Dr. Bruce Edward Mathern, MD

He did my neck surgery back in 1994. He will tell you up front no sugar coating if he can help you tru surgery. What the odds are on getting back to recovery and functioning again.

After many years of intermediate testing, diagnosis and review, I was referred to Dr. Mathern. Chronic back pain, leg pain, it was miserable. I had exhausted every pro active test and procedure over 2 yrs. He reviewed all of my tests, scans and notes. Laid out a clear plan of correction, explained thoroughly every step, what was expected from me and him. Had lumbar fusion L3-S1, 2003. Pain was greatly improved, no more pain medications, mobility restored. As others have noted, adjacent segment disease can and does occur, resulting in a further fusion L2-L3 and now Sacro- iliac bi -lateral fusion. The fusion Dr. Mathern did back in 2003 had to be partially removed, for the L2-L3 fusion hardware, my neuro-surgeon commented on the excellence of his prior work. This Dr. is the best at VCU, do not hesitate to consult with him. Highly recommended, trustworthy and highly skilled.

I saw Dr. Mathern for a second opinion regarding my ruptured cervical disc at C6-7. It was severe, causing spinal cord compression, and he recommended surgery. However, he only recommended anterior cervical discectomy with fusion. I was interested in an artificial disc replacement and he had a number of reasons why this was a bad choice. One was that he believed that when you looked a fusion vs. disc replacement data there were only insignificant differences. However when I looked at the published data, disc replacements do better in a number of outcomes. In addition to his misinterpretation of the data, he used scare tactics stating that if the artificial disc were to fail then I would require multiple level fusions to correct for the failed artificial disc. Well, against my better judgement I went ahead with the fusion and in a little over one year, I now have adjacent disc syndrome and the C5-6 disc has ruptured. And I don't mean just a little bit. The rupture has caused my spinal… cord to rotate because of the extrusion. Looks like I am going to require that multiple level fusion that Dr. Mathern was concerned about, but not because a disc replacement failed, but because the fusion caused adjacent disc syndrome that has been repeatedly reported in the literature. In reality, I won't have another fusion. I will find someone else who will do an artificial disc replacement instead, because if I followed Mathern's advice, I won't be able to move my neck in 5 years. Wish I had talked to someone else who would have done a replacement.

Very thorough analysis and diagnosis. Dr. Mathern took the time to explain and review the prior care, and current Xrays and MRIs, and gave me the option of whether or not I wanted to proceed with surgery at the time. Surgery and recovery was just as described by Dr. Mathern, and curent prognosis exceeds expectations.

There was nothing obvious on my MRI. I could not hold my head up without extreme pain and numbness in my arm. Dr. Mathern knew where to find the problem. I had surgery and now able to function normally.

I used him after interviewing several..........he is an excellent doctor and have adised others to see him

I haven't heard from him since the day of my surgery. My wife had to call to schedule a follow up. This was scheduled 2.5 weeks after back surgery.

Surgery was in 2000, quick recovery, no further problems!

Dr Mathern quickly operated on me so that I could walk again after an injury that left my right leg paralyzed. He is great.

CAn never get an appointment way over saturated and has too many pationece i will continue on to someone else