Dr. Larry Teik-man Khoo completed his degree in Biological Sciences at Stanford University, he went on to graduate magna cum laude from Yale Medical School in New Haven, Connecticut.

His internship and residency in neurological surgery were completed here in Los Angeles at the University of Southern California where he developed an early research interest in spinal surgery.

This focus culminated with the Congress of Neurological Surgery awarding him the prestigious inaugural 2001 Ralph Cloward Medtronics Fellowship Award which he completed at Rush Presbyterian St. Luke’s Medical Center in Chicago, Illinois.

Dr. Khoo comes to Good Samaritan Hospital from UCLA, where he served as the Co-director of the UCLA Comprehensive Spine Center from 2002 to 2009. Over the years, he pioneered and validated many minimally invasive spinal surgical procedures in over 60 peer reviewed journal articles, 10 patents, 60 book chapters, 2 full books, and 400 scientific presentations. He has also trained numerous residents, fellows and physicians both nationally and internationally on the use of these advanced techniques. He has served on the organizational and executive committees of the American Academy of Neurological Surgeons, Congress of Neurological Surgeons, AANS/CNS Joint Section on Spine & peripheral Nerve Surgery, the North American Spine Society, the Society of Minimally Invasive Spinal Surgery and the Spine Arthroplasty Society. In 2009/2010 he was voted “Best Doctors in SoCal” by his peers.

Dr. Khoo’s clinical interests include minimally invasive spinal decompression of stenosis, percutaneous spinal fusion techniques, motion preserving spinal technologies, spinal segment regeneration, osteoporotic stabilization, image guided surgery, complex cervical spine reconstruction, and less invasive treatment of spinal tumors.

Robert Eastlack, MD, is an orthopedic surgeon and a fellowship-trained spine specialist who provides care for conditions affecting the neck and back, including spinal stenosis, spinal deformity, radiculopathy, disc herniation, spondylolisthesis and spinal tumors. His areas of expertise include artificial cervical disc replacement surgery, minimally invasive spine procedures and complex spinal reconstructions or revisions.

As a researcher, Dr. Eastlack is dedicated to evaluating potential procedures and discovering therapies that could improve outcomes and quality of life for patients with neck and back problems. His clinical studies are focused on spinal deformity surgery, minimally invasive spine surgery techniques and biologic fusion materials.

Sonospine’s Founding Surgeon has been at the forefront of clinical technology and ultrasound development for two decades. Graduating with Honors from the University of Washington School of Medicine in Seattle, he went on to a neurosurgical residency at the University of Virginia and then became the Fellow in Cerebrovascular and Skull Base Neurosurgery at Harvard’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital. He has authored over 50 peer reviewed research publications, holds multiple patent claims in ultrasound technology, and has spent years advancing traditional spine surgery. Sonospine® takes minimally invasive spinal surgery into the future with surgical ultrasound and its minimally disruptive Ultrasonic Spine procedure. Using high frequency vibration of the tip of the ultrasonic tool, Ultrasonic Spine surgery precisely removes bone and disc, millimeter by millimeter, minimizing disruption to the normal anatomy of the spine. This precision achieves a greater level of accuracy with more complete decompression of pinched nerves, providing symptom resolution with fewer complications and avoiding complex spinal fusion surgery.

David Okonkwo, MD, PhD, is professor of neurological surgery and director of the Neurotrauma Clinical Trials Center at the University of Pittsburgh. He is also director of neurotrauma and the scoliosis and spinal deformity program at UPMC Presbyterian. Dr. Okonkwo is currently chair of the AANS/CNS Section on Neurotrauma and Critical Care. In addition, Dr. Okonkwo is a member of the medical staff for the Pittsburgh Steelers Football Club.

Dr. Okonkwo completed his undergraduate work at the University of Virginia, where he was a Howard Hughes Undergraduate Biomedical Research Scholar. He completed his medical and doctoral education through the MD/PhD program of the Medical College of Virginia of Virginia Commonwealth University.

He joined the University of Pittsburgh Department of Neurological Surgery in 2006 following completion of neurosurgical residency at the University of Virginia and a fellowship at Auckland Public Hospital in Auckland, New Zealand. He has additional specialized training in scoliosis surgery.

Dr. Okonkwo’s clinical interests are traumatic injuries to the brain and spine as well as scoliosis and spinal deformity. His research endeavors involve developing biomarkers, advanced neuroimaging modalities and novel therapeutic interventions for brain and spinal cord injury. Dr. Okonkwo is a principal investigator of a national clinical research network (TRACK-TBI) to advance our understanding and treatment of traumatic brain injury. He is also principal investigator of several ongoing clinical studies in neurotrauma in Pittsburgh.

Dr. Okonkwo has published more than 275 papers in refereed journals, authored numerous book chapters, and garnered several awards for his scientific research. He is a member of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons, the Congress of Neurological Surgeons and the National and International Neurotrauma Societies.

Former President, NuVasive; Managing Partner, Orion Healthcare Advisors