Michael Vitale MD MPH

01/22/2026

Meet Mia, a determined young athlete who loves sports, snowboarding, and spending time with friends. Although she had known about her scoliosis for years and experienced occasional back pain, it never held her back from an active life she enjoyed.

At a routine follow-up, Mia’s curve progressed into a surgical range. Seeking a second opinion, her family connected with Dr. Michael Vitale. Given the rapid progression of her curve, they decided to move forward with surgical correction through posterior spinal fusion and instrumentation.

Just three months later, Mia was back on the slopes, snowboarding alongside her family and friends. What initially felt like a mental hurdle quickly became a moment of empowerment and pride.

Reflecting on the journey, Mia’s parents share advice for other families navigating scoliosis: be proactive, seek expert guidance, and do not view surgery as a limitation.
“Get the surgery done, and get back to doing what you love.”

Mia’s journey is just one of many. Read more patient stories on my website:
pediatricscoliosissurgery.com/patient-cases-stories/patient-stories/

12/19/2025

At Och Spine at NewYork-Presbyterian, our goal is to integrate compassionate mental health support with cutting-edge spine care. Our experts take a holistic approach to scoliosis treatment, ensuring that your child's mental wellbeing is cared for along with their physical needs.

Learn more about our Scoliosis & Youth Mental Health Program at the link below:
https://www.nyp.org/ochspine/scoliosis-and-youth-mental-health

12/17/2025

“For pediatric patients with scoliosis and other spine conditions, the burden of physical symptoms and rigorous medical care—whether this means surgery, medication, bracing, or a combination of treatments—can take an emotional and psychological toll. At Och Spine at NewYork-Presbyterian, our goal is to integrate compassionate mental health support with cutting-edge spine care. Our experts take a holistic approach to scoliosis treatment, ensuring that your child's mental wellbeing is cared for along with their physical needs.”

Our Scoliosis & Youth Mental Health Program is here to support patients and their families through every step of treatment.

Learn more about this initiative below.
https://www.nyp.org/ochspine/scoliosis-and-youth-mental-health

For pediatric patients with scoliosis and other spine conditions, the burden of physical symptoms and rigorous medical care—whether this means surgery, medication, bracing, or a combination of treatments—can take an emotional and psychological toll.

12/15/2025

This weekend at the 11th Annual International Spinal Deformity Symposium, I gave a talk on borderline surgical AIS curves, focusing on how pediatric spine surgeons should align treatment decisions with patient goals—not just curve magnitude—while recognizing that surgical timing meaningfully changes the scope, burden, and potential benefit of intervention.

Also pictured are our PGY-2, Varun Arvind, presenting on machine learning applications in intraoperative neuromonitoring, and fellow Dr. Josephine Coury, whose talk highlighted the utility of pre-operative MRI in predicting postoperative cervical malalignment and PJK following adult spinal deformity surgery.

12/12/2025

A recap of last week at the International Pediatric Orthopaedic Symposium (IPOS). Throughout the week, I had the privilege of presenting on adolescent idiopathic scoliosis, intra-operative neuromonitoring, and pediatric disc pathology.

An energizing few days of learning, collaboration, and shared commitment to advancing pediatric orthopedic care.

12/07/2025

This week at IPOS, I gave a talk titled Developing Relationships: Finding Mentors and Becoming One Yourself, focused on building relationships that foster meaningful connection and drive career growth. I truly believe strong mentorship is one of the most powerful ways we can invest in our community and strengthen our specialty.

Throughout the meeting, I was able to put these ideas into practice by meeting with mentees at different stages in their careers and discussing their goals and next steps.

I also served as a judge for the IPOS Top Gun Competition, a hands-on surgical skills challenge centered on precision, teamwork, and patient safety. The level of talent and dedication on display was inspiring.

Proud to play a small part in developing future leaders in pediatric orthopedics!

12/04/2025

This week, I am at the 2025 International Pediatric Orthopaedic Symposium (IPOS) in Orlando, Florida! This four-day meeting covers the spectrum of pediatric and adolescent orthopaedic conditions, from commonly seen issues to rare conditions that require specialized care.

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to record the Sharpening the Scalpel podcast to discuss improving the quality and safety of spine surgery.

12/03/2025

So honored to participate in the kickoff event of the Italian Institute for Spine Surgery Safety last Thursday, Thanksgiving morning via Zoom. Dr. Brodano and colleagues are poised to spread the word about spine surgery safety and will surely make care better for patients in Italy and elsewhere. I hope my presentation in Italian was more or less intelligible! 🇮🇹

12/03/2025

New on the blog: Reflections on a 10-week sabbatical, lessons from high-achieving leaders, and a renewed perspective on how to sustain meaningful impact over time.
Read the full post below:

As I prepare to return to the operating room and the office, I look back on this ten-week "forced sabbatical" with deep gratitude: gratitude to my surgeon and friend, Christopher Ahmad; to my partners for covering for me; and to my patients whose schedules were disrupted.

11/19/2025

I recently joined the Straight From The Hip podcast to talk about one of my favorite topics: how to make surgery safer.

We discussed how high-stakes spine surgery has reshaped the way we think about teams, errors, and systems under pressure.

We broke down the core principles of planning, standardization, human factors, effective checklists, and psychological safety in the OR.

We also explored innovation in navigation and robotics, and how to bring new technology into the OR without introducing new failure modes.

Finally, we talked metrics, outcomes, and why the future of quality in orthopedics relies on transparency, benchmarking, and shared learning.

Listen at the link below:
https://open.spotify.com/episode/12tUrm8oGsR1k2iBdfIWmm?si=SBVMlsAkSqiF6lmnGpbk3w

Straight From The Hip · Episode

11/06/2025

Our November Bracing Group is coming up — and this one is extra special!

Join us for a gentle movement session led by one of our Schroth therapists and certified yoga instructor. We will have snacks, crafts, and time to connect with other brace buddies and parents.

📅 Date: November 13
🕓 Time: 4:30–6:00 PM
📍 Location: CHONY Tower 103 — Meeting Room off the Lobby
💻 Zoom participation available

Let us know if you can make it by registering here:
https://form.jotform.com/252886234637063

11/05/2025

Amazing engagement and contributions from members of our Pediatric Spine Research Factory today pre ICEOS! Record attendance at this go-to meeting for all things pediatric spine. So humbled to have been able to play a role in leading this group over the past year!

https://pediatricspinefoundation.org/