinal Fusion, and Osteotomy.

Dr. Praveen Mummaneni is co-director of the UCSF Spine Center, vice chair of the neurosurgery department, lead surgeon of the UCSF Parnassus Perioperative Services and director of the minimally invasive surgery spine fellowship. He has been selected by U.S. News & World Report as one of the best doctors in the nation every year since 2005. He has also received top doctor accolades from the San Francisco Chronicle, Marin Magazine and Castle Connolly. Mummaneni earned his medical degree through the six-year BA-MD program at Boston University and completed a residency in neurological surgery at UCSF followed by a fellowship in complex spine surgery at Emory University. He also earned a master of business administration at Louisiana State University and completed a program in innovative healthcare leadership at Stanford University. Mummaneni is the UCSF Joan O'Reilly Distinguished Professor in Spinal Surgery. He leads a neuroinformatics lab at UCSF and has mentored a diverse group of medical students, residents and fellows over the past two decades. He is internationally recognized for his work on minimally invasive approaches to treating spinal deformities, spinal tumors and degenerative disease. He is the UCSF lead for the Quality Outcomes Database Spine Care Project sponsored by the American Association of Neurological Surgeons, the Minimally Invasive Surgery International Spine Study Group for spinal deformities, and the AO Spine Metastatic and Primary Tumor Research and Outcomes Network spine tumor study groups. He is also the UCSF lead for a Department of Defense grant to evaluate timing of surgery for spinal cord injury, a co-investigator of a UCSF HEAL Initiative grant from the National Institutes of Health to study back pain, and a member of the small business review panel at the National Institutes of Health. He has guest lectured at international meetings on six continents and has published more than 530 manuscripts in peer-reviewed journals. He is an editor of nine textbooks on spinal surgery and serves on multiple editorial boards, including as associate editor of Neurosurgery and a previous term editor-in-chief of the Journal of Neurosurgery: Spine. Mummaneni is active in several professional organizations. He was among the first neurosurgeons to obtain active membership in the Scoliosis Research Society (SRS) and to win its Edgar Dawson Fellowship and International Traveling Fellowship. He has served as a director of SRS and is now secretary-elect. He was also president of the San Francisco Neurological Society, president of the California Association of Neurological Surgeon, chair of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons/Congress of Neurological Surgeons Spine Section, and vice president of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons. He is currently a director of the American Board of Neurological Surgery. Dr. Mummaneni is rated as an Elite provider by MediFind in Spinal Fusion. His top areas of expertise are Spondylolisthesis, Lordosis, Cervical Spondylosis, Spinal Fusion, and Laminectomy.

Peter Newton is an Orthopedics provider in San Diego, California. Dr. Newton is rated as an Elite provider by MediFind in Spinal Fusion. His top areas of expertise are Scoliosis, Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis, Kyphosis, Spinal Fusion, and Osteotomy.

Christopher Ames is a Neurosurgery provider in San Francisco, California. Dr. Ames is rated as an Elite provider by MediFind in Spinal Fusion. His top areas of expertise are Lordosis, Kyphosis, Scoliosis, Osteotomy, and Spinal Fusion.

Lindsay Andras is an Orthopedics provider in Los Angeles, California. Dr. Andras is rated as an Elite provider by MediFind in Spinal Fusion. Her top areas of expertise are Scoliosis, Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis, Slipped Capital Femoral Epiphysis, Spinal Fusion, and Osteotomy.

Robert Eastlack is an Orthopedics provider in San Diego, California. Dr. Eastlack is rated as an Elite provider by MediFind in Spinal Fusion. His top areas of expertise are Kyphosis, Lordosis, Scoliosis, Spinal Fusion, and Osteotomy.

Samuel Cho is a primary care provider, practicing in Internal Medicine in Anaheim, California. Dr. Cho is rated as an Elite provider by MediFind in Spinal Fusion. His top areas of expertise are Scoliosis, Kyphosis, Urinary Tract Infection (UTI), Spinal Fusion, and Laminectomy.

David Skaggs is an Orthopedics provider in Los Angeles, California. Dr. Skaggs is rated as an Elite provider by MediFind in Spinal Fusion. His top areas of expertise are Scoliosis, Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis, Kyphosis, Spinal Fusion, and Osteotomy.

Kenneth Illingworth is an Orthopedics provider in Tarzana, California. Dr. Illingworth is rated as an Elite provider by MediFind in Spinal Fusion. His top areas of expertise are Scoliosis, Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis, Infectious Arthritis, Spinal Fusion, and Osteotomy.

Justin Scheer is a Neurosurgery provider in Los Angeles, California. Dr. Scheer has been practicing medicine for over 10 years and is rated as an Elite provider by MediFind in Spinal Fusion. His top areas of expertise are Lordosis, Kyphosis, Scoliosis, Osteotomy, and Spinal Fusion.

Dr. Lee Tan is a neurosurgeon with expertise in both minimally invasive and traditional open surgical techniques for patients with various spinal disorders. The conditions he treats include scoliosis, kyphosis, flat back syndrome, chin-on-chest deformity, cervical disc herniation, cervical stenosis, ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament, lumbar disc herniation, spinal stenosis and spondylolisthesis. Trained in neurological and orthopedic spine surgery, he can assess patients from an interdisciplinary perspective. Tan's research interests include spinal biomechanics, motion-preservation surgical techniques and improving surgical outcomes for patients with spinal deformities. Tan received his medical degree from the Indiana University School of Medicine. He then completed a residency in neurological surgery at Rush University Medical Center, followed by a fellowship in complex spine surgery at Columbia University Irving Medical Center. Tan is a member of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons, Congress of Neurological Surgeons and North American Spine Society. Dr. Tan is rated as a Distinguished provider by MediFind in Spinal Fusion. His top areas of expertise are Spinal Stenosis, Scoliosis, Epidural Abscess, Laminectomy, and Spinal Fusion.

Dr. Vedat Deviren is an orthopedic surgeon who specializes in caring for children and adults with spinal disorders. His expertise has led to a wide range of experience on difficult cases involving any part of the spine. He treats spinal deformities such as adult scoliosis, spondylolisthesis (a painful disorder of the lower spine), failed back surgeries and tumors, among other conditions. Deviren completed postgraduate education in orthopedics and traumatology (surgical repair following injury) at Hacettepe University in Ankara, Turkey. At UCSF, he completed fellowship work in spine surgery, training in both patient care and research. As a faculty member at UCSF, Deviren has maintained a passionate commitment to patient care. In his teaching, he focuses on concepts that provide medical students, residents, fellows and international scholars with skills for evaluating and investigating evidence-based patient care, spinal disorder outcomes, biomechanical characteristics of the spine and the application of medical instruments in spinal treatment. Dr. Deviren is rated as a Distinguished provider by MediFind in Spinal Fusion. His top areas of expertise are Lordosis, Kyphosis, Scoliosis, Osteotomy, and Spinal Fusion.

Dr. Aaron Clark is a neurosurgeon specializing in minimally invasive outpatient procedures for lumbar and cervical herniated discs and stenosis, as well as minimally invasive lumbar fusion surgery. These procedures are associated with shorter recovery times and less postoperative pain than standard surgeries, and almost all patients can return home the same day. Clark earned his medical and postdoctoral degrees from Virginia Commonwealth University. He completed his neurosurgery residency at UCSF, where he developed his interest in spine surgery and began publishing research on spinal oncology, spine biomechanics, spinal deformities and neurophysiological monitoring during spine surgery. In 2014, he completed a fellowship in minimally invasive spine surgery at the Semmes Murphey Neurologic and Spine Institute in Memphis, Tennessee, under the mentorship of Dr. Kevin Foley, a pioneer of minimally invasive spine surgery. Dr. Clark is rated as a Distinguished provider by MediFind in Spinal Fusion. His top areas of expertise are Spinal Stenosis, Scoliosis, Epidural Abscess, Spinal Fusion, and Osteotomy.

Dr. Shane Burch is an orthopedic surgeon who specializes in treating spinal disorders. With expertise in all regions of the spine, he uses computer-assisted and robotic surgery techniques to perform both highly complex and minimally invasive procedures. Burch's research focuses on spinal surgery outcomes, including how to improve postsurgical quality of life. A champion of using digital technology to elevate patient care, he established a motion analysis system to assess how patients move before and after surgery. Burch earned his medical degree and completed a residency in orthopedics at the University of Toronto. He completed a spine fellowship at UCSF and joined the faculty in 2005. Burch serves in many leadership roles at UCSF, including research director for the spine division. He also directs the spine fellowship program and has helped train more than 40 surgeons in complex spinal disorder surgeries and minimally invasive techniques over the last 15 years. He mentors undergraduate students, medical students, orthopedic residents and clinical fellows through career counseling and as an adviser on research projects. He works closely with the UCSF Spine Center's directors to improve the center's efficiency in collaborating with the UCSF combined orthopedic and neurosurgery spine services. He also participates in campus-wide committees on risk management and patient safety. In his spare time, Burch enjoys spending time with family, running ultramarathons and cycling in the Marin Headlands. Dr. Burch is rated as a Distinguished provider by MediFind in Spinal Fusion. His top areas of expertise are Kyphosis, Spinal Stenosis, Scoliosis, Spinal Fusion, and Osteotomy.

Gregory Mundis is an Orthopedics provider in La Jolla, California. Dr. Mundis is rated as a Distinguished provider by MediFind in Spinal Fusion. His top areas of expertise are Scoliosis, Kyphosis, Lordosis, Osteotomy, and Spinal Fusion.

John Vorhies is a Pediatric Orthopedics provider in Palo Alto, California. Dr. Vorhies is rated as a Distinguished provider by MediFind in Spinal Fusion. His top areas of expertise are Scoliosis, Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis, Kyphosis, Spinal Fusion, and Osteotomy.

Behrooz Akbarnia is an Orthopedics provider in San Diego, California. Dr. Akbarnia is rated as a Distinguished provider by MediFind in Spinal Fusion. His top areas of expertise are Scoliosis, Kyphosis, Lordosis, Spinal Fusion, and Osteotomy.

Jaime Gomez is a Physiatrist in Pomona, California. Dr. Gomez is rated as a Distinguished provider by MediFind in Spinal Fusion. His top areas of expertise are Scoliosis, Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis, Kyphosis, Neurofibromatosis, and Spinal Fusion.

Neelakantan Anand is an Orthopedics provider in Los Angeles, California. Dr. Anand is rated as a Distinguished provider by MediFind in Spinal Fusion. His top areas of expertise are Scoliosis, Lordosis, Kyphosis, Spinal Fusion, and Osteotomy.

Adam Kanter is a Neurosurgery provider in Newport Beach, California. Dr. Kanter is rated as a Distinguished provider by MediFind in Spinal Fusion. His top areas of expertise are Lordosis, Spondylolisthesis, Invertebral Disc Disease, Spinal Fusion, and Laminectomy.