Boulder Neurosurgical & Spine Associates

Boulder Neurosurgical & Spine Associates (BNA) in Boulder, Colorado, is a center of excellence that specializes in the treatment of all orthopedic and neurological spine disorders, utilizing CO2 laser technology and the most minimally invasive procedures whenever possible. At the core of BNA are five highly skilled and experienced neurosurgeons: Alan T. Villavicencio, MD; E. Lee Nelson, MD; Alexander Mason, MD, Sharad Rajpal, MD; and Kara Beasley, DO. Multiple BNA offices including the Minimally Invasive Spine Institute (MISI), an outpatient spine surgery center dedicated to less invasive treatment modalities, are located throughout the Northwestern Colorado region and provide quality care to patients from all over the world as a result of BNA’s outstanding national and international reputation.

BNA has achieved prominent recognition by implementing a patient-centered approach to health care, and is one of the few practices in the country with expertise in both orthopedic and neurosurgical spine care. The neurosurgeons of BNA recently received the highest ratings in the Denver Metro Area. The mission of BNA is to not just be on the forefront of neurosurgical and orthopedic spine care, but to further expand the development and implementation of new minimally invasive techniques and technologically advanced treatment methods into clinical practice. BNA physicians are devoted to practicing evidence-based medicine by serving as primary investigators for numerous FDA-controlled clinical trials and publishing extensively on orthopedic and neurosurgical spine care.

BNA is the first practice in the world to publish on outpatient instrumented anterior cervical discectomy and fusions (ACDF), the use of rhBMP in transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (TLIF) procedures and also the first in the world to publish on real-time 3-D image guidance for kyphoplasty procedures. BNA was the first in the region to perform lumbar fusions using minimally invasive techniques and first in the state of Colorado to incorporate intraoperative image guidance and stereotactic CyberKnife technologies. BNA achievements in the scientific field have been recognized at national and international meetings, with the awards granted at the North American Spine Society (NASS), Cervical Spine Research Society, the American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS) Spine and Peripheral Nerve section and the International CyberKnife Users meetings. The ongoing research projects that BNA conducts are lead by the Justin Parker Neurological Institute (JPNI), a fully accredited nonprofit organization founded by the surgeons at BNA.

MRI Review