Dr. Michael K. Rosner, MD

Expert Publications

• Eosinophilic meningitis after implantation of a rifampin and minocycline-impregnated ventriculostomy catheter in a child. Case report.
• Single-stage treatment of pyogenic spinal infection with titanium mesh cages.
• Stabilizing potential of anterior, posterior, and circumferential fixation for multilevel cervical arthrodesis: an in vitro human cadaveric study of the operative and adjacent segment kinematics.
• Effect of multilevel lumbar disc arthroplasty on the operative- and adjacent-level kinematics and intradiscal pressures: an in vitro human cadaveric assessment.
• Computed tomography and biomechanical evaluation of screw fixation options at the cervicothoracic junction: intralamina versus intrapedicular techniques.
• Does superior-segment facet violation or laminectomy destabilize the adjacent level in lumbar transpedicular fixation? An in vitro human cadaveric assessment.
• Using lamina screws as a salvage technique at C-7: computed tomography and biomechanical analysis using cadaveric vertebrae. Laboratory investigation.
• Multilevel cervical arthroplasty with artificial disc replacement.
• Does the Wilson frame assist with optimizing surgical exposure for minimally invasive lumbar fusions?
• Resident learning curve for minimal-access transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion in a military training program.
• Does catastrophic midline failure of upper thoracic lamina screws violate the spinal canal? A cadaveric biomechanical analysis using two lamina screw techniques.
• Structures at risk from pedicle screws in the proximal thoracic spine: computed tomography evaluation.
• Cervical hybrid arthroplasty with 2 unique fusion techniques.
• Predictors of pulmonary complications in blunt traumatic spinal cord injury.
• Outcomes following cervical disc arthroplasty in an active duty military population.

Media Releases

Get to know Neurosurgeon Dr. Michael K. Rosner, who serves patients in Washington, D.C.

Distinguished as an exceptional neurosurgeon, Dr. Rosner is affiliated with The GW Medical Faculty Associates. As a Professor of Neurological Surgery, the George Washington University has tapped him to serve as the Interim Chair of the GW Department of Neurological Surgery. The department, known for excellence in patient care and for training generations of neurological surgeons, offers state-of-the-art care across the wide spectrum of neurological surgical disorders.

As Interim Chair, Dr. Rosner leads the department’s activities as the GW academic health care enterprise continues its journey to pre-eminence as a health care provider in the nation’s capital. As part of the leadership team of the GW MFA and SMHS, he is responsible for growing the clinical and academic footprint of the department and bolstering the department’s local, national, and global reputation.

Having several clinical and research interests in spinal column disorders and neuro-trauma, his clinical interests include complex spine disorders such as scoliosis and kyphoscoliosis of all age groups, degenerative spinal pathology, revision spine surgery and deformity correction, spinal oncology, minimally invasive spine surgery, and neuro-trauma. His current management style utilizes a multi-disciplinary approach to the management of spinal column disorders.

Relating to his education, Dr. Rosner received a Bachelor of Science degree in Biomedical Engineering from Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. A graduate of the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee in 1995, he completed a surgical internship at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C. in 1996. Following a research fellowship at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research in Washington, D.C. in 1999 and completion of residency training in neurological surgery at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in 2002, he completed a fellowship in complex and reconstructive spine surgery at Northwestern University in Chicago, Illinois in 2003 under the direction of Dr. Stephen Ondra.

After fellowship training, Dr. Rosner was a staff neurosurgeon at Walter Reed and deployed in 2003 to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Landstuhl, Germany; he was subsequently deployed in 2005 to the 86th Combat Support Hospital in Baghdad, Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. In 2006, he was selected as chief of neurosurgery at Walter Reed and later selected as the integrated chief of neurosurgery during and after the transition to join Walter Reed Army Medical and the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland as one institution, Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.  

Retiring from the U.S. Army in 2015, Dr. Rosner was honored to serve our country while deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom during his active duty years.

Among other honors, he was the Spinal Deformity Education Group (SDEG) Traveling Fellow in 2004 and received the General Hayes Award for outstanding attending surgeon who exemplifies devotion to the NNC Neurosurgical Residency Program in 2004, 2006, 2007 and 2013. He was awarded the General Claire L. Chennault Award in 2009 as the most outstanding teaching faculty at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.

Board-certified through the American Board of Neurological Surgery, Dr. Rosner is a Fellow of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons. He also serves as a member of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons, Society of Neurological Surgeons, Scoliosis Research Society and the North American Spine Society.

Neurosurgery is the medical specialty concerned with the prevention, diagnosis, surgical treatment, and rehabilitation of disorders which affect any portion of the nervous system including the brain, spinal cord, peripheral nerves, and extra-cranial cerebrovascular system. Neurosurgeons are doctors who diagnose and treat problems with the nervous system, often by performing surgery on the brain or spine. They treat strokes, tumors, certain types of birth defects, infections, and head or spinal cord injuries.

The recipient of several research grants with emphasis on spinal cord and column injuries in the active duty military population, Dr. Rosner is the principal investigator on numerous laboratory and clinical research studies. He has published many peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters in addition to being actively involved with organized neurosurgery on the national level.  He served on the Executive Committee of the AANS/CNS Spine Section and was previous chair of the SRS research committee.

On a more personal note, Dr. Rosner is married to Dr. Inger (Lerra) Rosner,  a board-certified urologic oncologist working at the Inova Schar Cancer Institute. The have three sons and live in Bethesda, Maryland.

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