Education
College:
- Studied Neurobiology at the University of California, Berkeley
Medical School:
- University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)
Residency:
- Neurological Surgery at Washington University/Barnes-Jewish Hospital/St. Louis Children’s Hospital
About Dr. Wright
Neill M. Wright, M.D., is a board-certified Neurosurgeon, fellowship trained in complex spinal Neurosurgery. After his undergraduate degree in Neurobiology at the University of California, Berkeley, he obtained his medical degree at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). He completed his residency training in Neurological Surgery at Washington University/Barnes-Jewish Hospital/St. Louis Children’s Hospital. He then completed a fellowship in complex spinal Neurosurgery at both UCLA and Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.
For the past two decades, he was a Professor of Neurosurgery at Washington University in St. Louis. He was director of the Spine Fellowship there, and held the prestigious Herbert Lourie Professor of Neurosurgery endowed professorship.
In May 2020, Dr. Wright chose to leave academics and Washington University to focus on delivering high-quality clinical care of patients with cervical spinal disorders.
Due to a non-negotiable, non-compete contract signed with Washington University when he started his practice there in 2001, he was required to practice outside of St. Louis until May 2023. During that time, he practiced at Blessing Hospital in Quincy, Illinois. While he enjoyed his time there, he is happy to be back in St. Louis providing exceptional care to the people in his home town.
Dr. Wright focuses his practice on disorders of the cervical spine, and has performed over 2,500 cervical spine surgeries.
His practice includes the treatment of craniocervical/craniovertebral junction disorders, atlantoaxial instability, cervical spondylosis, cervical disc herniations, cervical myelopathy, cervical radiculopathy, cervical spondylolisthesis, cervical stenosis, cervical deformity, as well as tumors of the spinal cord and spine. He has the largest series of cervical artificial disc surgeries (cervical arthroplasty) at Washington University during his time there, and continues to perform arthroplasty and other leading edge techniques.
Dr. Wright is the developer of the C2 laminar fixation technique, now popular worldwide for the treatment of atlantoaxial instability. He is also one of the leading experts on the use of synthetic bone in cervical spine procedures.
He has several patents related to cervical spine devices and treatments.