A conversation with Gary R. Simonds, MD

In this issue, Spine Surgery Today poses five questions to Gary R. Simonds, MD. He is chief and program director of Neurosurgery at Carilion Clinic, in Roanoke, Va., and is a professor at both the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine and the Virginia College of Osteopathic Medicine.

Dr. Simonds majored in biochemistry at Dartmouth College and completed his medical education at Rutgers Medical School. He completed a neurosurgery residency at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and a medical research fellowship at Walter Reed Army Institute of Research. He served in the U.S. Army during this time and subsequently as a faculty neurosurgeon at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and the Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences. He later practiced at the Geisinger Clinic, and Janet Weis Children’s Hospital, in Danville, Pa.

Dr. Simonds has performed almost 12,000 procedures during his career and has vast experience in spine surgery that includes complex fracture repair, decompressive surgeries, deformity correction, syrinx repair and treating spinal column and spinal cord tumors, and spinal vascular malformations. His experience in minimally invasive spinal surgery dates back 25 years, and his experience with spinal instrumentation involves about 30 years. Dr. Simonds is interested and active in education, research, ethics and provider resilience. He recently coauthored the book Building Resilience in Neurosurgical Residents and is producing related podcasts and web blogs. He is working on a “uniform patient experience” for all Carilion Clinic spine patients, rooted in the concept of shared decision, making. He is active in many organizations, particularly the socioeconomic arm of organized neurosurgery — the Council of State Neurosurgical Societies. He is also currently working on a master’s degree in health care delivery science with Dartmouth College and the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice.

Spine Surgery Today: What are your hobbies outside of practicing medicine?

Gary R. Simonds, MD: I used to be active in sports, playing and coaching soccer. In my late 40s, my knees “gave up the ghost” and I had to curtail my soccer “career.” My main exercise is now rowing on a nearby lake or on a machine. I read whenever I can (I am Shakespeare nut) and play guitar and banjo. My main joy however is connecting with my family.

Spine Surgery Today: Who has had the greatest influence on your career?

Simonds: There are too many to enumerate. I certainly learned dedication and hard work from my father and bravery from my mother (she survived World War II in Great Britain). I learned humor, fun and irreverence from my many friends. Deep unbridled love was from the influence of my wife and three boys. Perseverance, mutual support and unbreakable friendship came from my residency mates. I got my neurosurgery “street smarts” from the likes of Richard G. Ellenbogen, MD; Paul K. Maurer, MD; Daniel G. Nehls, MD; Scott Martin, MD; Lawrence M. Spetka, MD; and A. Loren Amacher, MD. I was influenced in terms of neurosurgical zeal, earnestness and honesty by all my residents.

Spine Surgery Today: What area of research in spine surgery most interests you right now? Why?

Simonds: I am most interested in minimizing the surgery needed by patients and trying to truly find the most valuable modes of treatment for patients with spinal ailments. I think we need to pull back on the reigns for a while on instrumentation surgery until we know what honestly gives patients the best outcomes. I think we must focus on empowering the patient to fully understand the implications of our interventions and the host of alternatives open to them.

Spine Surgery Today: What advice would you offer a medical school student today?

Simonds: Pay no heed to the cacophony about the future of medicine going on about you. Medicine will always be a marvelous endeavor even if it is not compensated as well in the future. Few other careers offer the same rewards and allows one to go to bed at night knowing they went as far as they could each day trying to help others. It will always be a noble field. We should behave in ways that reflect this.

Spine Surgery Today: Have you ever been fortunate enough to witness or to have been part of medical history in the making? If so, please explain.

Simonds: I think every day we “saddle up” and do our best for our patients, their families, our students and our co-workers, we are making medical history. We are establishing a tradition of excellence and self-sacrifice that results in medicine being ever-improving. Sure, I have been involved in various breakthroughs and novel approaches, but I think the true heroism lies in the day-to-day fight against death, disability and disease.

For more information:

Gary R. Simonds, MD, can be reached at Carilion Clinic, 2331 Franklin Rd., Roanoke, VA 24104; email: grsimonds@carilionclinic.org.

Disclosure: Simonds reports no relevant financial disclosures.