Ameen Barghi, MD, MPP

Dr. Ameen Barghi is a Harvard-educated orthopaedic spine surgeon who treats the full range of neck and back conditions, from a single herniated disc to complex cases where a prior surgery has failed. He cares for patients with sciatica, lower back pain, neck pain, pinched nerves, herniated discs, spinal stenosis, degenerative disc disease, spondylolisthesis, and adult scoliosis. Dr. Barghi often offers second opinions for patients who have been told they need a fusion. He completed his fellowship at the Rothman Orthopaedic Institute at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, ranked the number one spine surgery fellowship in the country, where he performed more than 500 spine surgeries in a single year before joining Midwest Orthopaedics at Rush.

Dr. Barghi's interest in nerve pain started early. Growing up in Alabama, he joined a neuroscience laboratory studying how the nervous system recovers after injury and why some patients stay in pain while others get better. He has been asking the same question ever since: what actually gets people out of pain and back to the activities they love?

His philosophy is simple: treat the patient, not the X-rays or MRI. Every treatment plan is built around the individual patient, matched to their symptoms, lifestyle and goals. Most back and neck pain improves without surgery, and Dr. Barghi makes sure patients understand what is driving their symptoms and helps patients navigate every option available before surgery is on the table. When surgery is the right answer, he avoids spinal fusion whenever possible in favor of minimally invasive and motion-preserving alternatives, including cervical and lumbar artificial disc replacement and minimally invasive tubular decompression (microdiscectomy).

When appropriate, he uses computer navigation and robotic-assisted techniques that make surgery less invasive, speed up recovery, and improve safety, so patients get home sooner and back to work, sports and an active life faster. His cutting-edge techniques are paired with a narcotic-sparing pain plan, so that narcotics are kept to a minimum or never used at all. Dr. Barghi is trained for the hardest cases: failed back and neck surgery, spinal deformity, trauma and tumors.

A Rhodes Scholar, Dr. Barghi earned his medical degree at Harvard Medical School and a master's degree in Public Policy at the University of Oxford, where he focused on health economics and how health systems deliver better care at lower cost. He completed his orthopaedic surgery residency at Wake Forest University, where he served as administrative chief resident and received the Clinical Research Resident Award and the Resident Teaching Award. An award-winning researcher, Dr. Barghi published his first scientific paper while still in high school and has since produced more than 135 publications, book chapters, and scientific presentations. His research focuses on motion-preserving surgery, patient-reported outcomes, and machine learning to predict who will do well after spine surgery.

With Dr. Barghi's team behind you, the pledge is simple: honest answers, no rushed decisions, and never an operation he would not choose for his own family. Whether it is your first flare of back pain, an injury at work, or a surgery that did not deliver the relief you were promised, the goal is the same: get you out of pain and back to doing what you love most.