Dr. Michael Galgano, a board-certified neurosurgeon specializing in complex spinal surgery from Upstate Medical University, will join the UNC Neurosurgery faculty this month. Dr. Galgano will be a great addition to UNC Neurosurgery’s spine program, and plans to complement the expertise of Section Co-Chief of Spinal Neurosurgery, Dr. Deb Bhowmick.

While Dr. Galgano treats a variety of spinal conditions such as trauma, degenerative disease, and infections, his clinical and academic interest will focus on spinal oncology and deformity surgery. Specific conditions that Dr. Galgano will be treat intrinsic spinal cord tumors, primary and metastatic vertebral column tumors, scoliosis, and kyphosis. He utilizes a combination of open and minimally-invasive surgical techniques tailored to the individual needs of each patient.

Dr. Galgano first developed an interest in spinal conditions while working as a nurse attendant on the spinal cord and traumatic brain injury unit at Burke Rehabilitation Hospital in White Plains, NY. He then became a clinical research associate there, engaging in research projects focusing on both stroke and spinal cord injury rehabilitation with robotic applications.

After attending medical school at St. George’s University, Dr. Galgano completed his neurosurgical residency at Upstate Medical University. During his final year of training, Dr. Galgano completed a complex and oncological spine surgery fellowship under Dr. Ziya Gokaslan at Brown University.

In November 2021, Dr. Galgano visited Chapel Hill with his wife, and presented at UNC Neurosurgery’s grand rounds on the surgical management of spinal tumors. During his visit, he had the opportunity to meet with faculty and residents, and was extraordinarily impressed with the collegial nature within the department. After formally connecting with the recently-appointed chair of UNC Health’s Department of Neurosurgery, Dr. Nelson Oyesiku, both agreed that Dr. Galgano would be a great fit for the department.

Dr. Galgano is excited to bring his passion for spine surgery education to the neurosurgery residency program. Over the last several years, he has developed a skillset for capturing unique intra-operative video content, followed by an extensive editing process.

Dr. Galgano has over 50 peer-reviewed publications, several of which are technique-driven operative videos. He has written several book chapters, and is an active member of the Scoliosis Research Society, Congress of Neurological Surgeons, American Academy of Neurological Surgeons, and North American Spine Society. In addition to being a member of the AANS/CNS Spine Section Media Team, Dr. Galgano serves as co-editor for the CNS Nexus Spine section, and generates practice questions for the neurological surgery written board exam through SANS. He routinely participates as a panelist for the weekly international spine seminar, Virtual Global Spine Conference. He was also recently endorsed to become an AO Spine Teaching Faculty Member.

Over the last few years, Dr. Galgano has established a robust following on social media platforms such as Twitter. He routinely engages in interesting spine case discussions with surgeons from around the world, and frequently posts spinal educational content.

Dr. Galgano’s academic interests revolve around creating a diverse neurosurgical video library for resident and medical student education. His primary research interest entails the development of novel surgical techniques for less-invasive methods of spinal tumor resection and deformity correction, as well as performing outcomes studies focusing on complication avoidance.

Dr. Galgano is excited to bring his expertise in spinal oncology and deformity surgery to UNC Health’s Department of Neurosurgery. His wife and four children are looking forward to enjoying the beautiful geography and weather that North Carolina has to offer.

Dr. Galgano will see patients at the UNC Spine Center. If you’d like to make an appointment with Dr. Galgano, please call 984-974-4200 to schedule.