Richard Menger, M.D., M.P.A, is a fellowship-trained neurosurgeon serving as Chief of Complex Spine Surgery at the USA Health. He has a specific focus on complex spinal reconstructions for spinal deformity in children and adults. He performs minimally invasive spinal procedures (MIS) and has a special expertise in the entire spectrum of state-of-the-art surgical and conservative management of pediatric scoliosis.
Trained in neurological and orthopedic spine surgery, he can assess patients from an interdisciplinary perspective. As a neurosurgeon, he completed the prestigious Advanced Pediatric Spinal Deformity Orthopedic Fellowship at Columbia University Medical Center in New York under the direction of Michael Vitale M.D., M.P.H., Richard Anderson M.D., and Lawrence Lenke M.D. During his neurosurgery residency at LSU in Shreveport, La., he received additional training with an enfolded fellowship in pediatric spinal deformity at Shriners Hospital for Children.
He is an honors graduate of Cornell University where he played four years of Division I rugby. He completed medical school with honors at Georgetown University School of Medicine where he was elected to the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Society and received the Barbara Bregman PhD award as the top graduate in neuroscience. To further his research mission, he received a Master of Public Administration (MPA) from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government where he was awarded the Hale Champion Public Service Fellowship.
His research focuses on operative techniques, clinical outcomes, and the intersection of policy and economics on the delivery of spine surgery. He has authored numerous scientific papers in academic journals and is the lead editor of the textbook The Business, Policy, and Economics of Neurosurgery. His op-ed/policy work has been published in the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Navy Times, the Hill and others. He has a joint appointment as Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of South Alabama.
He enjoys being on the water and spending as much time as possible with his wife and three daughters. He also serves as a Lieutenant Commander in the United States Navy Reserve.
Complex Spine Care
Dr. Menger looks forward to meeting you in his clinic, listening to your story, and finding the least invasive option to treat your spinal issue. Thankfully, most of the time, this is not surgery. The spine team is here to help you through the entire process and coordinate your individual comprehensive treatment plan.
Dr. Menger has undergone specific fellowship training in both minimally invasive and spinal reconstruction surgery. He has given numerous talks at national medical conferences and published research in leading medical journals. The University of South Alabama is the complex academic referral center for the region.
Please feel free to reach out to begin your treatment with our spine team at spine@health.southalabama.edu.
"Selection is a testament to our entire team from nursing to physical therapy to advanced practice providers. We are very proud of the level of complex care we are able to provide here, locally, at USA Health, in Mobile, Alabama," said Richard Menger, M.D., MPA.
Richard Menger, M.D., MPA, lectured about USA Health’s team-based approach to reducing complications in complex spine deformity care.
“We are partnering with leading technology development to best help our patients and push the field forward,” Richard Menger, M.D., M.P.A., said.
“The leaders featured on this list are pushing their organizations not only to survive but thrive. They are key players who are shaping the future of healthcare proactively, rather than simply reacting to the ever-changing industry.”
“It is great to be recognized for the academic footprint all of the faculty in the neurosurgery department are helping to create,” Richard P. Menger, M.D., M.P.A., said.
“It is such an honor to be named vice chair,” Richard Menger, M.D., M.P.A., said. “This opportunity allows me to assist Dr. Anthony Martino in growing the academic neurosurgery program in south Alabama.”
Richard Menger, M.D., M.P.A., and Jai Thakur, M.D., gave oral presentations and poster presentations at this year’s annual meeting for the Southern Neurosurgical Society.
Voting for this year’s awards starts Wednesday, May 3, at VoteNappies.com and runs through May 28.
Menger presented research on spinal instrumentation. He discussed the safety of the freehand pedicle screw technique without the use of X-ray guidance, navigation or robotic surgery.
As a member of the committee, Richard Menger, M.D., will serve as a spine and methodology expert to help formulate guidelines dictating best practices for spinal surgeries.
The group won a $1,000 prize for their paper, “Starting Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) Spine Program From Scratch at an Academic Institution.”
The Samuel Hassenbusch Young Neurosurgeon Award is given to the top socioeconomic abstract selected from among the thousands of abstracts submitted to the Congress of Neurological Surgeons annual meeting.
Non-operative strategies for early onset scoliosis was the topic of an international lecture by Richard Menger, M.D., M.P.A., director of the USA Health Spine Institute.
Five representatives from USA Health were named to Mobile Bay’s 2020 40 Under 40.
The flag recognized the support, leadership and sacrifice of the dedicated employees of USA Health University Hospital during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Menger will present “Back Pain: From Conservative Therapy to Giant Surgery” at the Med School Café lecture on Tuesday, Oct. 20, at 11 a.m. The event will be held virtually.
Menger fulfilled his oath as both a military and medical professional and headed to treat COVID-19 patients in New York City, which quickly was becoming the epicenter for the virus in the United States.
Richard Menger, M.D., MPA, assistant professor of neurosurgery at the University of South Alabama College of Medicine and chief of complex spine surgery at USA Health has been named to the North American Spine Society (NASS) SpineLine’s 20 under 40 list for 2019.
Growing up in a family of doctors and having his fair share of sports injuries, the newest addition to the USA Health neurosurgery team was exposed to medicine early in life. He once thought he might pursue a career as an orthopedic or trauma surgeon but shifted towards neurosurgery during medical school as he became fascinated with the brain and spine.
