Ivan Cheng, MD

After obtaining his M.D. at Harvard Medical School, Dr. Cheng completed his residency in Orthopaedic Surgery at U.C. Davis and his spine surgery fellowship with the world-renowned spine surgery group at Washington University in St. Louis. Board-certified in Orthopaedic Surgery, Dr. Cheng was a tenured Full Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at Stanford University. He has over 76 peer-reviewed publications, 9 book chapters, has given over 184 presentations at national and international meetings, and was a Deputy Editor for The Spine Journal. Dr. Cheng has received many awards including the Timothy Bray Trauma Award from U.C. Davis, the Saul Halpern Orthopaedic Teacher of the Year Award from Stanford, the International Society for the Study of the Lumbar Spine Prize in Clinical Research, and Outstanding Paper Awards from the North American Spine Society.

Dr. Cheng specializes in the latest surgical techniques in the spine including minimally-invasive surgery, cervical surgery, complex deformities, and revisions of other surgeries with less-than optimal outcomes. He is well-accustomed to all pathologies in the spine including degenerative disorders, deformity, trauma, infections, and tumors.

Dr. Cheng has been married to his wife for over 10 years and has two sons aged 10 and 7. His interests outside of medicine include spending time with his family, physical fitness, trying new foods, mountain biking and snowboarding.

Conditions and Treatments Include:

• Cervical Spine Surgery
• Degenerative Disc Disease
• Disc Herniation or Slipped Disc
• Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery
• Revision Spine Surgery
• Scoliosis
• Single Position Spine Surgery
• Spinal Deformity Reconstruction
• Spondylolysis/Stress Fractures

Dr. Cheng has been voted by his peers and recognized in Texas Monthly Magazine as a Super Doctor in 2024.

Dr. Cheng has been voted by his peers and recognized in Austin Monthly Magazine as a Top Doctor in 2024.

Newsweek and Statista partnered for the first annual ranking of America’s Best Spine Surgeons. Dr. Cheng was recognized as a leading spine surgeon in 2024!

Dr. Cheng sees patients at our Central Austin, Kyle and Lakeway locations. To schedule an appointment with Dr. Cheng, please call (512) 485-0503 or schedule an appointment online.

Selected Peer-Reviewed Articles

Cheng I, Githens M, Smith RL, Johnston TR, Park DY, Stauff MP, Salari N, Tileston KR, Kharazi, AI. (2015) “Local versus distal transplantation of human neural stem cells following chronic spinal cord injury.” Spine J, Jun;16(6):764-9.

Local vs distal NSC in chronic SCI – Cheng – Spine J 2015

Arzeno AH, Koltsov J, Alamin TF, Cheng I, Wood KB, Hu SS. (2019) “Short-term outcomes of staged versus same-day surgery for adult spinal deformity correction.” Spine Deform, Sep;7(5):796-803.

Staged vs same-day surgery for ASD – Arzeno – Spine Deformity 2019

Kleimeyer JP, Koltsov JCB, Smuck MW, Wood KB, Cheng I, Hu SS. (2020) “Cervical epidural steroid injections: incidence and determinants of subsequent surgery.”  Spine J, Jun 18:S1529-9430.

Cervical ESI and subsequent surgery – Kleimeyer – Spine J 2020

Buckland AJ, Braly BA, O’Malley NA, Ashayeri K, Protopsaltis TS, Kwon B, Cheng I, Thomas JA. (2023) “Lateral decubitus single position anterior posterior surgery improves operative efficiency, improves perioperative outcomes, and maintains radiological outcomes comparable with traditional anterior posterior fusion at minimum 2-year follow-up.”  Spine J, May, 23(5):685-94.

Lat decub single position improves outcomes – Buckland – Spine J 2023