Medical College of Wisconsin

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Raj D. Rao, MD

Orthopaedic Surgery

Dr. Rao is Professor and Director of Spine Surgery in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Medical College of Wisconsin. His special interests include surgical management of degenerative conditions of the neck and back, spine trauma, spine tumors and deformity.   Dr. Rao is a Board Certified Orthopaedic surgeon and Fellowship trained in Spine Surgery. He completed his internship and residency at the University of Southern California, and fellowship training in Spine Surgery at the William Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, Michigan. Prior to joining the Medical College of Wisconsin, Dr. Rao practiced Spine Surgery and Orthopaedic Surgery in northern California for three years.  He also spent time doing orthopaedic research at the Orthopädische Klinik Seepark, Bremerhaven, Germany, at the University of Western Ontario, Canada, and at Orthopaedic Hospital, Los Angeles. He is an Associate Editor of The Spine Journal and is on the editorial boards of other national and international scientific journals. He has had many papers published in prestigious scientific journals and taught at national and international meetings. His research interests include spinal biomechanics, the biology and mechanics of spinal fusion, and gait analysis in persons with spinal disorders. He is on many national committees, and was recently appointed to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Advisory Panel on Orthopaedic and Rehabilitation Devices.   Dr. Rao is a member of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, North American Spine Society, and the Milwaukee Orthopaedic Society.   Dr. Rao sees patients at the MCW Clinics at Froedtert Hospital East. His specialty interests include the surgical and nonsurgical management of neck and back disorders, spinal tumors and trauma.

Care Emphases:

• Disc Herniations
• Scoliosis
• Spinal Tumors and Infections
• Neck Injuries
• Back and Neck Pain
• Cervical Spinal Pathology
• Spinal Trauma
• Back Injuries
• Neck Trauma
• Nerve Pain/Sciatica
• Spondylolistheses

Joined Medical College of Wisconsin:

• 1999

Education:

• Doctor of Medicine, University of Bombay, Bombay, India, 1984

Training:

• Residency, University of Southern California School of Medicine, Los Angeles, CA, USA, 1995
• Fellowship, Spine Surgery, William Beaumont Hospital, Royal Oak, MI, USA, 1996

Board Certifications:

• Orthopaedic Surgery

Languages:

• Spanish