Andrew F. Cannestra, MD, PhD
Andrew F. Cannestra, MD, PhD, is board certified
through the American Board of Neurological Surgeons and
fellowship trained in spine surgery and spinal cord injury. He
obtained his undergraduate degree in 1993 from the University of California,
San Diego, graduating Summa Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Science in Biomedical
Engineering (B.S.E.). Dr Cannestra completed both his medical school degree and
neuroscience graduate degree simultaneously at UCLA, obtaining his doctorate of
philosophy (Ph.D.) in Neuroscience in 1998, and his medical doctorate (M.D.) in
1999.
He performed his general surgery internship at UCLA. After
general surgery training he then completed his neurosurgery residency at the
Division of Neurosurgery, UCLA Medical Center. Dr. Cannestra obtained his
fellowship training in spine surgery and spinal cord injury from the University
of Miami, Jackson Memorial Hospital.
Dr. Cannestra's expertise is in
spinal surgery (both fusion and dynamic technologies), minimally invasive
neurosurgery (including minimally invasive cranial and spine procedures),
neuroendoscopy (both cranial and spine), radiosurgery (Gamma Knife and LINAC),
and brain mapping (pre-operative and intraoperative). Dr Cannestra specializes in
spinal reconstructive procedures in the cervical, thoracic and lumbar spine.
Dr Cannestra is a Diplomate of the American Board of Neurologic Surgery.
He is a member of the American Association of Neurologic Surgeons (AANS), the
Congress of Neurologic Surgeons (CNS), and the National Association of Spine
Surgeons (NASS). Dr. Cannestra is a founding member of the society for minimally
invasive spinal surgery (SMISS).
