Vikas V. Varma, MD

A published author, researcher, and surgeon educator, Dr. Varma has been invited to speak at domestic and international spine meetings to share his knowledge and expertise. He is an experienced surgeon, widely respected in Manhattan, known for his advanced technical surgical skills, and conservative multimodal approach to spine care. Dr. Varma specializes in the treatment of common adult degenerative conditions such as stenosis, spondylolisthesis and herniated discs, as well as complex conditions such as spinal deformity surgery and revision surgery.

He embraces a patient centered approach to shared decision making, with an emphasis on understanding patients as people, and getting them back to their active lifestyles as soon as possible.

In this regard, Dr. Varma combines his unique skills and training to use minimally invasive surgical techniques whenever possible. A meticulous surgeon, Dr. Varma comes from a family of physicians and prides himself on his ethical, personalized, detail-oriented approach to patient care.

As a board certified, fellowship trained Spine Surgeon, Dr. Vikas Varma holds an appointment at the Icahn School of Medicine, where he is an Assistant Clinical Professor of Spine Surgery in the Department of Orthopedics. He is also an attending spine surgeon at the Mount Sinai Medical Center of Manhattan. He received his undergraduate bachelor’s degrees from Cornell University, where he was a 4-year Division I athlete. He also completed accelerated coursework at Johns Hopkins University and the University of Chicago. He then received his doctorate in medicine from the University of Maryland prior to matriculating to the University of Connecticut, where he completed a surgical internship followed by a residency in Orthopedic Surgery, serving as Chief Resident.

He was then selected as a fellow in the San Diego Spine Fellowship, under the direct tutelage of Dr. Behrooz Akbarnia, a world-renowned spine surgeon, and former president of the prestigious Scoliosis Research Society, the leading international society for the study of complex spine conditions. During his fellowship year, Dr. Varma treated many domestic and international patients with complex and rare spinal conditions in both the adult and pediatric populations, including major spinal reconstruction for spinal deformity, and revision surgery. He also was fortunate to receive training in advanced minimally invasive surgery and motion preservation surgery as a part of the comprehensive fellowship program. Dr. Varma is an active member of the Scoliosis Research Society and dedicated faculty member within the Mount Sinai Department of Orthopedics where he is routinely involved in teaching medical students, orthopedic surgery residents, as well as fellows as part of the Sinai Spine Fellowship program. In the past, he has served as the Chief of Spine Surgery at Mount Sinai Hospital of Queens and Saint Barnabas Hospital. His interests in spine surgery include complex spine surgery, revision spine surgery, and spinal deformity surgery, as well as the use of minimally invasive techniques whenever possible.

In 2009, Dr. Varma performed the first Extreme Lateral Interbody Fusion(XLIF) at the Mount Sinai Medical Center and remains committed to minimally invasive surgery techniques. In 2017, he performed the first Oblique Lateral Interbody Fusion (OLIF) at Mount Sinai and continues to research the use of minimally invasive techniques in complex spine conditions to better facilitate patient recovery and improve patient outcomes. In 2019, he performed the first "single-portion minimally invasive fusion at Mount Sinai, with use of advanced navigation. He continues to expand the field with his innovative work.