Michael X. Rohan, Jr., D.O.

Board-certified orthopedic surgeon Fellowship-trained in spine Specializing in minimally invasive spine surgery, motion preservation & artificial disc replacement

Dr. Michael Rohan, Jr. is a board certified orthopedic surgeon who is fellowship-trained in spine surgery, the highest level of medical education in the U.S. His spine surgery fellowship was done at the prestigious Texas Back Institute, which in 1986 was the first and largest spine specialty center in the world. During his spine surgery fellowship, Dr. Rohan, Jr. specialized in minimally invasive spine surgery techniques that enable the surgeon to operate through a one-inch incision using tubular retractors with tiny cameras and cutting devices in the tip.

Dr. Rohan, Jr. founded Northwest Florida Spine in 2015 in the Gulf Coast region, as one of the first spine surgeons to bring these new minimally invasive spine surgery and artificial disc replacement techniques to the Panama City and Florida Gulf Coast region as a long-overdue alternative to traditional 3-inch long incisions that were common among older spine surgeons in the region. Over the next 10 years, the spine practice of Dr. Michael Rohan, Jr. attracted thousands of patients and doctor referrals from across the Gulf Coast, the Florida Panhandle, Southern Georgia, Southern Alabama, Pensacola, Tallahassee, Destin, Fort Walton and as far away as Mobile, AL.

In mid 2025, Dr. Michael Rohan, Jr. expanded his practice with a new spine care location in the Jacksonville area of Northern Florida. This practice is convenient to other cities like St. Augustine, Gainesville, Palm Coast, Daytona Beach, Duval County and Clay County. Other patients travel from South Georgia cities like Brunswick, GA; Waycross, GA; and resort locations like Jekyll Island and even Savannah.

EXPERTISE IN MINIMALLY INVASIVE SPINE SURGERY

Dr. Rohan is one of the few spine surgeons in Northern Florida who is proficient in minimally invasive spine surgery. In minimally invasive spine surgery, Dr. Rohan inserts special surgical instruments through a tiny inch-long incision to access the damaged disc in the spine. Entry and repair to the damaged disc or vertebrae is achieved without harming nearby muscles and tissues. Even instrumentation, screws and plates can often be inserted through smaller incisions. A key benefit of the smaller incision is that there is no need for outside blood and the risks inherent with using donated blood from a blood bank. Because the incision is tiny, there is less disruption to muscles and ligaments which provides a faster and less painful recovery. Another benefit of minimally invasive spine surgery is that many of Dr. Rohan’s patients can have surgery in an Ambulatory Surgery Center which is more convenient that a hospital and are able to be home later the same day to recover in the comfort of their own home.

EXPERTISE IN ARTIFICIAL DISC REPLACEMENT FOR MOTION PRESERVATION

Traditionally, the common treatment for repairing herniated discs in the neck was an Anterior Cervical Discectomy and Fusion (ACDF) procedure. In a fusion surgery, the disc is removed and either a bone spacer or a plastic implant is be placed in the disc space to restore disc height and remove pressure on the pinched nerves or spinal cord. A metal plate and screws are then placed on the front of the neck to hold the implant in place. The result of this procedure will be a segment that no longer moves, or is “fused”.

In 2015, Dr. Michael Rohan was one of the first spine surgeons in Florida trained in artificial disc replacement for the cervical (neck) area. “With any artificial disc surgery, the surgeon must make room for the new implant that then replicates the movement and rotation of the original disc,” explains Dr. Rohan. “This involves some chiseling of the existing bone. The new artificial disc implants significantly reduce the amount of bone that is affected so you are preserving much more of the vertebral body.

With an artificial disc the neck maintains normal motion and reduces the stress placed on the other discs in the neck. The goal with motion preservation is to retain the normal rotation of the neck and lessen the need for any future surgery at other levels in the neck.

In the low back, because of the number of vertebrae, this loss of movement is less of a problem as the remaining vertebrae can provide enough rotational movement. “In the neck, however, there are fewer vertebral bones,” explains Dr. Rohan. “When two vertebrae are locked together as in the ACDF surgery, not only does the person notice that they have less rotation in the neck after surgery, but other issues also come into play. Because two vertebrae are locked, the other vertebrae above and below have more stress on them, which can in turn cause additional disc herniations in the remaining segments.”