Choosing A Spine Surgeon  |  Dr. Mark Frenkel, MD, MA, FAANS, FCNS

Best Spine Surgeons in Florida: Why Patients Travel to Naples for Spine Care

I get asked some version of “who’s the best spine surgeon in Florida?” almost every week — usually by a patient who’s already been burned by a confusing search, a glossy website, and three different opinions that didn’t agree with each other.

Here’s the truth: there’s no single, objective ranking of the best spine surgeons in Florida. What there is, is a specific, checkable set of credentials that correlate with better outcomes — and most patients never learn to look for them before they’re sitting in a pre-op room.

I also see something else that most Florida practices don’t talk about: a steady stream of patients referred to my Naples office by other spine surgeons across the state, for the complex and revision cases they’d rather not take on themselves. That pattern tells you more than any marketing page does.

In this post, I’ll walk through exactly what I’d tell my own family to check before choosing a spine surgeon anywhere in Florida — and why that checklist is the reason patients travel to Naples instead of staying closer to home.

What Actually Makes Someone One of the Best Spine Surgeons in Florida?

I’ll be blunt about this: a polished website and a high ad budget tell you nothing about whether a surgeon is good at spine surgery. When patients ask me how to find the best spine surgeons in Florida, I tell them to ignore the marketing entirely and look at three things instead — training pedigree, procedure volume, and independently verified recognition.

Training pedigree matters because neurosurgery residency is where technique gets built. I trained for seven years at Wake Forest University under Dr. Charles Branch, a pioneering figure in spinal surgery, and was appointed Chief Resident for two consecutive years — a distinction that isn’t handed out, it’s earned by outperforming your peers. Before that, I went through medical school at Case Western Reserve University, affiliated with the Cleveland Clinic, graduating with honors and distinction in research.

Procedure volume matters for a reason most patients don’t expect: it’s directly tied to your complication risk. I’ll get into the data on that shortly, but the short version is that surgeons who do a high volume of a given procedure have measurably fewer complications than surgeons who do it occasionally.

Independently verified recognition — Castle Connolly Top Doctor and Healthgrades, specifically — matters because both are built on data and peer input rather than paid placement. I’ve been named a Castle Connolly Top Doctor for 2024, 2025, and 2026, and I carry a Healthgrades 99th percentile rating. Neither of those is self-reported.

Why Other Spine Surgeons Refer Their Hardest Cases to Naples

If you want the single best signal of surgical skill, ask who other surgeons send their own toughest cases to. In my practice, that’s a regular occurrence — I routinely receive referrals from other spine surgeons across Florida for complex and revision spine surgery: failed prior fusions, multi-level deformity, and cases where the anatomy has already been altered by a previous operation.

Revision cases are harder than first-time surgery, full stop. Scar tissue obscures normal landmarks, prior hardware has to be assessed and sometimes removed, and the margin for error is smaller. A surgeon who’s comfortable taking on someone else’s complication is a surgeon who’s seen enough volume and enough variation to know what they’re looking at.

I don’t say this to diminish other surgeons — plenty of excellent spine surgeons practice across this state, and not every practice is built around complex revision work, nor should it be. I say it because it’s a concrete, checkable differentiator: ask a prospective surgeon directly whether other surgeons refer patients to them, and for what kind of cases. The answer tells you something a review can’t.

The Credentials I’d Tell My Own Family to Verify First

Here’s the actual checklist I’d want a family member to run through before choosing a spine surgeon — anywhere in Florida, not just in Naples.

• Board certification: Confirm the surgeon is board-certified in neurosurgery or orthopedic spine surgery through the relevant American Board. This is non-negotiable.
• Fellowship status: Look for fellowship credentials — FAANS (Fellow of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons) and FCNS (Fellow of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons) signal recognition by national neurosurgical organizations, not just a state license.
• Published research: A surgeon publishing in peer-reviewed journals — Journal of Neurosurgery: Spine, World Neurosurgery, Scientific Reports, in my case — is staying current with evolving technique, not operating off what they learned a decade ago.
• Independent awards methodology: Understand how an award is earned. Castle Connolly relies on peer nomination and a physician-led review process; Healthgrades scores outcomes data. Both are meaningfully different from a sponsored “best of” list.
• Direct answer on complication rates and revision history: A surgeon confident in their outcomes will discuss this openly in consultation, not deflect the question.

Why I Invented CemLIF™ Instead of Accepting the Industry Standard

Credentials tell you a surgeon is competent. They don’t tell you whether that surgeon is still pushing the field forward — and that’s the piece I think gets overlooked when patients search for the best spine surgeons in Florida.

Traditional lumbar fusion relies on pedicle screws and rods, placed through an exposure that disrupts more tissue than I believe is necessary for a large share of single- and two-level cases. I spent years developing an alternative: CemLIF™, a rod-less, screw-less lumbar fusion technique that stabilizes the disc space with specialized surgical cement instead of hardware, through a smaller exposure. I now hold several patents pending related to CemLIF™ and the minimally invasive retractors that make it possible.

I was also the first surgeon to use augmented reality intraoperatively for spinal navigation, building my own neuro-navigation system rather than waiting for one to come to market. That’s not a credential I list to sound impressive — it’s the reason I can perform complex lumbar interbody fusion and minimally invasive procedures like METRx discectomy with a level of precision that wasn’t available to the generation of surgeons before me.

What Statewide and Out-of-State Patients Should Know About Traveling to Naples

A meaningful share of my patients don’t live in Naples. Some drive in from across Florida; others fly in from out of state or internationally specifically for a second opinion on a complex or failed prior surgery. If you’re one of them, here’s what actually matters logistically.

My Concierge Spinal Surgery Program exists for exactly this situation. My team coordinates every piece — imaging review, pre-surgical clearances, scheduling, and follow-up — so you’re not making repeat trips for things that can be handled remotely. Telehealth consultations are available for out-of-town patients before you ever need to get on a plane, and I personally stay in contact with patients and their families throughout the process, including after surgery.

For patients traveling from further away, we help coordinate flights, accommodations, and even leisure activities during the trip — Naples is, admittedly, not a bad place to recover. Patients and families have stayed at properties like the Ritz-Carlton Naples, Inn on Fifth downtown, and the Innovation Hotel adjacent to the Surgery Center of Naples, depending on what fits the stay.

I’d also point out: insurance questions are often what keep out-of-state patients from reaching out in the first place. My team handles insurance verification and claims assistance for out-of-network patients directly, with upfront cost explanations before you commit to anything.

The Research Behind Why Surgeon Experience Changes Your Outcome

I don’t want this to be a post of credentials without substance behind them, so here’s the research I point patients to when they ask why experience matters as much as it does.

That data lines up with what I see clinically. Over more than a decade in practice and thousands of cases, the technical judgment that prevents a complication — recognizing when anatomy doesn’t match the imaging, knowing when to stop and reassess mid-procedure — comes from repetition, not just training. It’s also a large part of why I get referred the revision cases other surgeons would rather not take on.

None of this means every patient needs the most experienced surgeon available for every procedure — plenty of straightforward cases do well with a competent local surgeon close to home. But for complex, multi-level, or revision spine surgery specifically, the data is a legitimate reason to look further than your zip code.

Frequently Asked Questions

My Bottom Line

When patients ask me how to find the best spine surgeons in Florida, I tell them to stop looking at marketing and start looking at a short, specific list: board certification, fellowship training, procedure volume, and whether other surgeons trust that person with their hardest cases. That checklist is exactly why patients travel to Naples from across the state and beyond — not because of a slogan, but because the credentials and the referral pattern hold up to scrutiny.

If you’re weighing spine surgery, looking for a second opinion, or trying to figure out whether your current plan is the right one, I’d encourage you to schedule a consultation. You can reach my Naples office at (239) 649-1662 or book directly at frenkelmd.com/contact. If you’re traveling from out of state or internationally, ask about our Concierge Spinal Surgery Program — we’ll handle the rest.

The information in this article is for educational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Surgical decisions are made on an individualized basis following a thorough consultation. Results may vary. Always consult a qualified physician before pursuing any surgical or medical treatment.