Accessibility Tools

Neil Badlani, M.D., M.B.A. Minimally Invasive Spine Surgeon

Neil Badlani, M.D., M.B.A. is a Board-Certified Orthopedic Surgeon Specializing in Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery. He brings to Houston cutting-edge techniques in treating spine, back and neck pain, as well as complicated spinal disorders such as scoliosis in patients of all ages. He emphasizes a conservative and comprehensive philosophy in treating the spine, always focusing first on non-operative treatments. His surgical emphasis is on minimally invasive and motion-sparing techniques including disc replacement. By using muscle sparing approaches and smaller incisions patients benefit with decreased pain and faster return to activity. He has also designed an in-house "back school", a program to treat back pain through core strengthening, improved posture, flexibility and overall fitness.

Dr. Badlani's inspiration for pursuing a career in medicine is his mother, a dedicated pediatrician for 30 years who has taught him the value of caring for each patient with compassion and empathy. He was named one of the top spine surgeon's in the country under 40 by Becker's Spine in 2014. He has been featured on KHOU 11, KPRC Local 2, KRIV Fox 26 and the Houston Chronicle for minimally invasive and robotic spine surgery. He is also an award winning researcher having been recognized nationally by the American Academy of Sports Medicine and Western Orthopaedic Association and even internationally by the Combined Orthopaedic Research Societies of the USA, Canada, Japan and Europe for his work. He has presented his research both on orthopaedic surgery and economic aspects of medicine at many national meetings including the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons and the North American Spine Society. Education is an important aspect of his career and he has written several book chapters about spine surgery including cervical laminoplasty and minimally invasive lumbar fusion. He is a reviewer for “The Spine Journal” and “The International Journal of Spine Surgery”.

Dr. Badlani has lived all over the United States. He was born and raised in Pittsburgh, PA. He attended the George Washington University for college, graduating Summa Cum Laude in only 3 years. He then completed a dual MD/MBA program in just 5 years at the University of Pittsburgh. His orthopaedic surgery training was done at the University of California, San Diego, followed by fellowships in both adult and pediatric spine surgery at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, IL.

Dr. Badlani is now very happy to call Houston his new home. He and his wife, Rekha, a local news anchor for KHOU channel 11, enjoy exploring Houston in their spare time. They are always looking for a suggestion for a good restaurant or fun activity to enjoy with their three daughters.

Dr. Badlani is extremely dedicated to his patients and his primary goal is always to improve their quality of life.

Dr. Badlani practices at the Orthopedic Sports Clinic in Houston, TX. Please call for an appointment. He can be reached at [javascript protected email address]

Dr. Badlani Explains Spine Surgery

Dr. Badlani Explains Minimally Invasive Surgery

Education

  • BA in Economics - The George Washington University (Summa Cum Laude) (Washington, DC)
  • MD/MBA - The University of Pittsburgh (Pittsburgh, PA)
  • Orthopaedic Surgery Residency - University of California, San Diego
  • Spine Surgery Fellowship - Rush University Medical Center (Chicago, IL)

Awards

First Place Case Presentation- 2012 Spine Interactive Educational Program Awards

Badlani N, An H. Extreme Ossification of the Posterior Longitudinal Ligament and Cervical Myelopathy

Western Orthopaedic Association 2008 Vernon Thompson Resident Award

Badlani N, Inoue A, Healey R, Coutts R, Amiel D. The Protective Effect of OP-1 on Articular Cartilage in the Development of Osteoarthritis

California Orthopaedic Association 2008 J. Harold LaBriola, M.D. Resident Award.

Badlani N, Inoue A, Healey R, Coutts R, Amiel D. The Protective Effect of OP-1 on Articular Cartilage in the Development of Osteoarthritis

2001 Combined meeting of the Orthopaedic Research Societies of the U.S., Canada, Japan and Europe New Investigator Recognition Award.

Sato K, Fukushima K, Adachi N, Riano F, Foster W, Badlani N, Li Y, Usas A, Saito A, Matsuraki H, Ryu J, Fu FH and Huard J.

Biological Approaches Based on the Enhancement of Muscle Regeneration and Prevention.

American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine 2000 Cabaud Memorial Award.

Fukushima K, Badlani N, Usas A, Riano F, Fu FH, Huard J. The use of anti-fibrosis agent to achieve a complete muscle recovery following sports related muscle injuries.

Publications

Badlani N, Yu E, Kreitz T, Khan S, Kurd MF. Minimally Invasive Transforaminal Lumbar Interbody Fusion (TLIF). Clin Spine Surg. 2019 Oct 15. doi: 10.1097/ PubMed PMID: 31625956.

Badlani N. *Ambulatory Surgery Center Ownership Models. Journal of Spine Surgery 2019 Sep;5(Suppl 2):S195-S203. doi: 10.21037/jss.2019.04.20. Review.

Badlani N ,Yu E, Ahn J, Kurd MF, Khan SN. Minimally Invasive/Less Invasive Microdiscectomy. Clinical Spine Surgery. 2016 Apr;29(3):108-10.

Badlani N, Phillips F, Foran J, Pelton M, Singh K, Garfin S, Allen TA. Patient Perceptions of Physician Reimbursement for Spine Surgery. Spine (Phila Pa 1976). 2013 Jul 1;38(15):1288-93.

Badlani N, Korenblit A, Hammerberg K. Subclavian Vein Thrombosis After Application of Body Cast. Journal of Pediatric Orthopedics. 2013 Jan;33(1):e1-3.

Badlani N, An H. Congenital Lumbar Stenosis: Diagnostic Challenges and Treatment Options. Contemporary Spine Surgery Journal. 2012 June. Vol 13. Number 6.

Badlani N, Boden S, Phillips F. Orthopaedic Specialty Hospitals: Centers of Excellence or Greed Machines? Orthopedics. 2012 Mar 7;35(3):e420-5.

Oshima Y, Coutts R, Badlani N, Healey R, Kubo T, Amiel D. Effect of Light-Emitting Diode (LED) Therapy on the Development of Osteoarthritis (OA) in a Rabbit Model. Biomedicine & Pharmacotherapy. 2011 Jun;65(3):224-9. Epub 2011 May 20.

Badlani N, Oshima Y, Healey R, Coutts R, Amiel D. Use of Bone Morphogenetic Protein-7 as a Treatment for Osteoarthritis. Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research. 2009 Dec; 467(12):3221-9. 2008 Oct 22. Epub

Lofin I, Levine B, Badlani N, Klein GR, Jaffe WL. Psoriatic arthritis and arthroplasty: a review of the literature. Bull NYU Hosp Jt Dis. 2008;66(1):41-8.

Badlani N, Inoue A, Healey R, Coutts R, Amiel D. The Protective Effect of OP-1 on Articular Cartilage in the Development of Osteoarthritis. Osteoarthritis and Cartilage. 2008 May;16(5):600-6. Epub 2007 Oct 31.

Williams S, Amiel D, Ball S, Allen RT, Tontz Jr. W, Emmerson B, Badlani N, Emery S, Haghighi P, Bugbee W. Analysis of Chondrocyte Viability on a Cellular Level in Fresh Osteochondral Allograft Retrievals. American Journal of Sports Medicine. 2007 Dec; 35(12):2022-32. Epub 2007 Aug 27.

Sato K, Li Y, Fukushima K, Foster W, Badlani N, Adachi N, Usas A, Fu FH, Huard J. Improvement of muscle healing through enhancement of muscle regeneration and prevention of fibrosis. Muscle & Nerve
2003 Sep; 28(3):365-72.

Fukushima K, Badlani N, Usas A, Riano F, Lee CW, Li Y, Foster WH, Fu FH, and Huard J. The use of an anti-fibrosis agent to improve muscle recovery after laceration. American Journal of Sports Medicine
Jul-Aug; 29: 394-402, 2001

National Presentations

Badlani N. Ambulatory Surgery Centers: A Financial Win for All Stakeholders? The Society for Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery Annual Meeting, Las Vegas, NV, October 13-15, 2016.

Badlani N. The Economics of Outpatient Spine Surgery. The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons Annual Meeting, Federation of Spine Associations Specialty Day, Orlando, FL. March 2nd-5th, 2016

Badlani N, Pelton M, Foran J, Singh K, Phillips F, Allen TA. Patient Perceptions of Physician Reimbursement for Spine Surgery. The North American Spine Society Annual Meeting, Dallas TX, October 24th-27th, 2012

Badlani N, Healey R, Inoue A, Oshima Y, Coutts R, Amiel D. The Protective Effect of OP-1 on Articular Cartilage for the Prevention and Treatment of Osteoarthritis. The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons Annual Meeting, Las Vegas, NV, February 25-28, 2009.

Badlani N, Oshima Y, Inoue A, Healey R, Coutts R, Amiel D. The Use of OP-1 as a Treatment for Osteoarthritis. The Orthopaedic Research Society 54th Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA, March 2-5, 2008.

Book Chapters

Badlani N, *Lehr J, Phillips F. Clinical and Economic Advantages of Out-Patient Spine Surgery. In: Frank M. Phillips, Isador H. Lieberman, David W. Polly Jr., and Michael Y. Wang, eds. Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery: Surgical Techniques and Disease Management, 2e**. *Springer; 2019:587-594.

Badlani N, *Phillips F. Posterior Cervical Decompression. In: Frank M.Phillips, Isador H. Lieberman, David W. Polly Jr., and Michael Y. Wang, eds. Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery: Surgical Techniques and Disease Management, 2e**. *Springer; 2019:147-154.

Badlani N, Phillips F. Posterior Cervical Decompression. In: Phillips F, Lieberman I, Polly D, eds. Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery: Surgical Techniques & Disease Management. Springer; 2014: 91-99.

Badlani N, Phillips F. Lateral Lumbar Interbody Fusion. In: Zdeblic T, Albert T, eds. Master Techniques in Orthopaedic Surgery, 3rd Edition- The Spine. Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins; 2014: 357- 372.

Badlani N, An H. Cervical Laminoplasty. In: Kim D, Vaccarro A, Dickman C, eds. Surgical Anatomy & Techniques to the Spine, 2nd Edition. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2013: 203-213.

Badlani N, Allen RT. Pelvic Fixation in Spine Surgery. In: Jandial R, McCormick P, Black P, eds. Core Techniques in Operative Neurosurgery. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2011: 528-534.

Neil Badlani, M.D., M.B.A.
  • 950 Campbell Road
    Houston
    , TX 77024