Stanford Neurospine Disorders Team

OUR SURGEONS

Lawrence M. Shuer, MD
Professor, Neurosurgery
Clinic Chief and Vice Chair of Quality, Neurosurgery

Practices at: Stanford University Medical Center

Dr. Shuer received his BA and MD from the University of Michigan. He completed his residency in neurosurgery at Stanford University before joining the faculty.

He is a past president of the California Association of Neurological Surgeons. His research interests include syringomyelia, pediatric disorders, and degenerative spine disease.

Jon Park, MD, FRCSC
Professor, Neurosurgery Director, Comprehensive Spine Neurosurgery Director, Spine Neurosurgery Fellowship/Spine Research Laboratory

Practices at: Stanford University Medical Center

Dr. Park has extensive clinical practice at Stanford in outpatient minimally invasive spine surgery involving spine disc disease, degenerative spinal disorders and compression fractures. He also has special clinical interest in reconstruction of complex spine traumas and treatment of spinal tumors using Cyberknife Radiosurgery.

Dr. Park's research interest includes non-fusion dynamic spinal stabilization, artificial disc technologies, and regenerative spinal technologies.

Dr. Park completed his neurosurgical residency from the world renowned Montreal Neurological Institute. After completing a spine fellowship at UCLA, he was an Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery at the University of Washington prior to joining Stanford.

John Ratliff, MD, FACS
Professor, Neurosurgery Co-Director, Division of Spine and Peripheral Nerve Surgery Vice Chair, Operations and Development

Practices at: Stanford University Medical Center

Dr. Ratliff received his medical degree from Tulane University. He is fellowship trained in complex spinal reconstructive surgery and completed a research fellowship in neural regeneration and peripheral nerve repair at the National Institutes of Neurological Disorders and Stroke at the National Institutes of Health.

Dr. Ratliff treats degenerative diseases of the cervical, thoracic and lumbar spine as well as primary and metastatic spinal tumors, spinal infections and chronic pain disorders. He is experienced in minimally invasive spine surgery, revision surgeries and spinal reconstruction, including the use of instrumentation and implants, and artificial disc replacements. Dr. Ratliff is well versed in the evaluation and treatment of nerve compression syndromes and peripheral nerve trauma. His current research focuses on preventing complications in spine surgery, assessing patient outcomes, and developing population-based metrics for assessing surgical outcomes

Atman Desai, MD
Clinical Associate Professor, Neurosurgery, Director of Neurosurgical Spine Oncology

Practices at: Stanford University Medical Center

Atman Desai, MD, is a Clinical Associate Professor of Neurosurgery and Director of Neurosurgical Spine Oncology at Stanford University Medical Center. Dr. Desai received his medical degree from the University of Cambridge. He completed his residency in Neurological Surgery at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center and a fellowship in Spinal Oncology and Complex Spinal Reconstruction at Johns Hopkins Hospital. He focuses on the surgical treatment of spinal tumors and spinal deformity. He performed the first robotic-assisted spine surgery at Stanford, and has particular interest in robotic and minimally invasive surgical treatments. His research focuses on processes that lead to superior outcomes in neurosurgery, understanding disparities in neurosurgical care, and and the use of machine learning to develop predictive models within healthcare.

Anand Veeravagu, MD
Assistant Professor, Neurosurgery
Director, Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery

Practices at: Stanford University Medical Center

Dr. Anand Veeravagu is Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery and Assistant Professor of Orthopedic Surgery, by courtesy, and Director of Minimally Invasive NeuroSpine Surgery here at Stanford. Dr. Veeravagu is focused on advancing minimally invasive surgical techniques for diseases of the spine and cares for patients with a wide range of spinal disorders including motion preservation (artificial disk replacement), spinal tumor, scoliosis, and robotic spinal surgery.

Dr. Veeravagu’s research efforts are focused on the utilization of large national databases to assess cost, quality, and effectiveness of various treatment algorithms as well as predictive analytics. Dr. Veeravagu is also an author and former Special Assistant to the Secretary of Defense and writes about current events, health policy, and public health-related topics for the San Francisco Chronicle, The Daily Beast, The BBC, and the Huffington Post.

 

Thomas J. Wilson, MD
Clinical Associate Professor, Neurosurgery

Practices at: Stanford University Medical Center

Dr. Wilson earned his MD from the University of Nebraska College of Medicine, where he was awarded a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Research Training Fellowship. He completed his residency in neurological surgery at the University of Michigan, and a fellowship in peripheral nerve surgery at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota. His research interests include peripheral nerve outcomes research, advancing options for patients with peripheral nerve pathologies, and translational research focused on deriving methods for data-driven intraoperative decision making using intraoperative electrophysiology, advanced imaging techniques, and genetic expression information.

Corinna Zygourakis, MD
Assistant Professor, Neurosurgery

Practices at: Stanford University Medical Center

Dr. Corinna Zygourakis specializes in comprehensive surgical care of the adult spine, and focuses on the treatment of complex spinal disorders, including spinal deformity, revision surgery, and spinal tumors. She employs the latest minimally invasive, motion-sparing, and robotic surgical techniques to achieve the best outcomes for her patients. Her philosophy is to take care of patients with respect and compassion, as she would want her own family treated.

Dr. Zygourakis trained at the Johns Hopkins Hospital for her combined neurosurgery and orthopedic surgery complex spine fellowship, where she performed the first surgery internationally with the Globus Excelsius spinal robot. She completed her residency at the top-ranked neurosurgical program at the University of California, San Francisco, and obtained her M.D. degree cum laude from Harvard Medical School. Dr. Zygourakis’s research efforts are focused on perfecting paradigms for delivery of high-end technology in spinal care, including robotics and navigation, implementing cost and quality strategies in large healthcare systems, and computational analysis of big-data to effect real-time risk stratification and decision making in spine surgery.

ADDITIONAL TEAM MEMBERS

Josh Levin, MD
Clinical Assistant Professor, Neurosurgery and Orthopedic Surgery
Director, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Interventional Spine Fellowship

Practices at: Stanford University Medical Center

Dr. Josh Levin completed a residency in physical medicine and rehabilitation at the University of Michigan and a pain medicine fellowship at the Virginia Commonwealth University.  Dr. Levin specializes in the non-surgical management of a wide range of spinal disorders  He performs spinal injections and nerve tests (EMG’s.)

Michael Leong, MD
Clinical Professor, Anesthesiology, Preoperative and Pain Medicine
Clinical Associate Professor (by Courtesy) Neurosurgery

Michael S. Leong, MD, is a specialist in pain medicine with clinical foci in radiculopathy; spinal, abdominal, and cancer pain; postherpetic neuralgia; and workers compensation cases. He received his medical degree from Georgetown University in Washington, DC, and completed his residency in anesthesiology at University of California, Davis and at Stanford University, where he also completed his fellowship in pain medicine. He is board certified by the American Board of Anesthesiology.

Xiang Qian, MD
Clinical Assistant Professor, Anesthesiology, Preoperative and Pain Medicine

Practices at: Stanford University Medical Center

 

Anuj Aggarwal, MD
Clinical Assistant Professor, Anesthesiology, Preoperative and Pain Medicine

Anuj Aggarwal, M.D., is both a practicing anesthesiologist and interventional pain specialist. Originally from Southern California, Dr. Aggarwal completed his undergraduate studies in biology with honors at the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA. He earned his medical degree from University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine with distinction, completing the Health Professions Education (HPE) Pathway advanced program. He completed his internship at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital in Santa Barbara, CA. He then completed his Anesthesiology residency and Pain Medicine fellowship at Stanford Hospital, joining the faculty at Stanford in 2018.