He is a role model for surgeons all around the world with his dedication to patient care, research, and education. Besides being one of the most skilled cervical spine surgeons in the world, Dan Riew is a humble person who holds family values dear. In this interview, he shares his way from the heart to the spine, his accomplishments and where the future of cervical spine surgery lies.

 

You are coming to the end of term as AOSpine Chairperson. What do you consider your biggest achievements?

In my term I put the focus on two things: to centralize and revamp the research, and for the rest of AOSpine, I wanted to introduce a new approach for looking at things.

 

That’s why I developed the TEAM approach – Transparency, Egalitarian, Accountable and Meritocratic. Everything about AOSpine now is I developed the TEAM approach – Transparency, Egalitarian, Accountable and Meritocratic. Everything about AOSpine now is based on metrics. If we give you money, we want to know how you used it, if you have a leadership position we want to see how you compare to others who have gone before you.based on metrics. If we give you money, we want to know how you used it, if you have a leadership position we want to see how you compare to others who have gone before you. Everything is accountable, so if you’re elected as a leader in AOSpine, we take attendance and show you how many meetings you missed and if you miss too many you’re asked to leave before your term is over. If you didn’t do a good job previously, we had no way of knowing. Now we do. Every enterprise we go into, everything that involves money, we expect to see a report card.

 

Which accomplishment or achievement is most gratifying to you?

Being chair of the AOSpine International Board is one of the most gratifying things I’ve ever done. Being president of the Cervical Spine Research Society was an accomplishment I’m equally proud of. Beyond work, without a doubt, the thing I’m most proud of is being the father of three great kids. Thanks to my wife they are wonderful kids, who are very grounded in what is right and what is wrong. They’re working hard and have been very successful in their academic careers. We have a 22-year-old, a 20-year-old and an 18-year-old. They're all out of the house now and at college.

 

Is this where you thought you’d end up, did you always want to be a doctor?

When I went to college, I thought I’d be a trial attorney. I took some courses in international relations in government but decided it was too subjective. I felt being a doctor would be more objective. It turns out that a lot of medicine is art, not science, but I still felt it was more objective than politics or law. At medical school, I thought I would become a cardiologist. After a couple of years, I switched to spine orthopedics. During this time, I trained with the world-renowned surgeon Henry Boleman, who About 40% of my practice is revision cases; some are awful deformities after say 10 or 12 operations with the neck bent over to one side, but we also do things like artificial disc replacements, laminoplasties, and minimally invasive procedures.had a focus on the cervical spine. When I finished my fellowship, Washington University in St. Louis was looking for someone who had trained with him. My two partners, Keith Bridwell and Larry Lenke, wanted someone to take care of the cervical spine, so I fell into it accidentally and realized I really like it. The people who helped me on the path I’m on today and who have fostered my career are Henry Bohlman and John McCulloch, who taught me how to do microsurgery, and Richard Gelberman, who is the chair of Washington University.

 

How many surgeries have you performed so far, and what is your specialty?

I’ve done about 6,000 cases so far, on average I do approximately 250 cases in a year. About 40% of my practice is revision cases; some are awful deformities after say 10 or 12 operations with the neck bent over to one side, but we also do things like artificial disc replacements, laminoplasties, and minimally invasive procedures.

 

What does the future of cervical spine surgery look like – what will be the next significant development in the field?

Over the next years, we’ll have more robotic surgery, and have 3D printed individualized implants so instead of having generic manufactured implant we’ll have custom made, printed off in the hospital and fit perfectly to patient’s needs. We will have a 3D model of the spine so if patients have severe deformities – we do this already in our hospital – we can plan out the trajectory of screws and understand what the deformity looks like in 3D. It’s an exciting field, and we’re just starting to see the beginnings of a revolutionary way to treat the problems we didn’t know how to tackle in the past.

 

Within the global spine community, you have the reputation of being an exceptional leader with very high ethical standards, who is very professional and always polite. Where have you acquired these skills?

All the mentors I’ve ever had have been very ethical and taught me right from wrong, starting with my parents. We’re fortunate that in both AOSpine and most of the organizations related to academic spine societies the leaders have been ethical and honest people. That’s an example that was set years ago, and it’s easy to follow in the footsteps of those that have gone before you.

 

Also, you never seem to be stressed. What's the secret to your success?

Everyone has stress from time to time, but I thoroughly enjoy my job. I find surgery Everyone has stress from time to time, but I thoroughly enjoy my job. I find surgery relaxing, but if I have a deadline for a paper or a chapter that's what really causes me stress.relaxing, but if I have a deadline for a paper or a chapter that's what really causes me stress.

 

Outside the OR, now that we’re empty nesters my wife and I enjoy spending time together to relax, taking very long walks, exercising together. We walk at least 4 miles a day and try to go away for weekends. She’s my best friend, so we spend a lot of time together. We’ve been very blessed.

 

You were born in Korea then moved to the States. How has your cultural background influenced your career?

I was seven years old when I came from Korea, and the Asian culture is very different to the US culture in many ways. There’s a lot of respect for elders, a feeling of obligation towards those who came before you and helped train you. You feel a sense of duty because you pay it forward – people who came before you mentor you and you’re expected to do the same. Now the cultures have melded together in many ways, so the East and West share many of the same values. I see myself as a product of two entirely different cultures and feel at home in both.

 

What advice would you give to a young spine surgeon today?

These days surgeons are very pressed for time, so it’s easy to forget the grounding on which everything is based. You have to put the patient first and think "how would I treat this patient if they were a family member or close personal friend". If you have that as a guiding principle, you’ll do fine.

 

A few years ago, surgeons were mostly male and didn’t have a hand in raising their children. But You have to learn how to balance. Time management is not an easy thing to do, but if you succeed, in my opinion, being a surgeon is the best job in the world.now whether you’re a male or female surgeon, your first duty is to your kids, then to your spouse because otherwise no matter how successful you are in your career you won’t be happy. You have to learn how to balance. Time management is not an easy thing to do, but if you succeed, in my opinion, being a surgeon is the best job in the world.

 

In your view, what makes AOSpine unique as an organization?

There’s no other organization like AOSpine for bringing together surgeons from around the world. I knew a lot of surgeons around the world before joining, but the number I’ve met has increased tenfold by becoming a member of AOSpine.

It’s a wonderful opportunity to learn from your colleagues from all over the world. Although all of us have some unique problems, there are also a lot of issues and challenges that we have in common. There are great advantages to sharing our experiences and approaches to these common issues.

 

Also, unlike most organizations where a tiny group of people selects leaders, AOSpine is much more democratic – we give the At AOSpine, if you get involved and demonstrate leadership ability, you can be rewarded by being elected to a regional or even the International Board. That makes our organization unique.opportunity to anybody to get into the International Board by becoming a member representative by being elected at the Members Assembly at the Global Spine Congress. We started this initiative because we felt it was important for every single member to have the opportunity to elect a person who could voice their thoughts, ideas, and desires. At AOSpine, if you get involved and demonstrate leadership ability, you can be rewarded by being elected to a regional or even the International Board. That makes our organization unique.

 

 

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Biography

 

K. Daniel Riew

 

Dan Riew is a Professor of Orthopedic Surgery at Columbia University Medical Center’s College of Physicians and Surgeons in NYC. He is also the Co-Chief, Spine Division, Director of Cervical Spine Surgery and Co-Director of the Columbia Spine Fellowship. He joined the Columbia Faculty in July of 2015.

 

Dan Riew is recognized as one of the leading clinical and academic figures in the global spine community.

 

His practice is exclusively limited to the operative treatment of the cervical spine, the only such practice in the US and one of only a handful in the world. Few surgeons perform more cervical spine operations than Dan Riew, whose procedures range from minimally invasive microsurgical outpatient procedures, to the most complex “chin-on-chest” or “ear-on-shoulder” deformity corrections. He has a particular interest in cervical artificial disc replacements and other motion-sparing procedures such as laminoplasties.

 

As a global leader in the academic community, Dan Riew has served as the President of the Cervical Spine Research Society (CSRS) and is currently the Chairperson of the International Board of AOSpine. He has lectured extensively nationally and internationally, improving the treatment of these disorders in other portions of the globe.  He has been a Visiting Professor, Key or Named Lecturer over 120 times in 22 countries. Over 75 experienced spine surgeons from all other the world have come to learn from him. He has published over 250 peer-reviewed papers, over 75 chapters and other manuscripts and edited several textbooks.

 

At NASS 2017, Dan Riew was awarded the prestigious Leon Wiltse Award for excellence in leadership and clinical research in spine care.