Spine Surgery Fellowship
The Division of Spine Surgery offers five fellowships per year, three of which are accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME).
As a fellow in our program, you are exposed to a wide range of spine conditions, including degenerative diseases, complex pediatric and adult deformities, primary and revision cases, infections, and tumors. You receive training in spine surgery from the occiput to the sacrum, both anterior and posterior, with and without instrumentation. You gain particular expertise in preoperative evaluations of people with spinal deformities. Approximately 80 percent of your time is devoted to operative care, with the remaining 20 percent focused on nonoperative care.
Spine Surgery Fellowship Clinical Training
Fellows rotate among NYU Langone’s Kimmel Pavilion, Tisch Hospital, and Hassenfeld Children’s Hospital at NYU Langone. You train alongside board-certified orthopedic surgeons and neurosurgeons who are directly involved with the fellowship program. Because of the breadth of our program and the large number of spine cases, each fellow operates one on one with the spine attendings.
Fellows routinely assist in performing complex deformity surgery, including revisions, long fusions to the pelvis, pedicle subtraction osteotomies, and posterior vertebral column resections. Additionally, you receive training in cutting-edge techniques such as cervical and lumbar disc arthroplasty and minimally invasive surgery, including decompressions and fusions, robotic surgery, and navigation.
Fellows participate in the preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative management of patients. Clinical judgment is vital in training a spine surgeon; therefore, you spend one day a week in a private office or clinic. There is also an opportunity to learn how to administer epidural injections with our spine surgeons and pain medicine specialists.
Because fellows are always on separate services, each is involved in approximately 250 to 300 cases a year.
| Region | Approximate Percentage |
|---|---|
| Cervical | 30 percent |
| Thoracic | 20 percent |
| Lumbar | 50 percent |
| Category | Approximate Percentage |
|---|---|
| Degenerative | 40 percent |
| Trauma | 5 percent |
| Adult Deformity | 35 percent |
| Tumor | 5 percent |
| Pediatric Deformity | 15 percent |
Spine Surgery Fellowship Research and Educational Opportunities
Opportunities exist for both clinical and biomedical research. Fellows are given one research day per week and are expected to participate in two research projects during the academic year. We provide sponsorship for you to attend major meetings.
As a fellow, you take on major teaching and leadership roles in the orthopedic residency program, preparing residents for weekly spine conferences and teaching them both diagnostic and surgical skills.
Fellows also attend our complex deformity indications conference, which is held up to twice a week. Additional academic conferences include a weekly multidisciplinary indications conference and weekly spine grand rounds. The grand rounds include visiting professors from other institutions.
How to Apply
Please submit all application materials for our fellowship directly through SF Match. Candidates from outside North America who are eligible for a J-1 visa are encouraged to apply.
Our one-year fellowship program runs from August 1 to July 31. You receive a stipend commensurate with your postgraduate year of training, plus benefits. Learn more about graduate medical education at NYU Grossman School of Medicine, and access information for incoming house staff.
Contact Us
We are available to answer any questions you may have about our fellowship in spine surgery. Please contact Karina Rustia, MBA, our fellowship coordinator, at 212-598-2783 or karina.rustia@nyulangone.org.
