Associate Director, Spine Institute of New York at Beth Israel Medical Center

A Paris, France native, Dr. Bitan is a renowned spine surgeon at the Spine Institute specializing in degenerative spine and deformities with special expertise in pediatrics. He has been the principal investigator for the FDA trial on Artificial Disc Replacement where he became familiarized with this technology during his residency in France. Dr. Bitan is the only surgeon in the Northeast designated to use this technology (Charité Disc) over the last four years.

Dr. Bitan received his medical degree in Paris, where his orthopedic training was strongly oriented towards spinal surgery. Dr. Bitan had the privilege of being trained at the 'Institut Calot', one of the most prominent centers for the treatment of spinal diseases in Europe. At the 'Institut Calot', he acquired extensive experience and skills in the use of revolutionary surgical technique before becoming recognized as one of the most influential breakthrough in spinal surgery over the last decade.

Dr Bitan, enriched by a personal experience of more than a thousand surgical cases, is recognized in France as one of the experts in degenerative spine diseases and spinal instrumentation, especially in Scoliosis and Kyphosis. After ten years of combined academic (Hospital for Sick Children) and private practice in France, he moved to New York City. Dr. Bitan successfully completed two fellowships in Pediatric Orthopedics and Spine Surgery. He received a second Board certification from the American Association of Physician Specialists. His activities at the Spine Institute in New York are shared between clinical and research. Dr Bitan introduced minimally invasive technology at Beth Israel Medical Center and become a tutor for other surgeons to adopt this innovative technology. He heads the Clinical Research Center within the Spine Institute, organizing research projects in the fields of Scoliosis, Artificial Discs, Minimally Invasive Spinal Surgery and Treatment of Osteoporotic Spinal Fractures using minimally invasive techniques.

Dr. Bitan is a Trustee of the Board of Directors of the American Parent Project for Muscular Dystrophy. He has authored more than 60 publications and presentations in the U.S. and in Europe, and is the chief editor of a recently published American textbook on spine deformities.

Current Appointments

Associate Director
Spine Institute,
Beth Israel Medical Center

Assistant Professor
Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Orthopedic Surgery

Director
New York Disc Replacement,
Beth Israel

Surgical Director
Beth Israel Muscular Dystrophy Center

Education and Training

Medical school
Paris University
Paris, France
Residency Assistance
Publique Hopitaux de Paris
Paris, France

Research Institut Calot,
Pediatric Orthopedics
Berk sur Mer, France
Pediatric Fellowship
Hospital for Special Surgery,
Orthopedic Pediatrics
New York, New York

Spine Fellowship
Beth Israel Medical Center, Spine Surgery
New York, New York

Licensure and Certifications

• France Medical Board
• New York State Board for Medicine (Licensure)
• Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates
• French Board of Orthopedic Surgery
• American Board of Orthopedic Surgery

Professional Affiliations

• American Association of Physician Specialists
• American Back Society
• American College of Spine Surgery
• Argos
• Association of French Speaking Physicians
• International Spinal Deformity Study Group
• New York Academy of Science
• North American Spine Society
• Scoliosis Research Society
• The Spine Arthroplasty Society

Specialization

• Total Disc Replacement
• Spinal Deformities (Children and Adults)
• Degenerative Spine (Lumbar & Cervical)
• Advanced Surgical Technologies for Degenerative Disc Diseases (BMP, Endoscopic Spinal Surgery & Kyphoplasty)

Director, Spine Institute of New York at Beth Israel Medical Center

Dr. Michael Neuwirth was named the Director of Spine Institute of New York at Beth Israel Medical Center in 1996. Prior to joining Beth Israel, he was the Chief of the Scoliosis Service and the combined Spine Services at the Hospital for Joint Diseases, as well as an Associate Clinical Professor and Associate Attending Physician at New York University and Tisch Hospitals.

Dr. Neuwirth's practice is strictly limited to spinal surgery with areas of special expertise in complex spinal deformities in adults and children, cervical spine and lumbar spine. He is a frequent lecturer to local and international groups and is the author of The Scoliosis Sourcebook, which is a book written for patients of scoliosis. Dr. Neuwirth has written extensively on scoliosis and is widely published in the field.

A native New Yorker, Dr. Neuwirth earned his undergraduate degree with distinction from Cornell University. In 1979, he joined the Mount Sinai School of Medicine as Assistant Clinical Professor of Orthopaedics. He was named Associate Clinical Professor of Orthopaedics at the New York University School of Medicine in 1995. Dr. Neuwirth has served on the board of the Scoliosis Research Society.

Current Appointments

Director
Spine Institute of New York,
Beth Israel Medical Center

Assoc. Clinical Professor
New York University School of Medicine,
Orthopedics

Education and Training

Undergraduate
Cornell University (BA with Distinction)
Ithaca, New York

Medical School S.U.N.Y. Downstate Medical School (Cum Laude)
Brooklyn, New York

Surgery Internship Kings County Hospital
Brooklyn, New York

Orthopedic Residency Hospital for Joint Diseases
New York, New York
Spine Fellowship Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke's Medical Center
Chicago, Illinois

Licensure and Certifications

• New York State Board for Medicine (Licensure)
• American Board of Orthopedic Surgery

Professional Affiliations

• American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons
• American College of Surgeons
• New York Academy of Medicine
• New York County Medical Society
• New York State Medical Society
• New York State Society of Orthopedic Surgeons
• Scoliosis Research Society (SRS), Board Member
• SRS, Instrumentation Committee, Chairman
• SRS, Core Curriculum, Section Leader
• The Scoliosis Association

Specialization

• Cervical, Thoracic, and Lumbar
• Complex Spinal Deformities in adults and children