Richard Menger, M.D., MPA, lectured about USA Health’s team-based approach to reducing complications in complex spine deformity care.
About Richard Menger, M.D., M.P.A
Richard Menger, M.D., M.P.A, is a fellowship-trained neurosurgeon serving as Chief of Complex Spine Surgery at the USA Health. He has a specific focus on complex spinal reconstructions for spinal deformity in children and adults. He performs minimally invasive spinal procedures (MIS) and has a special expertise in the entire spectrum of state-of-the-art surgical and conservative management of pediatric scoliosis.
Trained in neurological and orthopedic spine surgery, he can assess patients from an interdisciplinary perspective. As a neurosurgeon, he completed the prestigious Advanced Pediatric Spinal Deformity Orthopedic Fellowship at Columbia University Medical Center in New York under the direction of Michael Vitale M.D., M.P.H., Richard Anderson M.D., and Lawrence Lenke M.D. During his neurosurgery residency at LSU in Shreveport, La., he received additional training with an enfolded fellowship in pediatric spinal deformity at Shriners Hospital for Children.
He is an honors graduate of Cornell University where he played four years of Division I rugby. He completed medical school with honors at Georgetown University School of Medicine where he was elected to the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Society and received the Barbara Bregman PhD award as the top graduate in neuroscience. To further his research mission, he received a Master of Public Administration (MPA) from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government where he was awarded the Hale Champion Public Service Fellowship.
His research focuses on operative techniques, clinical outcomes, and the intersection of policy and economics on the delivery of spine surgery. He has authored numerous scientific papers in academic journals and is the lead editor of the textbook The Business, Policy, and Economics of Neurosurgery. His op-ed/policy work has been published in the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Navy Times, the Hill and others. He has a joint appointment as Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of South Alabama.
He enjoys being on the water and spending as much time as possible with his wife and three daughters. He also serves as a Lieutenant Commander in the United States Navy Reserve.
Complex Spine Care
Dr. Menger looks forward to meeting you in his clinic, listening to your story, and finding the least invasive option to treat your spinal issue. Thankfully, most of the time, this is not surgery. The spine team is here to help you through the entire process and coordinate your individual comprehensive treatment plan.
Dr. Menger has undergone specific fellowship training in both minimally invasive and spinal reconstruction surgery. He has given numerous talks at national medical conferences and published research in leading medical journals. The University of South Alabama is the complex academic referral center for the region.
Please feel free to reach out to begin your treatment with our spine team at spine@health.southalabama.edu.