Robert L. Masson, M.D., is an internationally recognized neurosurgeon specializing in spinal injury and sports spine medicine. He also is the founder of the NeuroSpine Institute, recognized as a global referral center for complex minimally invasive spine reconstruction. He is an international consultant for minimally invasive neurosurgery and one of the world's leading advocates for athletic spinal injury being recognized as a recoverable sports injury.
Dr. Masson has performed over 10,000 neurosurgical procedures in his career and over 7000 spine surgeries.
Dr. Masson is an avid athlete having played multiple sports throughout his life. He played football at the University of Florida and is a retired Lieutenant Commander of the United States Naval Reserve.
He suffered five major concussions in his athletic journeys and is passionate about concussion education, recognition and treatment. Although Dr. Masson has a background in complex skull-base intracranial surgery, he began applying brain microsurgery techniques to spinal surgery while creating a unique symphony of surgical techniques to the world of minimally invasive spine surgery.
Dr. Masson received his medical degree with honors from the University of Florida. He stayed in Gainesville for Neurological Surgery Residency, finishing in 1995 with special training in Microneurosurgery and minimally invasive spine surgery. He credits his training and inspiration in Microsurgery to Dr. Albert Rhoton, the 'father' of microneurosurgical anatomy. Dr. Richard Fessler, his mentor in spine surgery, inspired him to blend his skills in microneurosurgery and his passion for sports into a field of Sports Spine Surgery.
Dr. Masson invented iMAS, interpedicular minimal access surgery of the lumbar spine, and is responsible for the education, product development and research for Synthes Spine in iMAS products and techniques. He is one of several Chairmen, globally, of surgeon training and certification for Synthes Spine in the use of the artificial disc, Prodisc. He has trained hundreds of surgeons in minimally invasive spine surgery and artificial disc surgery.
He treats a variety of athletes, representing players from the NFL, NBA, PGA/LPGA tours, US Ski team and others, and is an expert consultant at Spine Health as it relates to Golf and Skiing. He was featured on Discovery Health as an expert in neurological surgery.
