Philip S Yuan, MD

Philip Yuan, M.D., a board-certified orthopedic surgeon at the Spine Center at MemorialCare Long Beach Medical Center. He specializes in the treatment of all spinal disorders including the neck and back (cervical, thoracic, lumbar). He emphasizes non-surgical treatment and considers surgery only when absolutely necessary to improve a patient’s quality of life. He is well-trained in minimally invasive techniques and is actively involved in cutting-edge research to help further improve treatment options for his patients. He is an expert in O-arm navigation and robotic-assisted surgery, which minimizes the chance of complications in his surgical patients. He has published numerous research articles and presented both nationally and internationally.

Dr. Yuan was born and raised in Syracuse, New York. His father was a pre-eminent spine surgeon and he decided to follow in his footsteps.  He earned a B.S. degree with distinction in Biochemistry in 1993 from Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, and qualified as a Howard Hughes Scholar.

Dr. Yuan earned his Doctor of Medicine degree in 1997 from the University of Michigan Medical School. During medical school he co-authored his first of many subsequent articles, and that first paper was published in Spine.

Dr. Yuan came to the west coast for both his internship in general surgery and his residency in Orthopedic Surgery at the University of California, San Diego. In 2003, he was offered the prestigious Spine Surgery Fellowship at the Rothman Orthopaedic Institute, Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He and his wife returned to the east coast for this study period and during this time he published several research articles, book chapters and made presentations at both national and international orthopedic conferences.

He and his wife decided to settle down in Southern California and pursue his professional career as a member of the Memorial Orthopedic Surgical Group.

He has previously served as chairman and prior to that, Vice Chairman of the Department of Orthopedic Surgery at Long Beach Medical Center. Dr. Yuan also serves as an editor for the International Journal of Spine Surgery and has spinal device-related patents in both Europe and the United States, this allows him to stay up-to-date with the latest technologies. He has focused his practice solely on spinal surgery, allowing him to stay up-to-date on minimally invasive surgical options. Dr. Yuan has been praised for his compassion and love for each patient.

Outside of medicine, Dr. Yuan enjoys traveling, tennis, basketball, golf, snowboarding, wakeboarding, electronics, automobiles and spending time with his wife and sons.

Sub-specialties 

• Spinal Disorders (Back and Neck) 

Areas of Interest 

• Minimally Invasive Spinal Surgery
• Cervical Disc Replacement (motion preservation)
• Cervical Herniated Disc (non-surgical and surgical treatment)
• Cervical Radiculopathy
• Cervical Myelopathy
• Cervical Trauma
• Cervical Fusion
• Lumbar Disc Replacement
• Lumbar Facet and Epidural injections
• Lumbar Herniated Disc (non-surgical and surgical treatment)
• Lumbar Radiculopathy
• Lumbar Stenosis
• Lumbar Trauma
• Lumbar Fusion
• Thoracic Stenosis/Myelopathy
• Osteoporotic Compression Fractures
• Spinal Deformities (Scoliosis, Kyphosis, Flatback)
• Revision Spinal Surgery
• Spinal Cord Stimulation
• Spinal Infections (Discitis and Osteomyelitis)
• Spinal Tumors