Patient Reviews

Office Tour

Our primary goals include resolution of pain and restoration of function. At the same time, we focus on the education of our patients so that they can understand their problems and deal with potential future effects of these disorders. With almost all patient interactions, we incorporate concepts of manual treatments such as physical therapy and chiropractic, utilize spinal diagnostics such as X-rays, MRI and CT scans when appropriate, therapeutic injections, and sometimes offer surgeries to those patients who can't otherwise be effectively treated without such intervention.


After being raised in a small community in the midwest, Dr. Smith attended Hendrix College, a liberal arts school where he majored in Chemistry. He completed medical school in 1992. He was elected to the National Honors Medical Society Alpha Omega Alpha, and soon thereafter began his Internship and Orthopedic Residency in Utah.

In 1998 Dr. Smith was offered the coveted Spine Fellowship at the University of California San Francisco under the mentorship of Dr. David Bradford and Dr. Serena Hu. During this stimulating year, he learned to treat the most severe spinal deformities and disorders, including failed previous surgeries, spine fractures (some resulting in paraplegia and quadraplegia), spine infections, idiopathic and congenital scoliosis, other severe spinal deformities such as flat back deformity, spinal stenosis, herniated discs, and spondylolisthesis.

Following this comprehensive spine fellowship, he was asked to remain on staff at UCSF, accepting the position as Assistant Professor in Residence. He taught medical students and residents, did both clinical and basic science research at the Moffett Campus, and carried a full clinical load of patient care as well. His three years of academic work resulted in numerous presentations, invited articles, as well as publications and peer-reviewed journals and text books. In 2001 he and several co-authors were awarded the Norby-Smith award by the North American Spine Society for research in Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery. That year he also became Board-Certified in Orthopedics.

Eventually, because of his strong affinity to patient care and teaching, he moved his practice to the Walnut Creek/Pleasant Hill area, about 25 miles east of San Francisco. In 2003 Dr. Smith opened his own practice dedicated to the care of patients with disorders of the spine.

While his main focus is on patient care, he continues some academic pursuits. He works with commercial interests in the development of spinal implants, such as a cervical disc replacement as well as cervical and lumbar instrumentation with which spinal surgeons repair disrupted anatomy. He lectures intermittently, mostly locally, but a few times a year he is asked to speak at national sales meetings as well as national and international academic meetings attended by orthopedic surgeons and neurosurgeons specializing in the treatment of spinal disorders.

Dr. Smith's practice has benefited by its proximity to three excellent hospitals -- John Muir Medical Center in Walnut Creek, San Ramon Regional Medical Center in San Ramon, and Sutter Delta Medical Center in Antioch. All three hospitals offer the highest level of care while being easily accessible by auto and air travel.

Meet the Staff

• Brooke Aber, PA-C - Brooke Aber, PA-C is a Physician Assistant who received her PA and Masters Degress from Chicago Medical School in 2000. In addition, she received her Bachelors Degree in Biology at UC Santa Barbara. She has worked as a surgical PA for 8 years assisting in all subspecialties of surgery, predominantly orthopedics. She grew up in Southern California and currently resides in the East Bay with her husband and two children. In her free time, she enjoys traveling, exercise and most importantly spending time with her family.
• Her role in our clinic is to evaluate patients, taking their histories, performing physical exams, and conferring with Dr. Smith as to appropriate treatment recommendations. Her warmth and compassion are complemented by her broad knowledge of medicine, with specific reference to the musculo-skeletal system. She provides an essential component of our clinic in these areas, as well as being Dr. Smith's primary surgical first assistant. Ms. Aber evaluates and treats patients independent of Dr. Smith when he is otherwise engaged in research, lectures, patient care, or outside clinic work.
• Veronica Malagon, Surgery Scheduler - Veronica's primary role is as surgery scheduler. In this role, she makes contact with insurance companies to assure that authorizations for surgeries are properly obtained, schedules surgeries, and assures that all material needed for surgery, such as lab work and scans is available. Veronica is fluent in English and Spanish, and thus also serves as our in house spanish interpreter.
• Monica Nelson, X-Ray Tech - Monica is the newest member of our team. Trained as an X-Ray Tech, she also interfaces with insurance companies to gain authorization for MRIs, CT scans, other tests, as well as diagnostic and therapeutic injections ordered by Dr. Smith and Ms. Aber. Monica is Fluent in English, German, Serbian, and Romanian

Services Offered

Cervical Procedures:

Anterior cervical discetomy and fusion (ACDF)
Posterior cervical foraminotomy (PCF)
Artificial disk replacement (ADR)
Laminoplasty
Laminectomy
Posterior cervical fusion
Endoscopic scoliosis correction
Lumbar microdisectomy

Thoracic Procedures:

Laminectomy
Foraminotomy
Thoracic fusion
Corpectomy
Endoscopic discetomy
Posterior discectomy
Open scoliosis correction
Video assisted thoracoscopic surgery

Lumbar Procedures:

Lumbar Artifical Disc Replacement
Microdiscectomy
Laminotomy / Foraminotomy
Laminectomy
Lumbar Fusion
Trans-foraminal Lumbar Interbody Fusion (TLIF)
Extreme lateral interbody fusion (XLIF)
Anterior lumbar interbody fusion (ALIF)
Posterior lumbar interbody fusion (PLIF)
Non-fusion stabilization
Kyphoplasty
X-STOP


Peripheral Nerve Surgery:

Carpal tunnel decompression
Cubital tunnel decompression
Open Carpal Tunnel Release Animation

Spinal Cord Stimulator Placement:

Spinal Cord Stimulator

Scoliosis & Deformity:

Endoscopic Scoliosis Correction
Open scoliosis correction
Scoliosis Information from SpineUniverse
Scoliosis: What You Need To Know

Awards