Chad Patton, MD, MS — board-certified spine surgeon.
Twenty years of surgical experience. Fellowship-trained in comprehensive adult spine surgery. Physician leader & Medical Director of Spine Surgery.
Clinical practice
Board-certified, fellowship-trained orthopaedic spine surgeon. Twenty years of surgical experience. Comprehensive surgical treatment of adult spine conditions — disc herniation, spinal stenosis, spondylolisthesis, adult scoliosis, trauma, spinal tumors, and revision surgery.
Leadership
Medical Director of Spine Surgery, leading a multidisciplinary program across hospitals, ambulatory surgery centers, and outpatient sites. Advocacy work in Washington DC to improve patient access to care.
Research and teaching
40+ peer-reviewed publications, with research focusing on improving patient outcomes and health economics in spine surgery. Research background in adult stem cells for spinal cord injury.
Recognition
Consistently recognized as a regional "Top Doctor," with more than 100 five-star patient reviews. Affiliated institution recognized among Healthgrades' 100 Best Hospitals for Spine Surgery.
Common spine-related conditions
Spine-related conditions can cause a variety of symptoms. Here are some of the most common reasons why patients consider surgery.
Neck pain radiating into the arm
Sharp or burning pain down the shoulder, arm, or hand, often with numbness, tingling, or weakness. Frequently worse with certain neck positions.
Hand clumsiness, balance changes, or gait trouble
Numbness in the fingers, buttoning shirts becoming difficult, unsteady walking, or a sense that the legs aren't responding normally — sometimes without much pain.
Lower back pain with leg pain or numbness
Pain that travels from the back into the buttock, thigh, calf, or foot — typically worse with sitting, bending, or specific movements.
Leg pain or heaviness when walking
Pain, cramping, or fatigue in one or both legs that begins after walking a distance and is relieved by sitting or leaning forward.
Worsening posture or visible spinal curvature
A forward-leaning stance, uneven shoulders or hips, or progressive curvature noticed in adulthood — sometimes accompanied by back pain or reduced standing tolerance.
Persistent symptoms after prior spine surgery
Recurrence of original symptoms, new symptoms in adjacent areas, or incomplete recovery after a previous procedure.
Surgical procedures
Dr. Patton performs a wide range of surgical procedures, from minimially-invasive surgery to revision spinal reconstruction. Procedures marked ASC-eligible are commonly performed at an ambulatory surgery center with same-day discharge.
Surgery is a big decision
Spine conditions and spine treatment can be nuanced, and often there is not one, single treatment strategy. The goal is to arrive at the best treatment for you.
A recent MRI (within 6–12 months when possible), prior imaging reports, operative notes from any prior spine surgery or recent injections, and a list of conservative treatments already attempted — physical therapy, injections, medications.
A focused review of the imaging and your symptoms, and a discussion of options — surgical and non-surgical.
Often times, surgery is not the answer and conservative care is the best option — a clear "no surgery" answer is, for many patients, the most useful outcome of a second opinion.
Online scheduling is available. A recent MRI within the past 12 months is required.
Most low back pain is not a surgical problem
Only about 5-10% of patients with low back pain have a specific structural cause that can be considered for surgical treatment.
Acute or chronic low back pain without leg symptoms — and without a clear structural cause on imaging — is most often treated without surgery, as is most cases of muscular pain, age-related disc and facet changes, mild-to-moderate degenerative findings, disc bulges, and pain that improves and recurs over time.
For patients with isolated low back pain, a physiatrist or pain medicine specialist -- rather than a surgeon -- is typically the right place to start. A Physiatrist is a physical medicine and rehabilitation physician, trained in the broader functional evaluation and treamtent of back pain through using conservative options such as physical therapy, targeted injections, medication management, and the longitudinal care that most back pain patients need.