Alexander Taghva, MD - Neurosurgery

Alexander Taghva, MD - Neurosurgery Dr. Taghva is a board-certified neurosurgeon specializing in minimally-invasive spine surgery, compl

Top Doctor Honor from Orange County Awarded to Dr. Alexander Taghva

Some news. My first book, UPRIGHT, comes out Fall 2027 through Penguin Life.It’s about the spine. Specifically, why most...
04/23/2026

Some news. My first book, UPRIGHT, comes out Fall 2027 through Penguin Life.
It’s about the spine. Specifically, why most of what we’re told about back pain gets the problem backwards. The spine isn’t a part that breaks and gets fixed. It’s a system that you maintain, or don’t, over decades. And even though surgery is sometimes the answer, most of the time it isn’t. My patients got tired of hearing me drone on, so I decided to write it down.
Enormous thanks to Jennifer Weis at for her confidence in me and guidance, and to Nina Rodriguez-Marty at for her vision and giving the book a home.
More to come. In the meantime, can anyone lend me their thesaurus?

04/12/2026

The Pitt showed an ER doctor doing a blind manual reduction of a cervical spine dislocation. I’ve done this procedure, but not like that. Here’s what actually happens and what the show got right and wrong.
The short version: we use Gardner-Wells tongs with sequential traction under X-ray. And if you flex the neck forward without imaging, you can convert a one-sided dislocation into a two-sided one. That’s a quadriplegic injury.
Full breakdown in the video.

03/26/2026

Here’s what recovery from cervical disc replacement actually looks like:
Day of surgery → home the same day
Day 1 → drain comes out
Weeks 1-2 → neck brace, no driving
Week 2 → brace off, gentle range of motion
Week 6 → physical therapy, most patients feel fully recovered
Fusion is similar but I find recovery takes closer to three months.
Full video on YouTube — link in bio.

03/24/2026

Cervical disc replacement is a great option — but not for everyone. Here are the five things I look at before deciding between disc replacement and fusion:
1. Facet joint arthritis
2. Remaining disc height
3. Spinal instability
4. Number of levels involved
5. Age and bone quality
The right surgery depends on your anatomy, not a trend.
Full video on YouTube — link in bio.

03/22/2026

Can a cervical fusion be reversed? Yes, but there are strict criteria.
1. Anterior-only fusion (ACDF)
2. Degenerative cause, not trauma
3. Facet joints haven’t fused on their own
4. More recent fusions are easier to convert
Insurance doesn’t cover this yet. But for the right patient, it may prevent the need for additional surgery down the road.
Full video on YouTube. Link in bio.
This content is for educational purposes only and is not medical advice.

03/21/2026

The standard neck surgery — ACDF — works well. But it fuses the spine, which can cause problems at the levels above and below. Cervical disc replacement keeps the motion and the data shows fewer revision surgeries.
Full video on YouTube — link in bio.

03/18/2026

“Why don’t you just go cash pay?”
I get asked this a lot. The answer is simple: once you sign up for Medicare, the rules apply to every patient. You can’t pick and choose. And if I went cash-pay only, I’d lose the ability to do deep brain stimulation for Parkinson’s disease — the most rewarding thing I do.
So I stay in the system. Even when the system doesn’t exactly reward that choice.
Full video on YouTube — link in bio.

03/17/2026

My kids taught me a new word this week: grifter.
There are federal laws that govern how doctors like me practice medicine. The Stark Law. The Anti-Kickback Statute. They exist to protect patients.
The catch? They only apply to doctors in federal programs like Medicare. Step outside that system and the rules disappear.
Full video on YouTube — link in bio.

03/15/2026

Spine surgeon’s go-to squat. The goblet squat keeps the weight in front so your spine stays upright — no barbell compressing your back. I break down my cues, why depth matters, and the one mistake I’m still fixing in my own form. Shoe trick for tight ankles included.
Talk to your doctor before starting a new exercise program. Work with a PT or certified trainer for individualized guidance.
Demoing on my

The goblet squat is a spine-friendlier version of the back squat — especially if, like me, you have limited ankle mobili...
03/15/2026

The goblet squat is a spine-friendlier version of the back squat — especially if, like me, you have limited ankle mobility.
Because the weight is held in front of you, it’s easier to maintain upright spinal alignment. My cues: initiate by letting the knees track over the toes, then squeeze the glutes to drive the rise — legs, not back.
I use a shoe with a heel drop to help compensate for tight ankles while I work on mobility separately. It’s a bridge, not a crutch. Demoing here on my — great for dialing in form with controlled resistance.
Depth? Only go as low as you can maintain structure. Go too deep and you’ll see compensation — the classic “butt wink” (posterior pelvic tilt) — which loads the lumbar spine in a vulnerable position.
One quibble with my own form: I catch myself flexing my neck to look down. Chin should stay neutral. Work in progress.
As always — talk to your doctor before starting an exercise program, and check in with a PT or certified trainer for individualized form guidance.

“Everyone is a deformity surgeon - either you are fixing it or creating it.” Here is a patient with an L4-5 fusion done ...
03/15/2026

“Everyone is a deformity surgeon - either you are fixing it or creating it.” Here is a patient with an L4-5 fusion done elsewhere and a progressive coronal deformity above it. Always important to get full length X-rays when planning surgery on someone with a coronal or sagittal offset. The spine has to keep the head centered over the pelvis - if you fuse one spot, the spine will compensate elsewhere. I always check for leg length discrepancies, which thankfully this patient didn’t have. We were able to get this patient upright again with a two-level XLIF and posterior revision.

Address

26732 Crown Valley Pkwy, Suite 541
Mission Viejo, CA
92691

Opening Hours

Monday 8:30am - 4:45pm
Tuesday 8:30am - 4:45pm
Wednesday 8:30am - 4:45pm
Thursday 8:30am - 4:45pm
Friday 8:30am - 4:45pm

Telephone

+19493887190

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Alexander Taghva, MD - Neurosurgery posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Practice

Send a message to Alexander Taghva, MD - Neurosurgery:

Shortcuts

Share

Category