Dr Ali H Mesiwala is a board-certified neurosurgeon specialising in the development of novel technologies and minimally invasive techniques for both spinal and cranial surgery. He is a fellowship-trained expert in complex spinal procedures, including deformity correction and revision surgery, as well as disc replacement operations. With more than 75 per cent of Dr Mesiwala’s cases now performed in the outpatient setting, he is focused primarily on optimising the patient experience, reducing recovery time through minimally invasive techniques and improving outcomes.
Since 2004, Dr Mesiwala has performed more than 8,000 operations in private practice, including more than 600 minimally invasive sacroiliac (SI) fusions, 700 disc replacements and 750 spinal cord stimulator surgeries. He now performs more than 200 disc replacements annually, primarily in the outpatient setting, and has one of the largest and most comprehensive sacroiliac practices in the world.
He has recently joined the DISC Sports & Spine Center in California, as part of the team of physician partners.
SSN: As a specialist in spine surgery, could you tell us more about your experience and training background in this field?
AM: My neurosurgical training was at the University of Washington, which included the joint Neurosurgical and Orthopaedic Spine service, as well as the Regional Spinal Cord Injury Center for the Veterans Administration. I had the privilege of learning from leaders in the spine world, such as Drs. Anderson, Chapman, King, Mirza and Shaffrey. My fellowship training included time spent at the UW, as well as Hannover, Germany, and UPMC and St Louis University. I worked for a year in the UK NHS, at the Atkinson Morely’s Hospital for Neurosurgery, and had the honour of working with Mr. Marsh and Johnson, as well. Upon completing my training, I served on the faculty at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, and then established a comprehensive neurosurgical private practice in Southern California. My practice treats the full spectrum of spine pathology, including adolescent and adult problems, from the least invasive to maximal reconstructive surgeries.
SSN: What drove you to choose surgery as a career – and spinal surgery in particular?
AM: I always enjoyed tinkering with devices and computers as a child. I grew up on the Stanford campus, and Cupertino, the heart of Silicon Valley. I had the opportunity to visit the anatomy lab at Stanford when I was 14 years old, and found the brain, nervous system and associated bony structures fascinating. My father is an engineer, and this led me to research in neural networks as a teenager, and then biomedical engineering in college. My desire was to apply engineering to neurosurgery, and fortunately that carried through to medical school, residency and beyond. Medical device design began during my residency, and I was awarded an NIH grant to study and design ultrasound devices for neurosurgery and spine. As a practicing surgeon and engineer, I now consult for many spine companies and hold patents for several novel devices, and have designed new techniques for both minimally invasive and deformity spinal surgery. My goal is to apply engineering to sp