Ahilan Sivaganesan, MD

When it comes to spine surgery, I believe that less is more.
When patients see a spine surgeon, they’re often afraid that they’ll end up with screws and rods in their back or neck. I view my role differently. My job is to listen. I want to understand what precisely limits your life, and what your goals are. You are more than your MRI – my priority is to learn what “success” uniquely means for you. Only then can we have a meaningful conversation about treatment options.
The first question is whether you need spine surgery at all. Most patients don’t. If you don’t need surgery, I will tell you. If you don’t need a spinal fusion, I will tell you. As the Director of Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery, I specialize in outpatient procedures where the incision is the size of a thumbnail. I have expertise in endoscopic, motion-preserving, and robot-assisted procedures, and I give lectures about them around the world. But these techniques only …matter if we have a clear diagnosis, and the confidence to say that surgery really is the next step.
Although I am a neurosurgeon, I received specialized training at the Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) – the world’s preeminent orthopedic hospital. My research lab focuses on one simple question: how can we ensure that every spine patient gets the right treatment, at the right time, by the right person? This is what I want for my own family, and this is what I want for you. While I’m proud to offer the most cutting-edge techniques with rapid recoveries, that is not the core of my identity as a physician. A famous man once said: “The secret to patient care is to care about the patient.” That is my North Star.