Praveen Mummaneni MD
Professor & Vice Chair of Neurological Surgery
Director of Minimally Invasive and Cervical Spine Surgery
Director, Minimally Invasive and Complex Spine Fellowship Program
Co-director, Spinal Surgery and UCSF Spine Center
Dr. Praveen Mummaneni is the Director of the Cervical Spine Program, Director of the Minimally Invasive Spine Program, Director of the Minimally Invasive and Complex Spine Fellowship Program, Co-Director of the UCSF Spine Center, and Vice-Chair of the Department of Neurosurgery. Dr. Mummaneni specializes in complex cervical spine surgery (for C1-2 pathologies and instability, cervicothoracic kyphosis, cervical myelopathy) and in minimally invasive spine surgery (for degenerative spondylolisthesis, stenosis, adult spinal kyphosis and scoliosis, spinal tumors, and spinal trauma). He directs the minimally invasive spine service at UCSF which conducts over 200 minimally invasive and complex spine surgeries each year.
Dr. Mummaneni was board certified by the American Board of Neurological Surgery in 2005 and served as a guest examiner for the Oral Board Exam in 2011. From 2005 to 2011 he has been selected as one of the Best Doctors in America. He is internationally recognized for his work on cervical kyphosis and minimally invasive approaches to spinal deformity surgery and spinal tumors. He has been invited as the honored guest lecturer at numerous international meetings in Brazil, India, Japan, Taiwan, and Korea. He was the first neurosurgeon elected to active membership in the Scoliosis Research Society and was also the first neurosurgeon to win the Scoliosis Research Society's Edgar Dawson Memorial Scholarship as well as the SRS Travelling Fellowship Award. He is the editor of several textbooks including: Spinal Deformity: A Guide to Surgical Planning and Management, Handbook of Minimally Invasive and Percutaneous Spine Surgery, and Handbook of Spine Surgery. Dr. Mummaneni has served as the Scientific Program Chair and the Annual Meeting Chair of the AANS-CNS Joint Section on Disorders of the Spine and Peripheral Nerves. He now serves as the Secretary of this organization. Dr. Mummaneni is a member of the editorial board of the Journal of Neurosurgery: Spine, and he has published over 100 manuscripts in peer reviewed journals.
Surgical Videos
Windows Media Player
Quicktime Player
Lu DC, Chou D, Mummaneni PV. A comparison of mini-open and open approaches for resection of thoracolumbar intradural spinal tumors. J Neurosurg Spine 2011;14(16):758-764.
Windows Media PlayerQuicktime Player
Potts MB, Wu JC, Gupta N, Mummaneni PV. Minimally invasive tethered cord release in adults: a comparison of open and mini-open approaches. Neurosurg Focus 2010;29(1):E7.
Windows Media Player
Real Player
Chi JH, Dhall SS, Kanter AS, Mummaneni PV. The Mini-Open transpedicular thoracic discectomy: surgical technique and assessment. Neurosurg Focus 2008;25(2):E5.
Download the UCSF Neurospinal Disorders Program brochure (PDF)
Education, Training, and Previous Positions
- 1991: BA, Boston University College of Liberal Arts
1995: MD, Boston University School of Medicine
1995-1996: Intern, Department of General Surgery, University of California, Irvine
1997-2001: Resident, Department of Neurological Surgery, University of California, San Francisco
1999-2000: Visiting Scholar, Biomechanics, University of California, Berkeley
2001-2002: Complex Spine Fellow and Clinical Instructor, Emory University
2002-2006: Assistant Professor, Neurosurgery, Emory University
Selected Professional Memberships and Appointments
- American Association of Neurological Surgeons
Congress of Neurological Surgeons
AANS/CNS Section on Disorders of Spine and Peripheral Nerves, 2011 Annual Meeting Chairman
Scoliosis Research Society
Editorial Board, Journal of Spinal Disorders and Techniques
Editorial Board, Journal of Neurosurgery: Spine
Selected Honors and Awards
- 1989-1991: Dean's List, Boston University
1991: Summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, Boston University
1994: Alpha Omega Alpha, Boston University
1995: Magna Cum Laude, Boston University
2004: Spinal Deformity Education Group Award and Traveling Fellowship
2004: South Carolina Spine Society: Honored Guest Speaker
2005: Scoliosis Research Society: Edgar Dawson Traveling Fellowship Award
2005 -2011: Best Doctors in America
2006: Japanese Congress of Neurosurgeons: Honored Guest
2007: Scoliosis Research Society: European Traveling Fellowship Award
2008: Taiwan Neurospinal Society: Honored Guest
2011: Brazil Spine Society: Honored Guest
2011: Korean Cervical Spine Research Society: Honored Guest
Selected Recent Publications
Schwab FJ, Hawkinson N, Lafage V, Smith JS, Hart R, Mundis G, Burton DC, Line
B, Akbarnia B, Boachie-Adjei O, Hostin R, Shaffrey CI, Arlet V, Wood K, Gupta M,
Bess S, Mummaneni PV; International Spine Study Group. Risk factors for major
peri-operative complications in adult spinal deformity surgery: a multi-center
review of 953 consecutive patients. Eur Spine J. 2012 May 17. [Epub ahead of
print].
Groff MW, Heller JE, Potts EA, Mummaneni PV, Shaffrey CI, Smith JS. A
Survey-Based Study of Wrong-Level Lumbar Spine Surgery: The Scope of the Problem
and Current Practices in Place to Help Avoid These Errors. World Neurosurg. 2012
Apr 2. [Epub ahead of print].
Tarapore PE, Mukherjee P, Mummaneni PV, Ames CP. The Appearance of Dural
Sealants under MR Imaging. AJNR Am J Neuroradiol. 2012 Mar 29. [Epub ahead of
print].
Wu JC, Tu TH, Mummaneni PV. Techniques of Atlantoaxial Fixation and the
Resection of C2 Nerve Root. World Neurosurg. 2011 Dec 17. [Epub ahead of print].
Wu JC, Tu TH, Mummaneni PV. Spinal Arthroplasty: Differences Between the
Cervical and Lumbar Spine. World Neurosurg. 2011 Dec 17. [Epub ahead of print].
Abdul-Jabbar A, Takemoto S, Weber MH, Hu SS, Mummaneni PV, Deviren V, Ames CP,
Chou D, Weinstein PR, Burch S, Berven SH. Surgical site infection in spinal
surgery: description of surgical and patient-based risk factors for postoperative
infection using administrative claims data. Spine (Phila Pa 1976) 2012;37(15):1340-5.
Upadhyaya CD, Wu JC, Trost G, Haid RW, Traynelis VC, Tay B, Coric D, Mummaneni
PV. Analysis of the three United States Food and Drug Administration
investigational device exemption cervical arthroplasty trials. J Neurosurg Spine 2012;16(3):216-28.
Amin BY, Mummaneni PV. Cervical arthroplasty. J Neurosurg Spine 2012;16(3):229; discussion 230.
Amin BY, Mummaneni PV. Neuromonitoring. J Neurosurg Spine 2012;16(2):105-6.
Upadhyaya CD, Wu JC, Chin CT, Balamurali G, Mummaneni PV. Avoidance of
wrong-level thoracic spine surgery: intraoperative localization with preoperative
percutaneous fiducial screw placement. J Neurosurg Spine 2012;16(3):280-4.
Wu JC, Mummaneni PV, El-Sayed IH. Diseases of the odontoid and
craniovertebral junction with management by endoscopic approaches. Otolaryngol
Clin North Am 2011;44(5):1029-42.
Gandhoke G, Wu JC, Rowland NC, Meyer SA, Gupta C, Mummaneni PV. Anterior
corpectomy versus posterior laminoplasty: is the risk of postoperative C-5 palsy
different? Neurosurg Focus 2011;31(4):E12.
Mummaneni PV, Meyer SA, Wu JC. Biological approaches to spinal
instrumentation and fusion in spinal deformity surgery. Clin Neurosurg
2011;58:110-6.
El-Sayed IH, Wu JC, Dhillon N, Ames CP, Mummaneni P. The importance of
platybasia and the palatine line in patient selection for endonasal surgery of
the craniocervical junction: a radiographic study of 12 patients. World
Neurosurg 2011;76(1-2):183-8.
Meyer SA, Mummaneni PV. Axial interbody fusion. J Neurosurg Spine 2011;15(3):271; discussion 271-2.
Meyer SA, Mummaneni PV. Cost-effectiveness of transforaminal lumbar interbody
fusion. J Neurosurg Spine 2011;15(2):136-7; discussion 137.
Wang MY, Pineiro G, Mummaneni PV. Stimulus-evoked electromyography testing of percutaneous pedicle screws for the detection of pedicle breaches: a clinical study of 409 screws in 93 patients. J Neurosurg Spine 2010;13(5):600-5.
Burkus JK, Haid RW, Traynelis VC, Mummaneni PV. Long-term clinical and radiographic outcomes of cervical disc replacement with the Prestige disc: results from a prospective randomized controlled clinical trial. J Neurosurg Spine 2010;13(3):308-18.
Mummaneni PV. Use of systemic hypothermia for patients with spinal cord injury. Neurosurgery 2010;66(6):E1217.
Mummaneni PV, Lu DC, Dhall SS, Mummaneni VP, Chou D. C1 lateral mass fixation: a comparison of constructs. Neurosurgery 2010;66(3 Suppl):153-60.
Lu DC, Roeser AC, Mummaneni VP, Mummaneni PV. Nuances of occipitocervical fixation. Neurosurgery 2010;66(3 Suppl):141-6.
Upadhyaya CD, Starr PA, Mummaneni PV. Spinal deformity and Parkinson disease: a treatment algorithm. Neurosurg Focus 2010;28(3):E5.
Wang MY, Mummaneni PV. Minimally invasive surgery for thoracolumbar spinal deformity: initial clinical experience with clinical and radiographic outcomes. Neurosurg Focus 2010;28(3):E9.
Resnick DK, Anderson PA, Kaiser MG, Groff MW, Heary RF, Holly LT, Mummaneni PV, Ryken TC, Choudhri TF, Vresilovic EJ, Matz PG; Joint Section on Disorders of the Spine and Peripheral Nerves of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons and Congress of Neurological Surgeons. Electrophysiological monitoring during surgery for cervical degenerative myelopathy and radiculopathy. J Neurosurg Spine 2009;11(2):245-52.
Holly LT, Matz PG, Anderson PA, Groff MW, Heary RF, Kaiser MG, Mummaneni PV, Ryken TC, Choudhri TF, Vresilovic EJ, Resnick DK; Joint Section on Disorders of the Spine and Peripheral Nerves of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons and Congress of Neurological Surgeons. Functional outcomes assessment for cervical degenerative disease. J Neurosurg Spine 2009;11(2):238-44.
Lu DC, Dhall SS, Mummaneni PV. Mini-open removal of extradural foraminal tumors of the lumbar spine. J Neurosurg Spine 2009;10(1):46-50.