News
Remembering Dr. Gunnar Andersson
Date posted: 9/1/2026
Last updated: 9/1/2026
Table of Contents
It is with deep sorrow that we share the passing of Dr. Gunnar Andersson, one of our founding physicians, a longtime spine surgeon, a prolific researcher, and a leader who helped shape the field of spine surgery as we know it today.
Nearly Three Decades at Rush
Dr. Andersson was born and educated in Sweden, and in 1985 he brought that training to Rush University Medical Center. What followed was nearly three decades of building. He served as the Ronald L. DeWald, M.D. Professor in the Department of Orthopedic Surgery and led that department as Chairman from 1994 to 2008. Along the way, he also served as President of the Medical Staff, Vice Dean for Surgical Sciences, and Senior Vice President of Medical Affairs, each for two-year terms. Those titles tell you where he sat. They say less about why people followed him there.
A Leader on the World Stage
His influence reached far beyond Chicago. He was a founding member of the International Society for the Study of Lumbar Spine, served as its president in 1989, and received the ISSLS Wiltse Lifetime Achievement Award in 2002. He was President of the International Society for the Advancement of Spine Surgery from 2014 to 2015 and Co-President the following year, helping to establish ISASS as an advocacy society and holding its first seat in the AMA House of Delegates in 2014. Renowned for his research, he served as president of the Orthopaedic Research Society in 2000.
A Retirement in Name Only
He retired from clinical practice at the end of 2014, after nearly 30 years at Rush, though retirement proved to be a loose term in his case. He kept publishing. He kept leading spine societies. The work simply continued in another form.
The Mentor Behind the Titles
What we will remember most, though, appears on no list of appointments. Dr. Andersson mentored generations of researchers and clinicians throughout his career, and some of them are here at Midwest Orthopaedics at Rush today precisely because of him. He was kind. He was encouraging. He carried himself with a professionalism that set the standard for everyone around him.
We honor his immeasurable contributions to spine surgery, to research, and to this practice, and we extend our deepest condolences to all who knew him personally and professionally. His legacy will not be forgotten by his Midwest Orthopaedics at Rush family.
