Raj D. Rao, MD
Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery
Specialty: Spine Surgery
Board Certified in Orthopaedic Surgery
(414) 805-7425 | 414-805-7499 fax
Dr. Raj Rao is a Board Certified Orthopaedic Surgeon, fellowship trained and specializing in Spine Surgery. He joined the Orthopaedic Surgery Department in 1999 as Director of Spine Surgery. He specializes in the surgical management of disorders of the neck and low back.
Dr. Rao did his internship and residency in orthopaedic surgery at the University of Southern California, Los Angeles. He subsequently did a fellowship focusing on spinal surgery in Royal Oak, Michigan. He practiced orthopaedic and spine surgery for three years in northern California prior to joining the Medical College of Wisconsin in 1999.
Dr. Rao did research in orthopaedics and spinal disorders at the Orthopädische Klinik Seepark, Bremerhaven, Germany, and subsequently at the University of Western Ontario, Canada, and Orthopaedic Hospital, Los Angeles. He is an Associate Editor of The Spine Journal and is on the editorial board of the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, Spine and other national scientific journals. He has published papers on numerous topics and presented at national and international meetings, and has authored several papers published in prestigious scientific journals. He has presented and taught at national courses on neck and low back spine surgery. His research interests include cervical myelopathy, spinal biomechanics, the biology and mechanics of spinal fusion, and gait analysis. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the North American Spine Society, and heads their efforts at advocating for health care reform in Washington, D.C. 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, the SpineCare Clinic in Wauwatosa and at the Community Memorial Medical Clinic in Menomonee Falls. His specialty interests include the surgical management of neck and back disorders, spinal tumors and spine trauma.
To view Dr. Rao's Web site, please visit us at www.neckcare.org.