Robert J. Rothrock, MD
Neurosurgeon Near You In New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Florida
Dr. Robert J. Rothrock is a board-certified, dual-fellowship trained minimally invasive and complex spinal neurosurgeon, dedicated to providing patients with the smallest possible surgical procedure to address the clinical issue. During residency training, Dr. Branko Skovrlj was Dr. Rothrock’s mentor and chief resident, and principally influenced his decision to devote his career to minimally invasive and complex spine surgery. Because of this common heritage, Dr. Rothrock and Dr. Branko share a common philosophy and approach to spinal surgery.
Who Is Dr. Robert J. Rothrock?
Dr. Rothrock was born in Miami, Florida, where he grew up, and attended Ransom Everglades school. He attended the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, PA, where he graduated Summa Cum Laude with B.A. in European History, and completed his premedical education. He then attended the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York, and graduated with special honors and distinction in research in neurological surgery. During medical school, Dr. Rothrock received a prestigious Doris Duke Clinical Research fellowship, which he completed at Columbia University’s Department of Neurological Surgery.
Following medical school, Dr. Rothrock completed his residency training in Neurological Surgery at the Mount Sinai Icahn School of Medicine and Health System in New York City.
Dr. Rothrock completed multiple spinal fellowships in addition to his neurosurgical residency. He was a fellow in spinal radiosurgery and spinal oncology at the world-renowned Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City. He then completed a post-graduate spine fellowship in minimally invasive and deformity spine surgery at the University of Miami Jackson Memorial Health System and the Miami Project to Cure Paralysis.
What Do His Patients Say About Dr. Rothrock?
Education and Training- Summary:
- Undergraduate:
University of Pennsylvania, B.A. Summa Cum Laude, Philadelphia, PA - Medical School:
Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Honors and Distinction in Research, New York, NY - Residency:
Neurological Surgery, Mount Sinai Icahn School of Medicine, New York, NY - Fellowship:
Spinal Oncology and Radiosurgery, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY
Minimally Invasive and Complex Spine Surgery, University of Mami Jackson Memorial Health System, Miami, FL
Professional Career:
After completing his training, Dr. Rothrock became the Director of Spinal Oncology and Spine Research at Baptist Health South Florida, and held an academic appointment as Assistant Professor of Neurological Surgery at the Florida International University Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine. In addition to performing around 500 surgical procedures per year, he was an investigator in multiple clinical trials, lectured medical students, and ran multiple clinical programs for the health-system and medical school, including the spinal tumor program. During this time, Dr. Rothrock handled the most complicated and difficult surgical procedures, including spinal tumors and metastatic cancer, scoliosis, revision spinal surgery, and life and function threatening emergencies. This gave him an invaluable experience and allowed him to develop multiple unique surgical procedures to benefit his patients. Dr. Branko and Dr. Rothrock are devoted to finding a unique solution to every patient’s condition, with every option in the toolbox available.
Research and Peer Education:
Following in Dr. Branko’s footsteps, Dr. Rothrock has authored more than 50 peer reviewed publications. He was the Director of Spine Research for Baptist Health South Florida. He has served as an invited reviewer for World Neurosurgery, The Spine Journal, Operative Neurosurgery, and the Journal of Neurosurgery: Spine. He has served as the principal investigator of clinical trials in radiosurgery. He has presented at innumerable national and international meetings and conferences in Neurosurgery. In addition, Dr. Rothrock served as faculty for multiple national coyrses and meeting to teach other neuro- and orthopedic spine surgeons advanced minimally invasive surgical techniques. Dr. Rothrock is thrilled to bring his expertise to Nu Spine.
History and Education
Dr. Skovrlj was born in Split, Croatia. He immigrated to the United States in 1999 as a Rotary Exchange Student to study in Council Grove, Kansas. He received a basketball scholarship to Clayton State University in Atlanta, Georgia, where he played on the NCAA men’s basketball team. He finished his undergraduate studies at Clayton State, graduating Magna Cum Laude in 2005.
His education continued at SUNY Upstate Medical University in Syracuse, New York, where he earned his Doctorate of Medicine (MD) degree. He then moved to New York City to participate in residency and fellowship programs at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital. There, he completed the following:
- Neurosurgery Residency
- Complex Spine and Deformity Surgery Fellowship
- Minimally Invasive, Complex Spine and Deformity Surgery Fellowship
He also receives continuing education through his various memberships, regularly updating his skill set with the latest information and innovations. When patients receive treatment at NU-Spine, they have the guarantee of an experienced and knowledgeable doctor addressing their pain.
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