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10 SPINE SURGEONS 8 celebrity spine surgeries and who performed them — Drs. Robert Watkins, Richard Guyer & more By Alan Condon H ere are eight of the most high-profile spine surgeries on celebrities and sports stars and who performed them: 1. Tiger Woods underwent spinal fusion sur- gery in 2017 to remove a large portion of a degenerative disc. Richard Guyer, MD, of Plano-based Texas Back Institute, performed the procedure with Centinel Spine's Anterior Lumbar Integrated Interbody fusion device to alleviate pain in Mr. Woods' back and legs. 2. To address a disc herniation toward the end of his NFL career, Peyton Manning un- derwent a single-level anterior cervical fu- sion anterior cervical discectomy and fusion. Robert Watkins III, MD, and Robert Wat- kins IV, MD, of Marina Spine Center in Ma- rina del Rey, Calif., performed the procedure. In 2012, aer recovering from surgery, Mr. Manning was signed by the Denver Broncos and led the team to a Super Bowl in 2016. 4. In 2010, "Dirty Dancing" star Jennifer Grey ruptured a disc in her back and underwent four cervical spine surgeries. X-rays indicated that her neck had a dramatic angulation and one vertebra was slipping onto another. Neu- rological spine surgeon Robert Bray, MD, founder of DISC Sports and Spine Center in Newport Beach, Calif., performed an anterior fusion through the front of Ms. Grey's neck to realign it, and placed a titanium plate to lock the joint back into position. 5. U2 frontman Bono sought treatment aer suffering a severe compression of the sciatic nerve in 2010. An MRI scan revealed an 8mm tear in the ligament and a herniated disc. Dr. Jörg-Christian Tonn, chief physician in the department of adult and pediatric neurosur- gery at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich in Germany, performed the proce- dure, during which he found fragments of the disc that had entered the spinal canal. 6. In 2012, Dr. Watkins IV, operated on the then-Orlando Magic star Dwight Howard to repair a herniated disc. Aer rehabilitation, Mr. Howard returned to prowess with the Los Angeles Lakers, but suffered back pain later in his career. In 2018, aer being diagnosed with piriformis syndrome, Dr. Watkins IV performed an L4-L5 lumbar microdiscecto- my on Mr. Howard. 6. Hooman Melamed, MD, of Marina del Rey, Calif.-based DISC Sports and Spine Center, performed emergency spine surgery on former "Dance Moms" star Abby Lee Miller in 2018. e procedure was done at Cedars-Sinai Marina del Rey Hospital in Los Angeles, where Dr. Melamed serves as scoli- osis director. 7. In 2013, Andrew Dossett, MD, a spinal consultant for the Dallas Cowboys operated on quarterback Tony Romo to repair a disc herniation. Earlier that year, Dr. Dossett re- moved a cyst from Mr. Romo, and surgery allowed him to continue playing in the NFL until he retired in 2016. 8. Neurological spine surgeon Robert S. Bray Jr., MD, recently performed spine surgery on Ben Feldman, an actor known for his role in NBC's sitcom 'Superstore,' n 9 spine surgeons stepping into new leadership roles By Alan Condon Following is a list of nine spine and neurosurgeons who have accepted new leadership roles this year: 1. Columbus, Ohio-based OrthoNeuro named Larry Todd Jr., DO, president Aug. 1. 2. In July, E. Sander Connolly Jr., MD, was appointed chair of the department of neurological surgery at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York City. 3. Daniel Yoshor, MD, began his role as chair of the depart- ment of neurosurgery in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia in July. 4. In May, Providence, R.I.-based University Orthopedics wel- comed Alan Daniels, MD, as chief of its spine surgery division. 5. Michael McDermott, MD, was appointed chief medical executive of Miami Neuroscience Institute in April. New York City-based Hospital for Special Surgery named Frank Schwab, MD, vice chair of the HSS Innovation Insti- tute in March, the system's commercialization arm for new ideas within the musculoskeletal field. 6. Frank Phillips, MD, became the president of the Inter- national Society for the Advancement of Spine Surgery in February. 7. Brain and Spine Surgeons of New York in Harrison ap- pointed Virany Hillard, MD, as medical director in March. 8. In February, Elizabeth Tyler-Kabara, MD, was named chief of pediatric neurosurgery at Dell Children's Medical Center of Central Texas in Austin. n