Appointments

Western Regional Center for Brain & Spine Surgery
Las Vegas, NV
November 1996-Present

Hospital Privileges:

Sunrise
Summerlin
University Medical Center
St. Rose Dominican and Siena
Valley
Desert Springs
Mountain View
Spring Valley
Southern Hills

Scientific Journal Peer Review Board:

NEUROSURGERY®
SPINE
SAS Journal
The Spine Journal
Journal of Neursosurgery
Orthopaedic Journal of China

Academic Appointments:

Section of Neurosurgery, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ
– Assistant Professor of Clinical Surgery, July 1994 – September 1996
– Director, Complex Spine Program
– Director, Cerebrovascular Program
– Director, Microsurgical Fellowship Laboratory
Section of Neurosurgery, Veterans Administration Medical Center, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ
– Acting Section Chief, July 1994- September 1996

Mountain View Hospital, Las Vegas, NV
– Chief of Neurosurgery, October 1999 – 2005

Desert Springs Hospital, Las Vegas, NV
– Chief of Neurosurgery, 1999
– Director of Spinal Center, 2000

University Medical Center
– Chief of Neurosurgery January 2006 – Present

Western Regional Center for Brain and Spine Surgery
– Director, Performance Improvement – July 2005 – Present

University of Crete, Greece March 2007
– Visiting Professor

University of Guangzhou, China
– Visiting Professor

Santa Rita Hospital, San Paulo, Brazil
– Visiting Professor

University of Oklahoma, Oklahoma, February 2007
– Visiting Professor

Touro University Nevada College of Osteopathic Medicine
– Adjunct Professor

General Hospital of Guangzhou Military Region
– Adjunct Professor

ZheJiang Province Medical University
– Adjunct Professor

King Faisal Specialists Hospital & Research Centre; Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, January 2011
– Visiting Professor & Surgeon

University Hospital of Larrisa, Greece
– Visiting Professor & Surgeon

National Hospital for Neurology & Neurosurgery, Queens Square
– Visiting Professor & Surgeon

University of South Florida, Tampa
– Visiting Professor & Surgeon

University of Rome
– Visiting Professor & Surgeon

Cairo University
– Egyptian Society of Neurological Surgeons
Education

Georgetown University Medical Center College of Medicine, Washington, D.C.
B.S. with honors, 1983
Doctorate of Medicine, 1987

Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington, D.C.
Neurological Surgery, July 1993 – June 1994 (Chief Resident)
Neurological Surgery, May 1992 – June1993 (Senior Resident)
Neurological Surgery, January 1991 – June 1991 (Senior Resident)
Clinical Neurology, October 1990 – December 1990
Neurological Surgery, July 1989 – December 1989 (Junior Resident)
Department of Surgery, July 1987- June 1988 (Internship)

Specialty Courses:

Shock Trauma
Maryland Institute of Emergency Medical Services and Systems, Baltimore, Maryland April 1992 – June 1992

Clinical Neurosurgery
Atkinson Morely’s Hospital (Wimbledon, England), Maiden Vale Hospital (London, England) July 1991 – March 1992

Pediatric Neurosurgery
Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Washington, D.C. April 1990 – September 1990

Neuropathology
Armed Forces Institute of Pathology – Walter Reed Medical Center, Washington, D.C. January 1990 – March 1990

Research

Intra-operative Navigation for Lumbar Total Disc Replacement, Ongoing Study
A Pivotal Multi-Center Clinical Trial Evaluating the Safety and Effectiveness of the Lumbar TDR Device in Patients with
Single-Level Lumbar Degenerative Disc Disease- Principal Investigator/Medical Monitor. Ongoing Study
Infused Bone Graft/LT Cage Lumbar Tapered Fusion Post Approval Study – 1998
A Prospective, Randomized, Controlled Pivotal Clinical Investigation of DIAM™ Spinal Stabilization System in Patients
with Degenerative Lumbar Spinal Stenosis. Study Closed
Pivotal, Multi-Center, Randomized, Controlled Trial Evaluation the Safety and Effectiveness of the NeoDisc versus
Instrumented Anterior Cervial Discectomy and Fusion (ACDF) in Subjects with Single-Level Cervical Disc Disease.
Study Closed
Air Embolus During Graft Insertion in AxiaLIF. Ongoing StudyAn Extracavitary Lateral Approach for Thoracolumbar Pathologies: Lateral Corpectomies. Ongoing Study
A Comparison of the Surgical Efficacy of ALIF and XLIF L4-5 Fusion Procedures with Posterior Fixation. Ongoing Study
Complications in eXtreme Lateral Interbody Fusion (XLIF): One Surgeon’s Experience with 450 Patients. Ongoing
Study
Outpatient XLIF. Ongoing Study
Osteocel Plus in eXtreme Lateral Interbody Fusion (XLIF): Evaluation of Radiographic and Patient Outcomes. Ongoing
Study
Prospective, Non-randomized, Multi-Center Evaluation of the eXtreme Lateral Interbody Fusion (XLIF) Approach for
the Treatment of Adult Scoliosis. Ongoing Study

Publications

Apple S, Hamilton A, Smith W: “Pediatric Laminoplasty Utilizing Craniofacial Plates.”
Fryburg K, Smith W: Laproscopic Lumbar Interbody Fusion in Acute Discitis: Clinical Discussion of Three Cases.
Intradiscal Society, September 1996.
Bey TA, Waer, A, Walter FG, Fortune J, Seeger J, Fryburg K, Smith W: Spinal Cord Injury with a Narrow Spinal Canal:
Utilizing Torg’s Ratio Method of Analyzing Cervical Spine Radiographs. J Emerg Med January/February 1998; 16
(1):79-82.
Vaccaro AR, Robbins MM, Matthew M , Madigan L, Albert T, Smith W, Hilibrand, A: “Early Findings in a Pilot Study of
Anterior Cervical Fusion in Which Bioabsorbable Interbody Spacers Were Used”. Neurosurgery Focus, Volume 16 (3),
Article 7, March 2004
Smith WD, Anson JA, Kaplan S, Malone K. “XLIF Corpectomy”. Extreme Lateral Interbody Fusion (XLIF). Quality
Medical Publishing, Inc. St. Louis, MO. 259-273
Smith WD, Malone K. Outpatient XLIF. Extreme Lateral Interbody Fusion (XLIF). Quality Medical Publishing, Inc. St.
Louis, MO. 217-220
Horsley J, Merkle T, Frisch D, Browder T, Wisniewski T, Smith W, Fildes JJ, Kuhls DA: “Tight Glucose Control Improves
Mortality in Adult Brain Injury Patients”. In submitted to SCCM
McAfee PC, Phillips FM, Andersson G, Buvenenadran A, Kim CW, Lauryssen C, Isaacs RE, Youssef JA, Brodke DS,
Cappuccino A, Akbarnia BA, Mundis GM, Smith WD, Uribe JS, Garfin S, Allen RT, Rodgers WB, Pimenta L, Taylor W.
Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery. Spine 2010;35:S271-3
Smith WD, Dakwar E, Le TV, Christian G, Serrano S, Uribe JS. Minimally invasive surgery for traumatic spinal
pathologies: A mini-open, lateral approach in the thoracic and lumbar spine. Spine 2010; 35:S338-46.
Uribe JS, Dakwar E, Le TV, Christian G, Serrano S, Smith WD. Minimally invasive surgery treatment for thoracic spine
tumor removal: A mini-open lateral approach. Spine 2010;35:S347-54
Dakwar E, Le T, Baaj A, Le A, Smith WD, Akbarnia B, Uribe JS. Abdominal wall paresis as a complication of minimally
invasive lateral transpsoas interbody fusion. Neurosurgical Focus 2011.
Dakwar E, Smith WD, Malone KT, Uribe JS. Minimally invasive lateral extracavitary resection of foraminal
neurofibromas. Journal of Clinical Neuroscience 2011;Volume 18, Issue 11:1510-1512.Smith WD, Youssef JA, Christian G, Serrano S, Hyde JA. Lumbarized sacrum as a relative contraindication for lateral
transpsoas interbody fusion at L5-6. Journal of Spinal Disorders and Techniques 2011.
Smith WD, Malone KT, Rodgers JA, Rodgers WB. Transaxial Interbody Fusion. Lumbo-Sacral and Pelvic Procedures.
Kim D, Vaccaro A, Whang P, Kim SH, Kim SD, Ed. Quality Medical Publishing, Inc. St. Louis, MO. In press.
Smith WD, Christian G, Serrano S, Malone KT. Complications in a mini-open, 90° lateral, retroperitoneal transpsoas
approach for discectomy and fusion in the lumbar spine. Neurosurgical Focus 2011. In submission.
Uribe JS, Smith WD, Pimenta L, Hartl R, Dakwar E, Modhia UM, Pollock G, Nagineni V, Smith RD, Christian G, Oliveira
L, Marchi L, Deviren V. Minimally-invasive lateral approach for symptomatic thoracic disc herniation: Initial multicenter clinical experience. Journal of Neurosurgery Spine 2011. In submission.
Smith WD, Christian G. Minimally-disruptive lumbar fusion in an ambulatory surgery center: Safety, outcomes,
economics, and comparison with inpatient lumbar fusion. Journal of Neurosurgery Spine 2011. In submission.

Presentations

Spinal Cord Injury with a Narrow Spinal Canal: Utilizing the Ration Method in Analyzing Cervical Spinal Radiographs.
Poster Presentation. R. Adams Crowley

17th National Trauma Symposium. Baltimore, MD; November 1996
International Symposium on Lumbar Interbody Fusion – Invited speaker. Sponsored by Surgical Dynamics. Houston,
TX; August 1997.
Sofamor Danek Clinical Aspects of PLIF vs. ALIF with Cylindrical Caging. Memphis, TN; December 1997.
Las Vegas Pain Symposium on Lumbar Fusions – Invited speaker. Bend, Oregon; September 1999.
Making Sense of Spinal Instrumentation – Lecturer and clinical instructor, Las Vegas; October 1999.
International Symposium of Spinal Instrumentation – Clinical instructor, Cancun, Mexico; March 2009.
Congress of Neurological Surgeons Annual Meeting – Novel Approach to Lumbar Fusion, Philadelphia, PA; October
2002
Minimally Invasive Spinal Techniques – Instructor cadaver lab, San Diego, CA January 2005-Present
Johnson and Johnson Leading XLIF Experience in U.S.A. – Spinal Evolution Nucleus, Cabos San Lucas, Mexico; June
2005
American Association of Neurological Surgeons/Congress of Neurological Surgeons Joint Section – Treatment of
Degenerative Scoliosis in the Elderly, Orlando, FL; March 2006
Global Spine – Fusion vs. Arthroplasty for Lumbar Degenerative Disc Disease, Lumbar Degenerative Panel – Panel
Case Discussions, Las Vegas, NV; June 2006
Global Spine – Mini Open TLIF Cadaver Lab, Las Vegas, NV; June 2006
University of Nevada School of Medicine – Management of Intracranial Hemorrhage, Las Vegas, NV; August 2006
International Spine Symposium – Invited Speaker – Minimally Invasive Approach for Thoracic Lumbar Fractures,
Jackson Hole, WY; June 2007
World Spine IV Interdisciplinary Congress on Spine Care – Invited Speaker – Lateral Approach to Lumbar Spine,
Istanbul, Turkey; July 2007
World Spine IV Interdisciplinary Congress on Spine Care – Invited Speaker – Outpatient Lumbar Fusion, Istanbul, Turkey; July 2007
World Spine IV Interdisciplinary Congress on Spine Care – Outpatient XLIF, Istanbul, Turkey; July 2007
The Cahill Symposium – An Extracavitary Lateral Approach for Thoracolumbar Pathologies: Lateral Corpectomies,
Palm Springs, CA; November 2007
American Association of Neurological Surgeons/Congress of Neurological Surgeons – An Extracavitary Lateral
Approach for Thoracolumbar Pathologies: Lateral Corpectomies, Orlando, Fl; February 2008
General Hospital of Guangzhou Military Region – Invited Lecturer and Visiting Surgeon. Guangzhou, China. March
2008
Hainan Medical University – Invited Lecturer and Visiting Surgeon. Hainan, China. March 2008
SpineWeek – Air Embolus During Graft Insertion in AxiaLIF, Geneva, Switzerland; May 2008
Spine Arthroplasty Society Motion Preservation Technology 9th
Annual Meeting – An Extracavitary Lateral Approach
for Thoracolumbar Pathologies: Lateral Corpectomies, Miami, FL; May 2008
International Meeting on Advanced Spine Techniques – Air Embolus During Graft Insertion in AxiaLIF, Hong Kong,
China; July 2008
International Meeting on Advanced Spine Techniques – An Extracavitary Lateral Approach for Thoracolumbar
Pathologies: Lateral Corpectomies, Hong Kong, China; July 2008
International Meeting on Advanced Spine Techniques – A Comparison of the Surgical Efficacy of ALIF and XLIF L4-5
Fusion Procedures with Posterior Fixation, Hong Kong, China; July 2008
International Meeting on Advanced Spine Techniques – Complications in eXtreme Lateral Interbody Fusion (XLIF):
One Surgeon’s Experience with 450 Patients, Hong Kong, China; July 2008
The Congress of Neurological Surgeon’s 2008 Annual Meeting – Air Embolus During Graft Insertion in AxiaLIF,
Orlando, FL; September 2008
The Congress of Neurological Surgeon’s 2008 Annual Meeting- An Extracavitary Lateral Approach for Thoracolumbar
Pathologies: Lateral Corpectomies, Orlando, FL; September 2008
The Congress of Neurological Surgeon’s 2008 Annual Meeting – A Comparison of the Surgical Efficacy of ALIF and XLIF
L4-5 Fusion Procedures with Posterior Fixation, Orlando, FL; September 2008
The Congress of Neurological Surgeon’s 2008 Annual Meeting – Complications in eXtreme Lateral Interbody Fusion
(XLIF): One Surgeon’s Experience with 450 Patients, Orlando, FL; September 2008
Association of Presacral Spine Surgeons’s Inaugural Meeting – Experience with AxiaLIF. Las Vegas, NV; October 2008
The North American Spine Society – Air Embolus During Graft Insertion in AxiaLIF, Toronto, Canada; October 2008
Annual Meeting of the Society for Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery – An Extracavitary Lateral Approach for
Thoracolumbar Pathologies: Lateral Corpectomies, Henderson, NV; November 2008
Spine Arthroplasty Society 2009 – Complications in eXtreme Lateral Interbody Fusion: One Surgeon’s Experience with
566 Cases and 1550 Levels, London, England; April 28 – May 1, 2009
Spine Arthroplasty Society 2009 – A Comparison of the Operative Efficacy of ALIF and XLIF L4-5 Fusion Procedures
with Bilateral Posteior Fixation, London, England; April 28 – May 1, 2009Spine Arthroplasty Society 2009 – Air Embolus during Graft Insertion in AxiaLIF, London, England; April 28 – May 1, 2009
The Annual International Meeting on Advanced Spine Techniques 2009 – Prospective, Non-Randomized, MultiCenter Clinical Evaluation of Extreme Lateral Interbody Fusion (XLIF) in the Treatment of Adult Scoliosis, Vienna,
Austria; July 15-18, 2009
The Annual International Meeting on Advanced Spine Techniques 2009 – A Comparison of the Surgical Efficacy of
ALIF and XLIF L4-5 Fusion Procedures with Posterior Fixation, Vienna, Austria; July 15-18, 2009
The Annual International Meeting of Advanced Spine Techniques 2009 – Air Embolus during Graft Insertion in
AxiaLIF©, Vienna, Austria; July 15-18, 2009
The Annual International Meeting of Advanced Spine Techniques 2009 – Complications in eXtreme Lateral Interbody
Fusion: One Surgeon’s Experience with 566 Patients and 1550 Levels, Vienna, Austria; July 15-18, 2009
The Annual International Meeting of Advanced Spine Techniques 2009 – Sacralized Lumbar as a Relative
Contraindication for L4-5 XLIF, Vienna, Austria; July 15-18, 2009
The Annual International Meeting of Advanced Spine Techniques 2009 – Graft Extrusion in AxiaLIF, Vienna, Austria;
July 15-18, 2009
EuroSpine 2009 – Air Embolus during Graft Insertion in AxiaLIF. Warsaw, Poland; October 21-24, 2009
Eurospine 2009 – Complications in eXtreme Lateral Interbody Fusion: One Surgeon’s Experience with 566 Patients
and 1550 Levels. Warsaw, Poland; October 21-24, 2009
North American Spine Society Annual Meeting – Sacralized Lumbar as a Relative Contraindication for L4-5 XLIF. San
Francisco, CA. November 10-14 2009
Asia Pacific Spinal Arthoplasty Society 2010 Meeting – Direct Lateral Approach Corpectomy for Severe Kyphotic
Deformity Correction. Sanya, China. January 14-17, 2010
Asia Pacific Spinal Arthoplasty Society 2010 Meeting – Complications in eXtreme Lateral Interbody Fusion: One
Surgeon’s Experience with 566 Patients and 1550 Levels. Sanya, China. January 14-17, 2010
Asia Pacific Spinal Arthoplasty Society Meeting. Air Embolus during Graft Insertion in AxiaLIF. Sanya, China. January
14-17, 2010
Society of Lateral Access Surgery Annual Meeting – eXtreme Lateral Total Disc Replacement Update. San Diego, CA
April 2010. Oral.
Society of Lateral Access Surgery Annual Meeting – A Comparison of the Surgical Efficacy of ALIF and XLIF L4-5 Fusion
Procedures with Posterior Fixation. San Diego, CA. April 2010. Oral.
Society of Lateral Access Surgery Annual Meeting – Lateral Internal Fixation Options in Minimally Invasive Spine
Surgery. San Diego, CA. April 2010. Oral.
51. 10th Annual SAS Global Symposium on Motion Preservation Technology – AxiaLIF Complications in 285
Consecutive Cases. New Orleans, LA. April 27-30, 2010
10th Annual SAS Global Symposium on Motion Preservation Technology – Complications with rhBMP-2 in Lateral
Approach Spine Surgery: Two Rare Cases. New Orleans, LA. April 27-30, 2010. Poster.
10th Annual SAS Global Symposium on Motion Preservation Technology – Lumbarized Sacrum as a Relative
Contraindication for L4-5 XLIF. New Orleans, LA. April 27-30, 2010. Poster.10th Annual SAS Global Symposium on Motion Preservation Technology – Graft Extrusion in AxiaLIF. New Orleans,
LA. April 27-30, 2010. Poster.
Worldspine V – A Comparison of ALIF and XLIF Approaches for L4-5 Fusion with Bilateral Posterior Pedicle Screws: A
Study on Surgical Efficacy and Long-term Functional Outcomes. Santorini, Greece. May 7-14, 2010. Oral.
Worldspine V – AxiaLIF Complications in 285 Consecutive Cases. Santorini, Greece. May 7-14, 2010. Oral.
Worldspine V – Mini-open Lateral Approach for Thoracolumbar pathologies: Lateral Corpectomoes. Santorini,
Greece. May 7-14, 2010. Oral.
Worldspine V – Two Surgeons’ Experience with AxiaLIF. Santorini, Greece. May 7-14, 2010. Oral.
Worldspine V – Graft Extrusion in AxiaLIF. Santorini, Greece. May 7-14, 2010. Oral.
Worldspine V – Thoracic XLIF and ALIF Corpectomy. Overview and Technique. Santorini, Greece. May 7-14, 2010.
Oral.
Worldspine V – Lumbarized Sacrum as a Relative Contraindication for L4-5 XLIF. Santorini, Greece. May 7-14, 2010.
Oral.
Worldspine V – Two-year Clinical Outcomes in 119 Patients Treated with Extreme Lateral Interbody Fusion (XLIF).
Santorini, Greece. May 7-14, 2010. Oral.
40th Malaysian Orthopaedic Association Annual General Meeting/Annual Scientific Meeting, Johor Bahru, Malaysia.
May 20-22, 2010.
Advances In Neurosciences Fourth Annual Bay Area Symposium – Total Disc Arthroplasty, History and Future
applications of lumbar disc replacement. Fremont, California. July 17, 2010.
Society for Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery (SMISS) Annual Meeting – Minimally Invasive Surgery for Traumatic
Spinal Pathologies: A Mini-open, Lateral Approach in the Thoracic and Lumbar Spine. Miami, FL. November 4-5,
2010. Oral.
Society for Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery (SMISS) annual meeting – Complications in eXtreme Lateral Interbody
Fusion (XLIF). Incidence and Avoidance Techniques. November 4-5, 2010. Miami, FL. Oral.
Society for Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery (SMISS) annual meeting – A Comparison of Perioperative Charges and
Outcome between Open Anterior and Mini-open Lateral Approaches for Lumbar Discectomy and Fusion.. November
4-5, 2010; Miami, FL. Poster.
Society for Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery (SMISS) annual meeting – Two-year Clinical Outcomes in 119 Patients
Treated with a Mini-open, 90° lateral, Retroperitoneal, Trans-psoas Approach for Lumbar Spine Discectomy and
Fusion. November 4-5, 2010; Miami, FL. Poster.
Society for Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery (SMISS) annual meeting – Minimally Invasive Surgery Treatment for
Thoracic Spine Tumor Removal: A Mini-open Lateral Approach. November 4-5, 2010; Miami, FL. Poster.
8th Asian Congress of Neurological Surgeons – Extreme Lateral Interbody Fusion. Lunch symposium presentation.
Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre, Kuala, Lumpur, Malaysia. November 22-24, 2010.
11th Annual SAS Global Symposium on Motion Preservation Technology – Complications in eXtreme Lateral
Interbody Fusion (XLIF). Incidence and Avoidance Techniques. April 26-29, 2011; Las Vegas, NV. Oral.
11th Annual SAS Global Symposium on Motion Preservation Technology – A Comparison of Perioperative Charges
and Outcome between Open Anterior and Mini-Open Lateral Approaches for Lumbar Discectomy and Fusion. April
26-29, 2011; Las Vegas, NV. Oral.European Chiropractors’ Union 2011 Convention – Chiropractic and Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery in the
Treatment of Spinal Disorders. June 2-4, 2011; Zurich, Switzerland. Oral.
18th International Meeting on Advanced Spine Techniques (IMAST) – XLIF Corpectomy. July 13-16th, 2011;
Copenhagen, Denmark. Oral.11th
Annual Thomas Jefferson Spine Fellows Alumni Symposium – Evolution of the Lateral Approach to the Spine. July
29-30th, 2011. Newport, Rhode Island. Oral.
Elite Coaching Seminar – Building Relationships with Neurosurgeons that Refer to Your Spinal Rehab Programs.
August 6th, 2011. Las Vegas, NV. Oral.

14th European Congress of Neurosurgery (EANS) – Complications in a mini-open, 90° lateral, retroperitoneal,
transpsoas approach for discectomy and fusion in the lumbar spine. October 9-14th, 2011; Rome, Italy. Oral.

14th European Congress of Neurosurgery (EANS) – Minimally-invasive lateral approach for symptomatic thoracic disc
herniation: Initial multi-center clinical experience. October 9-14th, 2011; Rome, Italy. Poster.

14th European Congress of Neurosurgery (EANS) – Two-year outcomes using a mini-open, 90° lateral, retroperitoneal,
trans-psoas approach for lumbar spine discectomy and fusion. October 9-14th, 2011; Rome, Italy. Poster.
North American Spine Society – A Comparison of Perioperative Charges and Outcome between Open Anterior and
Mini-Open Lateral Approaches for Lumbar Discectomy and Fusion. November 2-5, 2011. Chicago, IL. Oral.
2011 Annual Meeting for the Society for Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery (SMISS) – Complications of TransPsoas
Lateral Procedures: Implant/Hardware – Subsidence, Fracture, Malposition. October 21-23rd, 2011. Las Vegas, NV. Oral. 5th
Minimally Invasive Spinal Surgery and Navigation: Hands-on Symposium – MIS in Spine Centers: Concept and
Opportunities Here and Abroad. Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, New York. December 1-3, 2011. Oral.