15 Leading Experts for Spinal Stenosis Treatment in the United States

Spinal stenosis, defined as the narrowing of spaces within the spinal canal that compresses nerves and the spinal cord, is among the leading causes of back pain and reduced mobility in adults over age 50 in the United States. 1 Selecting a fellowship-trained specialist with verifiable board certification and a documented outcomes record is a central factor in navigating this diagnosis effectively. The profiles below represent physicians recognized across major academic medical centers, peer-reviewed rankings, and institutional leadership roles relevant to spinal stenosis care.

What Spinal Stenosis Specialists Typically Offer

Lumbar spinal stenosis most commonly affects the lower back, while cervical spinal stenosis involves the neck region. Both forms are frequently caused by age-related wear-and-tear changes linked to osteoarthritis, though injury and inherited conditions also contribute. 1 Symptoms generally include pain, tingling, numbness, and muscle weakness, and some patients report a heavy sensation in their legs that worsens with standing or walking but improves upon sitting down. Leading specialists in the United States typically offer a tiered approach: physical therapy and anti-inflammatory medications first, followed by image-guided injections, and surgical decompression only when conservative options have been exhausted.

Surgical options range from minimally invasive lumbar decompression procedures to laminectomy, discectomy, spinal fusion, and complex spinal reconstruction. Board-certified specialists who hold active membership in the North American Spine Society (NASS) or the Scoliosis Research Society (SRS) are generally considered to adhere to the most current evidence-based protocols. 2 Patients evaluating any surgeon are advised by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality to obtain at least one independent second opinion, a step that many insurance plans cover.

Expert Profiles: Cleveland Clinic and Emory University

Dr. Thomas E. Mroz, MD, serves as Enterprise Chair of Orthopaedic Surgery and Rehabilitation and Director of Spine Research at Cleveland Clinic's Center for Spine Health. Board-certified in orthopaedic surgery, he holds a patient rating of 4.8 out of 5 across 98 reviews and completed fellowship training focused on minimally invasive spine surgery at both UCLA and the University of Tennessee. 3 His clinical focus includes spinal stenosis, cervical disc herniations, cervical radiculopathy, and complex cervical spine deformities. Dr. Michael P. Steinmetz, MD, Chairman of the Department of Neurosurgery at Cleveland Clinic and Professor at Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine, holds a 4.9 patient rating across 224 reviews and has published more than 145 peer-reviewed articles in leading medical journals. 4 His expertise encompasses complex spine surgery, minimally invasive techniques, and spinal cord injury.

At Emory University, Dr. Scott Boden, MD, Director of Emory Orthopaedics and Spine Center, began practicing in 1992 and trained under one of the founding figures of modern spine surgery during his fellowship at Case Western Reserve. He has received multiple distinguished research honors including the Kappa Delta Young Investigator Award from the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons and the Mayfield Award from the American Association of Neurological Surgeons. 5 Dr. Tim Yoon, MD, PhD, also at Emory, has earned the Harry Farfan Award from the North American Spine Society and the ISSLS Prize from the International Society for the Study of the Lumbar Spine on two separate occasions, reflecting peer-recognized excellence in lumbar spine outcomes research. 6

Expert Profiles: UCSF, Johns Hopkins, and Columbia University

Dr. Praveen V. Mummaneni, MD, co-director of the UCSF Spine Center and holder of the Joan O'Reilly Distinguished Professor in Spinal Surgery chair, has been named by U.S. News and World Report as one of the best doctors in the nation every year since 2005. 7 He directs the minimally invasive surgery spine fellowship at UCSF and leads the institution's neuroinformatics lab, with internationally recognized work on minimally invasive approaches to spinal deformities and degenerative disease. Dr. Christopher P. Ames, MD, co-director of the UCSF Spine Center, holds a 4.8 patient rating across 371 reviews and directs UCSF's spinal biomechanics laboratory and the neurosurgical spinal deformity service, which performs more than 200 procedures per year addressing conditions including scoliosis, kyphosis, and complex spinal tumors. 8 Dr. Shane Burch, MD, also at UCSF, serves as research director for the spine division, has trained more than 40 surgeons over 15 years in complex and minimally invasive spinal surgery, and maintains a 4.8 rating across 329 patient reviews. 9

At Johns Hopkins, Dr. Sang Hun Lee, MD, PhD, serves as Director of Complex Cervical Spine and Spine Tumor Surgery and Chief of Endoscopic Spine Surgery. He holds a 4.8 rating across 101 reviews and is internationally recognized as a founding member of the Korean and Asian Pacific Cervical Spine and Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery research societies. 10 His practice includes uniportal and biportal endoscopic procedures for cervical and lumbar spinal stenosis. At Columbia University, Dr. Paul C. McCormick, MD, holds the Gallen Professorship in Neurological Surgery and serves as Director of The Och Spine Hospital at The Neurological Institute of New York, with a 4.9 star rating across 240 patient reviews. 11 Dr. K. Daniel Riew of Columbia University Irving Medical Center is globally recognized for cervical spine surgery leadership and is widely cited for treating complex cervical stenosis cases. 12

Expert Profiles: University of Virginia, Ohio State, and Additional Academic Centers

Dr. Francis H. Shen, MD, Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of Virginia, holds a 4.8 rating across 788 reviews and specializes in minimally invasive surgery, image-guided spine surgery, and microsurgery across cervical, thoracic, and lumbosacral regions, alongside research interests in spinal fusion and spinal cord regeneration. 13 Dr. Xudong Joshua Li, MD, PhD, also at UVA Health, received the Kappa Delta Young Investigator Award from the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons in 2012 and holds expertise in robotic-assisted spine surgery, motion-sparing artificial disc replacement, and minimally invasive treatment of spinal stenosis. 14 Dr. Chun-Po Yen, MD, Associate Professor of Neurosurgery at UVA, has authored more than 100 peer-reviewed publications and 20 book chapters, completed a minimally invasive spine fellowship at the University of South Florida, and carries a 4.8 patient rating across 621 reviews. 15

Dr. Elizabeth Yu, MD, Chief of the Division of Spine in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center and holder of the Benjamin R. and Helen Slack Wiltberger Endowed Chair in Orthopaedic Spine Surgery, has been rated in the top 10 percent of physicians in the nation for patient satisfaction and maintains a 4.8 out of 5 rating. 16 Her clinical interests specifically include spinal stenosis, herniated discs, degenerative disc disease, and degenerative scoliosis. Dr. Hoon Choi, MD, PhD, Residency Program Director and Director of Spine Surgery at Cleveland Clinic Florida, combines a background as a biomedical engineer with board certification in neurological surgery and more than 100 peer-reviewed publications. 4 He specializes in minimally invasive and robotic spine surgery for degenerative, deformity, tumor, and trauma cases.

Newsweek-Recognized Spine Surgery Leaders for 2025

Newsweek's America's Leading Doctors 2025 list for spine surgery includes several specialists relevant to stenosis treatment. Dr. Andrew A. Sama, MD, at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City, ranked first on the list. 17 Additional entries include Dr. Christopher R. Brown, MD, at Duke University Hospital in Durham, North Carolina; Dr. Juan Uribe, MD, at Barrow Neurological Institute at St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center in Phoenix, Arizona; Dr. Hyun W. Bae, MD, at Providence Saint John's Health Center in Santa Monica, California; and Dr. Luis M. Tumialán, MD, at HonorHealth Scottsdale Osborn Medical Center in Scottsdale, Arizona. These physicians practice at nationally recognized institutions with established spine surgery programs. 17

The Hospital for Special Surgery in New York also employs Dr. Frank Cammisa, a specialist widely recognized for minimally invasive spine surgery for stenosis, and other orthopedic spine leaders. 2 Dr. Ali Baaj at Weill Cornell Medicine is noted for minimally invasive approaches to lumbar and cervical spinal stenosis, while Dr. Nicholas Theodore at Johns Hopkins is recognized for complex spinal surgery and neurosurgical interventions. Accessing any of these specialists generally requires a physician referral, insurance verification, and in some cases, submission of prior imaging records before an initial consultation is scheduled.

Credentials and Evaluation Criteria Patients Should Consider

When researching spinal stenosis specialists in the United States, several verified criteria serve as reliable indicators of clinical quality. Fellowship training specifically in spine surgery, rather than general orthopedics or neurosurgery alone, indicates advanced technical preparation. Board certification through the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery or the American Board of Neurological Surgery confirms that a physician has met independently evaluated competency standards. 2 Active membership in NASS, the American Association of Neurological Surgeons, or the Cervical Spine Research Society reflects ongoing engagement with peer-reviewed evidence and clinical guidelines.

Patient satisfaction ratings, available through institutional directories such as those maintained by Cleveland Clinic, UCSF Health, UVA Health, and Ohio State Wexner Medical Center, provide a standardized reference point, though they should be interpreted alongside volume of reviews and specialty focus. Many of the specialists profiled here carry ratings between 4.7 and 4.9 out of 5 based on hundreds of verified patient encounters. 3 Patients are also advised to assess whether a given physician takes a conservative-first approach, offering non-surgical options before recommending surgical intervention, as this reflects alignment with evidence-based clinical standards for spinal stenosis management. Robotic-assisted and computer-navigated techniques represent the current technological frontier across many of these academic centers.

Institutional Settings and Geographic Accessibility

The specialists identified in this report are distributed across major U.S. metropolitan and academic medical regions, including Cleveland (Cleveland Clinic), Atlanta (Emory University), San Francisco (UCSF Health), New York City (Columbia University, Hospital for Special Surgery), Baltimore (Johns Hopkins), Charlottesville (UVA Health), and Columbus (Ohio State Wexner Medical Center). Additional recognized programs operate at Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix, Duke University Hospital in Durham, and Providence Saint John's Health Center in Santa Monica. 17 U.S. News and World Report's Best Hospitals rankings in neurology and orthopedics serve as a useful independent cross-reference for identifying institutions with the infrastructure and case volume associated with high-quality spinal stenosis care. 18

Patients located outside major metropolitan areas may consider telehealth consultation options, which are available through UCSF Health and Emory Healthcare, among others, as an initial step before committing to travel for an in-person evaluation. Referrals from primary care physicians remain the most common pathway for accessing these specialists, and many academic centers require prior imaging, such as MRI or CT myelography, to be submitted before a new patient appointment is confirmed. Geography, insurance network participation, and wait times for new patient slots are all practical variables that should be factored into any care-seeking decision alongside a physician's academic and clinical credentials.

Sources

1. Goodman Campbell Brain and Spine - Lumbar Spinal Stenosis Overview (goodmancampbell.com)
2. Hospital for Special Surgery - Spinal Stenosis and Treatment Overview (hss.edu)
3. Cleveland Clinic Provider Profile - Thomas E. Mroz, MD (providers.clevelandclinic.org)
4. Cleveland Clinic Provider Profiles - Michael P. Steinmetz, MD and Hoon Choi, MD, PhD (providers.clevelandclinic.org)
5. Emory Healthcare Provider Profile - Scott Boden, MD (providers.emoryhealthcare.org)
6. Emory Healthcare Provider Profile - Tim Yoon, MD, PhD (providers.emoryhealthcare.org)
7. UCSF Health Provider Profile - Praveen V. Mummaneni, MD (ucsfhealth.org)
8. UCSF Health Provider Profile - Christopher P. Ames, MD (ucsfhealth.org)
9. UCSF Health Provider Profile - Shane Burch, MD (ucsfhealth.org)
10. Johns Hopkins Medicine Provider Profile - Sang Hun Lee, MD, PhD (profiles.hopkinsmedicine.org)
11. Columbia University Doctors Profile - Paul C. McCormick, MD (doctors.columbia.edu)
12. Columbia University Irving Medical Center - K. Daniel Riew, MD (columbiaspine.org)
13. UVA Health Provider Profile - Francis H. Shen, MD (uvahealth.com)
14. UVA Health Provider Profile - Xudong Joshua Li, MD, PhD (uvahealth.com)
15. UVA Health Provider Profile - Chun-Po Yen, MD (uvahealth.com)
16. Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center Provider Profile - Elizabeth Yu, MD (wexnermedical.osu.edu)
17. Newsweek Americas Leading Doctors 2025 - Spine Surgery (rankings.newsweek.com)
18. U.S. News and World Report Best Hospitals Rankings (usnews.com/best-hospitals)