Dr. John Choi

Spine Surgeon

Minimally Invasive Spine Surgeon with expertise in Robotics, Endoscopic and Artificial Disc Replacement surgeries. Dr. Choi has operated over 5000 spine patients locally in Melbourne and is recognised as a leading innovator and educator of spine surgery internationally.

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Dr. John Choi

Dr. John Choi is a world-renowned orthopaedic and spine surgeon recognised internationally for his expertise and innovation in minimally invasive, endoscopic, robotic, and disc replacement spine surgery. Educated and trained across New Zealand, Australia, Korea, Japan, and the United States, he brings a global perspective to modern spinal care and leads one of Australia’s most advanced surgical practices from Spine Ortho Clinic in Melbourne and Mornington.

He currently serves as Director at Large for the Society of Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery (SMISS), Director of ISASS–Asia Pacific (International Society for the Advancement of Spine Surgery), President of the World UBE Society (Australia), and Fellowship Director for both AO Spine and the Australian Institute of Musculoskeletal Sciences (AIMS). Dr. Choi also sits on the Society of Endoscopic Australian Surgeons (SEAS) board and has previously chaired the AO Spine Asia Pacific Education and Fellowship Council.

Dr. Choi is Australia’s most experienced endoscopic and robotic spine surgeon, having performed more than 4,000 lateral anterior-to-psoas (ATP) and lateral ALIF surgeries, over 1,000 endoscopic procedures, and more than 500 robotic-assisted spine surgeries since 2016. He was the first surgeon in the Asia-Pacific and Southern Hemisphere to perform a Globus ExcelsiusGPS™ robotic spine procedure and remains a reference surgeon for robotic navigation, ATP/Lat-ALIF, Unilateral Biportal Endoscopic (UBE), and disc replacement surgery.

A passionate educator, Dr. Choi has trained more than 50 spine surgeons from all five continents through his AIMS Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery Fellowship Program and AO Spine Fellowship, in addition to proctoring and mentoring over 250 surgeons worldwide. He continues to be a global faculty member and invited speaker at leading academic meetings and live-surgery demonstrations throughout Asia, Europe, and North America.

Dr. Choi holds multiple international patents in spinal instrumentation and implant design, many of which have been successfully commercialised through collaborations with NuVasive, Globus, Baxter, L&K Biomed, and Safe Orthopaedics. He has served as principal surgeon designer for the Lateral Crestline™, Universal Retractor, and Endoscopic Robotic Platforms projects.

An active researcher, Dr. Choi has authored over 50 peer-reviewed publications and multiple textbook chapters across leading journals including Asian Spine Journal, Journal of Spine Surgery, Neurosurgical Focus, and Seminars in Spine Surgery. His contributions span the fields of robotic navigation, endoscopic surgery, and disc arthroplasty, with several chapters in the Textbook of Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery: Concepts and Surgical Techniques and Unilateral Biportal Endoscopic Spine Surgery (2nd Edition). He is also a guest editor and reviewer for Neurospine, Asian Spine Journal, and the Journal of Clinical Neurosciences.

Through his leadership at Spine Ortho Clinic, Dr. Choi continues to advance patient outcomes by combining precision technology, minimally invasive techniques, and compassionate, personalised care—helping patients worldwide regain movement, function, and quality of life.

About Dr. John Choi

- MBChB – Otago University, New Zealand
- FRACS – Melbourne, Australia
- FAorthA – Melbourne, Australia
- AO Spine Fellowship – Seoul, South Korea
- Spine Fellowship – Hong Kong University, Hong Kong
- Kokubun Visiting Fellowship – Sendai, Japan
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- Neurospine Journal
- Asian Spine Journal
- AO Spine ANZ – Fellowship and Education Director
- SMISS AP – Director
- AIMS Spine Fellowship – Supervisor
- Spine Society of Australia – Member
- North American Spine Society – Member
- Exclusively in private spinal practice since 2014
- Performed over 400 ATP/Lateral surgeries
- Performed over 100 artificial disc replacement
- Performed around 150 robotic spine surgeries
- Annually performs over 300 spine surgeries
- First in Australia to perform biportal endoscopic spine surgery
- First in Southern hemisphere to perform Globus Excelsius Robotic spine surgery
- Patent holder for spinal instrumentation
- Several spine prosthesis and instrumentation development surgeon
- Consultant and Educator for spine surgery enterprises

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Core Areas of Expertise

Robotic Spinal Surgery

Dr. Choi is the first surgeon in the Southern Hemisphere to utilise the Globus Excelsius Robot for spine surgery in 2019. It is considered to be the most complete spine robot available. He leads the field in robotics and artificial intelligence in spinal surgery, and applies these advances to make surgeries more precise, consistent and predictable. He is frequently speaking around the globe on this topic and is actively involved in the development in this space.

Artificial Disk Replacement

Motion preservation is the holy grail of spine reconstruction surgery. We aim to preserve the function of native discs with advances in technology to replace with mechanical discs. Dr. Choi offers both cervical and lumbar disc replacement options to appropriate patients and have over eight years of clinical experience.

Endoscopic Spine Surgery

Our philosophy of Minimally Invasive Surgery (MIS) is at our core, and Dr. Choi generally recommend nonoperative treatments before considering any surgical options. If surgery is warranted, Dr. Choi will offer the most advanced MIS technique, which is Biportal Spine Endoscopy for decompression of spine elements. This technique is currently only available in Australia with Dr. Choi and has been an early adopter of the technique. This is a great leap over the conventional microscope or tubular based surgeries.