Nationally renowned spinal neurosurgeon named Director of Spinal Neurosurgery, Neurotrauma at Maimonides

Dr. Houten Brings Highly Specialized Expertise to Brooklyn

September 28, 2016 From Maimonides Medical Center

John K. Houten MD. Photo courtesy of Maimonides

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Dr. Patrick Borgen, chair of surgery, and Dr. Amit Schwartz, chief of neurosurgery at Maimonides Medical Center, have announced the appointment of Dr. John K. Houten as director of spinal neurosurgery and Neurotrauma, bolstering the hospital’s trauma credentials on the heels of its New York state approval as an Adult and Pediatric Trauma Center.

“Dr. Houten is an outstanding addition to our strong team of neuroscience experts at Maimonides,” said Borgen. “Brooklyn residents will now have access to the most advanced spinal neurosurgery techniques and we heartily welcome him aboard.”

“We’re delighted to round-out our neurosurgery team with someone of Dr. Houten’s stature,” said Schwartz. “Our patients are the true beneficiaries of this appointment.”

Houten is a board-certified neurosurgeon with fellowship training in spinal surgery, bringing more than 20 years of experience to his new role at Maimonides. He specializes in advanced image-guided techniques to safely and accurately treat patients with injuries or conditions that affect the spine.

“I’m looking forward to working with the entire neuroscience team at Maimonides,” said Houten. “The hospital has already invested in the facilities and technology that best serve patients, and with the recent opening of its Trauma Center, this is clearly the place to be providing the most advanced care to Brooklyn residents.”

For more than a decade, Houten served as chief of spinal neurosurgery at Montefiore Medical Center/Albert Einstein College of Medicine. From there, he spent a year creating a spinal neurosurgery program at the Marcus Neuroscience Institute at Boca Raton Regional Hospital in Florida before returning to New York. He went to medical school, completed a neurosurgical residency and a spinal surgery fellowship at New York University.

A Brooklyn resident, Houten is actively involved in a number of clinical research projects addressing spinal degenerative disease and serves as an ad hoc reviewer for scientific journals, including Neurosurgery and Clinical Neurology and Neurosurgery.

The Division of Neurosurgery at Maimonides Medical Center is comprised of a team of highly trained neurosurgeons and interventional neuroradiologists, providing world-class care to patients in need of surgical treatment for vascular, tumorous and degenerative lesions of the brain, skull base and spine. Maimonides uses the most advanced technology and minimally invasive techniques and is dedicated to providing the best medicine for families in Brooklyn.