Kaveh Khajavi, MD, FACS, FAANS
Dr. Khajavi’s Care Team
Patrice Braun, PA-C
Maggie Dotson, NP-C
Minimally Invasive & Complex Spine Surgeon
Kaveh Khajavi, MD, FACS, FAANS is a board-certified neurosurgeon in Atlanta whose practice is focused on minimally invasive and complex spine surgery. Over nearly three decades, he has developed particular expertise in minimally invasive lumbar surgery, lateral and anterior lumbar fusion, cervical spine surgery, adult scoliosis and spinal deformity, and complex and revision spine surgery.
Throughout his career, Dr. Kaveh Khajavi has combined clinical practice with research, teaching, outcomes measurement, and surgical innovation. His philosophy is that new surgical techniques and technologies should be evaluated by the results they produce for patients—not simply because they are new. When surgery is appropriate, his goal is to choose the operation best suited to the individual patient while minimizing disruption to normal anatomy whenever possible.
Training & Early Career
Dr. Khajavi received his undergraduate degree from Emory University and his medical degree from Georgetown University School of Medicine through a United States Air Force scholarship. He completed his neurosurgical residency at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation.
Following residency, Dr. Khajavi returned to active military duty and joined the Department of Neurosurgery at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, becoming the first Air Force officer appointed to the department. At Walter Reed, he served as Chief of the Epilepsy and Functional Neurosurgery sections and held faculty appointments at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences.
Dr. Khajavi returned to Atlanta in 2002 and founded Georgia Spine & Neurosurgery Center in 2003.
Minimally Invasive & Complex Spine Surgery
Dr. Khajavi became an early adopter of minimally invasive approaches to spinal surgery and has spent much of his career refining, studying, and teaching these techniques. His clinical work has included minimally invasive and lateral lumbar fusion, complex degenerative spine disease, adult spinal deformity, cervical spine surgery, and revision surgery.
Rather than viewing “minimally invasive” as an end in itself, Dr. Khajavi believes the objective is to accomplish the goals of an operation safely and effectively while reducing unnecessary tissue disruption when possible. Some spinal disorders can be treated through smaller and less disruptive approaches; others require more extensive reconstruction. Choosing the appropriate operation is more important than choosing the smallest one.
Research, Outcomes & Teaching
Clinical research has been an important part of Dr. Khajavi’s practice throughout his career. He has authored and co-authored numerous peer-reviewed scientific publications and book chapters involving minimally invasive lumbar fusion, lateral spine surgery, adult spinal deformity, cervical surgery, neuromonitoring, surgical safety, and other neurological and spinal disorders.
His research has included prospective clinical outcomes studies examining the procedures performed in his own practice. This work reflects a longstanding interest in objectively measuring patient outcomes and using those results to evaluate and improve surgical care.
Dr. Khajavi has also been involved in teaching spine surgery to physicians and other healthcare professionals and has lectured and instructed on minimally invasive and complex spine surgical techniques.
Explore Dr. Khajavi’s Research & Innovation →
Innovation & Surgical Safety
Dr. Khajavi’s interest in improving surgery extends beyond operative technique and clinical research. He has been involved in the development of surgical instruments, implants, and patient-safety technologies and is an inventor on numerous patents related to spine surgery and surgical safety.
He is also the founder and Chief Medical Officer of StartBox®, a technology developed to improve surgical safety and help prevent errors in the operating room.
For Dr. Khajavi, innovation is most meaningful when it addresses a real clinical problem and can make surgery safer, more effective, or less disruptive for patients.
Sports Neurosurgery
Dr. Khajavi has also had a longstanding involvement in sports neurosurgery. He served for 12 years as a neurosurgical consultant to the Atlanta Falcons and has served in similar roles involving professional and collegiate athletic organizations, with particular experience in concussion, head injury, and sports-related spinal injuries. Most recently he was the neurosurgical consultant for FIFA.
A Career Focused on Better Spine Care
Dr. Khajavi’s clinical philosophy has evolved from the different parts of his career: rigorous neurosurgical training, military medicine, decades of spine surgery, clinical research, outcomes measurement, teaching, and technology development.
The common objective has remained the same: to understand the patient’s problem accurately, recommend surgery only when it is appropriate, and when an operation is necessary, select the approach most likely to achieve the desired result safely and effectively.