Northwestern University, Wellington K. Hsu, MD, Spine Surgeon

Dr. Hsu is an assistant professor with a joint appointment in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and Department of Neurological Surgery. He specializes in the operative treatment of cervical and lumbar degenerative disorders, motion-sparing technology, and spinal cord injury.

Dr. Hsu leads a number of programs within the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine including:

- Laboratory for Regenerative Technologies of the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery. His research interests focus on regenerative technologies as bone graft substitutes for spine fusion such as stem cell therapy, nanotechnology, and osteoinductive growth factors.

- The Professional Athlete Spine Initiative (PASI), which retrospectively studies clinical outcomes in elite professional athletes after spine surgery. He has been internationally recognized for his expertise in outcomes of high-performance athletes.

Cervical Spine Surgery in NFL Athletes

“Getting Professional Athletes Back in the Game”

Outcomes in NFL Lineman after Lumbar Discectomy

Turf Injuries in NFL Athletes

- The Elite Athlete Spine Initiative (EASI), an ongoing protocol that prospectively collects spine injury information in both collegiate and professional athletes.

- The Northwestern Orthopaedic Spine Project, providing immediate spine care to patients within 48 hours of request. For more information, please call 312-695-8000

Dr. Hsu was recently chosen as one of the American Orthopaedic Association North American Traveling Fellows in 2009, a prestigious honor bestowed upon a select group of orthopaedic surgeons.

Specialty

Degenerative Spine Surgery
Spine Trauma/Spinal Cord Injury
Spine Tumors
Spine Infections

Education

B.S. Music Performance - Violin, University of Wisconsin
M.D., Vanderbilt University School of Medicine

Residency

Orthopaedic Surgery, UCLA Medical Center

Fellowship

Basic Science Fellowship, UCLA Medical Center
Spine Surgery and Spinal Cord Injury, University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics

Membership

North American Spine Society
American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons
Institute for Bionanotechnology in Medicine
AO Spine Foundation
Lumbar Spine Research Society
Spine Arthroplasty Society

Journal Publications (selected)

Savage JW, Hsu WK. Statistical Performance in National Football League Athletes Following Lumbar Discectomy. Clinical Journal of Sports Medicine, 2010 (accepted)

Muchow RD, Hsu WK, Anderson PA. Histopathologic Inflammatory Response Induced by Recombinant Bone Morphogenetic Protein – 2 Characterized by Histopathology and Magnetic Resonance Imaging. The Spine Journal, 2010 (accepted)

Hsu WK. Outcomes Following Nonoperative and Operative Treatment for Cervical Disc Herniations in National Football League Athletes. Spine, 2010 (accepted)

Hsu WK. The Rationale of Cervical Disc Arthroplasty. Techniques in Orthopedics, 2010 June;25(2):84-87

Hsu WK, Anderson PA. An Update on the Management and Treatment of Odontoid Fractures. Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, 2010 July;18(7): 383-394

Hsu WK. Performance-based Outcomes Following Lumbar Discectomy in Professional Athletes in the National Football League. Spine, 2010 May 20;35(12):1247-51

Hsu WK, Anderson PA. Artificial Disc Surgery of the Cervical Spine: Material and Design Characteristics. The Cervical Spine, 5th Edition, Edited by Benzel E. Philadelphia: Lippincott-Williams-Wilkins, 2010

Hsu WK, Anderson PA. Cervical Disc Arthroplasty. Operative Spine Surgery. Edited by Bridwell K. Philadelphia: Lippincott-Williams-Wilkins, 2010

Hsu WK, Wang JC, Krenek L, Liu NQ, Lieberman JR. Stem Cells from Human Fat as Cellular Delivery Vehicles in a Rat Posterolateral Spine Fusion Model, J Bone Joint Surg Am, 2008 May;90(5):1043-52

Hsu WK, Wang JC. The Contemporary Use of Bone Morphogenetic Protein in Spine Fusion. The Spine Journal, 2008 May-Jun;8(3):419-25

Tow BP, Hsu WK, Wang JC. Disc Regeneration – A Glimpse of the Future. Clinical Neurosurgery, 2007, Vol. 54:122-8.

Hsu WK. Resident Work Hour Limitations: A Resident’s Perspective. SpineLine, Sept/Oct 2007, pp. 20-23

Hsu WK and Sugiyama OS, Park SH, Conduah A, Feeley BT, Liu NQ, Krenek L, An DS, Chen IS, Lieberman JR. Lentiviral-mediated BMP-2 Gene Transfer Enhances Healing of Segmental Femoral Defects in Rats. Bone, 2007 Apr; 40(4):931-8

Hsu WK, Feeley BT, Krenek L, Stout DB, Chatziioannou AF, Lieberman JR. The Use of 18F-Fluoride and 18F-FDG PET Scans to Assess Fracture Healing in a Rat Femur Model. European Journal of Nuclear Imaging and Molecular Medicine, 2007 Aug; 34(8):1291-301

Hsu WK, Wang JC. Biologic Substitutes in Spinal Arthrodesis. Coluna Magazine, March 2006

Hsu WK, Wang JC. Demineralized Bone Matrix in Spinal Arthrodesis. Seminars in Spine Surgery, 2006 April;18:22-25

Lieberman JR, Hsu WK . Prevention of Venous Thromboembolic Disease After Total Hip and Knee Arthroplasty. J Bone Joint Surg Am. 2005 Sep;87(9):2097-112

Feeley BT, Hsu WK, Lieberman JR. Thromboprophylaxis after Hip Fractures: Hip Fractures in the Elderly. Techniques in Orthopedics. 19(3):171-180, Sep 2004.

Ghiselli, G, Wang JC, Bhatia NN, Hsu WK, Dawson EG. Adjacent segment degeneration in the lumbar spine: an analysis of 215 patients. J Bone Joint Surg Am. 2004 Jul;86-A(7):1497-503

Hsu WK, Wang JC. Bone graft substitutes: the use of genetically engineered bone morphogenetic proteins for spinal fusion. Current Opinions in Orthopedics. Jun 2004

Ghiselli G, Wang JC, Hsu WK, Dawson EG. L5-S1 segment survivorship and clinical outcome analysis after L4-L5 isolated fusion. Spine. 2003 Jun 15;28(12):1275-80

For a complete CV, click here...

Consultant

Major League Baseball - Chicago Cubs franchise