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Monday 8:30am - 6pm Tuesday 8:30am - 6pm Wednesday 8:30am - 6pm Thursday 8:30am - 6pm Friday 8:30am - 6pm

Dr. Sean McCance, Orthopaedic Spine Surgeon

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New York, NY
Dr. Sean McCance, Orthopaedic Spine Surgeon

For the past 21 years Dr. McCance has directed one of the leading spine surgery practices in New York

-Co-Director, Spine Surgery, Mount Sinai Hospital (NY)
-Director, Spine Associates (NY)
-Fellow of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons
-Fellow of the Scoliosis Research Society
-Member, North American Spine Society
-Named by New York Magazine as one of the Top Doctors for Spine Surgery (2012-2021)
-Selected to Castle Connolly’s “Top Doctors”
-Named one of “20 Spine Surgeon Leaders for Non-Profit Hospitals” in Becker’s Spine Review (July 2012)
-Membership in the prestigious “America’s Top Physicians”
-Named one of “New York Super Doctors” (2010-2021)
-Recipient of the “Patient’s Choice” Award
-Selected as one of the “Best Doctors” in national medical survey of physicians
-Recognized by NY Resident magazine as one of “New York City’s Top 30 Doctors”

04/28/2025

I am pleased to announce that Dr. Baron Lonner has joined our practice at Spine Associates. Dr. Lonner is an excellent surgeon who has been at the forefront of both minimally invasive scoliosis surgery and non-fusion strategies for scoliosis correction. He has both a national and international reputation for his work.

Dr. Lonner is a tremendous addition to Spine Associates. He shares our vision of high-quality, advanced, patient centered care delivered in a private practice setting.

Please see below for more details about Dr. Lonner.

Dr. Lonner is Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. He has performed over 3,000 scoliosis surgeries in both pediatric and adult patients, including complex revision procedures. As a pioneer in minimally invasive and non-fusion techniques, he has helped advance the field of scoliosis surgery through innovative procedures such as vertebral body tethering (VBT) and thoracoscopic

Dr. Lonner is recognized globally for his contributions to scoliosis research and education. He has authored over 120 peer-reviewed publications and serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Spinal Deformity. He is also a board member of the Scoliosis Research Society and the Setting Scoliosis Straight Foundation, where he plays a key role in advancing evidence-based care for spinal deformities.

In addition to his clinical and academic work, Dr. Lonner is dedicated to global health initiatives. He has provided pro bono scoliosis surgeries for children in underserved regions, including Africa, the Middle East, and the Caribbean, helping to improve access to life-changing spinal care worldwide.

“Joining Spine Associates of NYC allows me to continue delivering highly personalized, state-of-the-art care to patients with spinal deformities,” said Dr. Lonner. “I am excited to collaborate with a team that shares my commitment to surgical excellence and compassionate care.”

03/06/2023

One of the more rewarding goals in spinal surgery is correcting vertebral malalignment.

This recent case of a patient with chronic Low Back Pain and leg pain shows correction of spondylolisthesis (slipped vertebra) at L5/S1 using a cage, and supporting it with screws. This achieved decompression of the nerves and gave the patient a better posture.

02/16/2023

We love hearing from happy patients! A recent review from a patient who underwent robotic-assisted spine fusion surgery, and is feeling great after a speedy recovery!

02/10/2023

Scoliosis is a curvature of the spine. While curves are commonly caused by changes in the spine itself, sometimes it occurs if one leg is longer than the other.
In this young teenage girl, she had pelvic tilt from a leg length discrepancy, which contributes to the curve in her back. She did not require spine surgery to correct this, but rather a leg lengthening procedure to level her pelvis, which took care of most of her curve.

02/03/2023

Calcification behind the vertebra in the neck, known as OPLL, can compress the spinal cord, causing myelopathy. This is a very different condition than a herniated disc. One effective surgical approach is a corpectomy, with both removal of the vertebral body and the calcification, and replacement of the vertebra with a prosthetic cage.
Here are pre and postoperative CAT scan images of a patient with progressive hand weakness, numbness and imbalance treated with corpectomy, cage and plate, with excellent resolution of symptoms.
(Arrow points to the calcification)

01/27/2023

Neck pain has many causes. The facet joints are the joints in the back of your neck that allow you to bend and rotate your head. Arthritis of these joints can lead to chronic arthritic neck pain with movement.

Occasionally the arthritic bone spurs can get so large - like the image on the right- that they compress the nerve, causing arm pain, numbness and weakness. This can be treated with cervical injections and PT, but if that fails, surgical decompression and stabilization can give excellent resolution of symptoms.

01/19/2023

Cysts can form in the lumbar spine from arthritis. A cyst is similar to a fluid filled balloon that gradually grows as a byproduct of inflammation in the facet joint - when it becomes large enough to put significant pressure on the spinal nerves, sciatic leg pain / numbness / weakness can result.
Here is a patient with a very large cyst causing severe leg pain - treated with outpatient microsurgical resection with nice resolution of symptoms.

01/13/2023

Cervical myelopathy is a clinical condition that can lead to imbalance, numbness and weakness of the arms or legs, trouble with gait, and in severe cases, partial or complete paralysis. It is caused by compression of the spinal cord, which leads to interruption of proper signal transmission from the brain to the limbs.

Below is an MRI showing multilevel spinal cord compression due to herniated discs. Interestingly, this patient had no history of neck pain, but had gradual onset of hand weakness/ numbness, trouble buttoning his shirt and writing, and stumbling due to imbalance.

We treated him with a simple posterior decompression surgery (without fusion), and he did very nicely with good neurological recovery.

12/22/2022

The most fundamental goal of reconstructive lumbar surgery is achieving a good alignment and a solid fusion. These principles matter more than the technique used to achieve the goal.

Here’s a case I did 11 years ago for a patient with debilitating back pain and inability to walk more than a block due to lumbar stenosis. I performed a straightforward posterior instrumentation and fusion, and the patient continues to enjoy a life free from back pain and can walk long distances. A very gratifying outcome for the patient and the surgeon!

(the fusion is the White sheet of bone adjacent to the rods on both sides, outlined in red)

12/09/2022

One of the major goals we aim for in spinal fusion is restoration of normal alignment. This is critical to the functionality of the patient and success of the surgery.

Here’s a recent case of a patient with collapsed discs and chronic back pain. With an anterior approach and release we were able to recreate the lumbar curve (lordosis) which improves posture.

12/02/2022

Degenerative Spinal instability can occur in the neck or lower back, which are the mobile areas of the spine. This can lead to severe pain, nerve compression, and debility.

Below is a patient we recently treated for chronic neck pain, headaches and shooting arm pain due to an unstable subluxation of C4 on C5 (see circled area) along with nerve compression at the disc below, which we treated with realignment and fusion with excellent resolution of symptoms.

Interestingly, many of these patients will have other areas of arthritic changes in their neck, but targeted surgery at the unstable region often-times fixes the majority of the complaint with a less extensive surgery.

11/29/2022

When do we recommend a lumbar brace?
-Treatment of acute, severe low back pain
-Stabilization of an acute compression fracture
-After lumbar surgery to help with healing
-Young athletes who sustain acute stress fractures
-Symptomatic instability cases such as spondylolisthesis and degenerative scoliosis

Address

1155 Park Avenue
New York, NY
10128

Opening Hours

Monday	8:30am - 6pm
Tuesday	8:30am - 6pm
Wednesday	8:30am - 6pm
Thursday	8:30am - 6pm
Friday	8:30am - 6pm

Telephone

+12123606500

Website

http://www.mccancemd.com/

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