• Robotic- and navigation-assisted screw placement for adult lumbar spine fusion
• Changes in spinal and pelvic alignment following lumbar disc replacement
• The impact of sacral slope on joint motion and extension and rotation of the spine in L5-S1 disc replacement
• Reoperation rates after pediatric lumbar discectomy
• Vertical expandable prosthetic titanium ribs for treatment of scoliosis
• Long-term reoperation rates after lumbar discectomy
• Rate of conversion to fusion in cervical laminectomy without fusion versus cervical laminoplasty
• Infection following cervical artificial disc replacement
• Reoperation rates following fusion to the upper thoracic versus lower thoracic spine

Cedars-Sinai Experts

David Skaggs, MD, co-director of the Cedars-Sinai Spine Center, executive vice chair of the Department of Orthopaedics and director of Pediatric Orthopaedics, is known for his expertise in the treatment of children with spinal deformity and trauma. He has designed five lines of spinal implants and developed numerous surgical techniques now in wide use.

Alexander Tuchman, MD, co-director of the Cedars-Sinai Spine Center and assistant professor of Neurosurgery, treats scoliosis, sagittal plane deformities and flatback syndrome, as well as rare spinal conditions such as achondroplasia. He also conducts research focused on outcomes for spine surgery patients.

Hyun Bae, MD, professor of Orthopaedics and co-medical director of Spine Education, has expertise in minimally invasive surgery, motion-preservation technology, artificial disc replacement and nonfusion technologies. His research focus is in stem cell repair of degenerative disc disease and the use of growth factors to treat spinal cord injury.

Eli Baron, MD, associate professor of Neurosurgery and medical director of Spine Trauma Surgery, has expertise in treating spinal fusion, neck pain and spine problems. He has presented research at national and international meetings, and has served as an ad hoc reviewer for the Journal of Neurotrauma, Surgical Neurology, and Spine, and is co-editor of the textbook Operative Techniques: Spine Surgery.

Kenneth Illingworth, MD, director of Pediatric Orthopaedic Trauma and a pediatric spine and orthopedic surgeon at Cedars-Sinai Guerin Children’s, specializes in the care of pediatric patients with complex spinal conditions and has a special interest in pediatric skeletal trauma in patients who have reached or are near skeletal maturity. 

Sang Kim, MD, assistant professor of Orthopaedics and director of Orthopaedic Spine Trauma, has expertise in primary and revision spinal deformities like scoliosis and kyphosis as well as cervical deformities. He also has an interest in motion-preserving surgeries and minimally invasive surgical techniques like biportal and uniportal endoscopic spine surgeries.    

Melodie Metzger, PhD, director of Orthopaedic Research, is an expert in the evaluation of orthopedic reconstructive devices and techniques through the use of in vitro dynamic and static testing to analyze strength, stiffness and overall feasibility of orthopedic surgical procedures.

Tiffany Perry, MD, co-director of Spine Oncology, vice chair of the Department of Neurosurgery for Spine and Education, specializes in surgical treatment of complex spinal disorders and in removal of spinal tumors. Her research interests include mechanisms of discogenic low back pain induction, and use of stem cells to treat discogenic low back pain.

Corey Walker, MD, assistant professor of Neurosurgery and co-director of the Spine Center Fellowship Program, is focused on healing complex spinal conditions including scoliosis, spinal deformities, spinal tumors, thoracic disc herniations and craniocervical junction pathologies. His expertise is in using minimally invasive approaches including endoscopy, robotics and navigation. 

Christopher Mikhail, MD, assistant professor of Orthopaedics, director of Orthopaedic Spine Resident Education, focuses on optimizing spinal alignment with modern techniques from complex deformity reconstructions to motion-preserving procedures. 

Justin Scheer, MD, spine neurosurgeon, focuses his clinical practice on spinal deformity, degenerative spine disease and complex revision spine surgery. His research interests include investigation of spine surgery outcomes using big data and machine learning/artificial intelligence, as well as exploring the intersection of bioengineering and spine surgery.

Contact

To arrange interviews with Cedars-Sinai experts, contact Melissa Vizcarra at melissa.vizcarra@cshs.org or 719-502‐5001, or Christina Elston at christina.elston@cshs.org or 626-298-0702.