Dr. Colin Haines
Director of Research
WHY I BECAME A SPINE SURGEON
My ambition to become a spine surgeon began at a young age when I suffered a lumbar disc herniation while playing soccer. After recovering successfully without surgery, I was profoundly impacted by the power of non-surgical treatment. This experience fueled my desire to personally connect with patients, working together to create a tailored treatment plan that will achieve their goals for recovery.
Dr. Haines utilizes modern technology to provide safer and more effective solutions to restore the quality of life for those suffering from neck and back conditions. Dr. Haines performed the world’s first combined endoscopic and robot-guided spine surgery. His patient success has earned him national features on The Today Show and Buzzfeed and ‘Top Doctor‘ recognition in consecutive years. His world-class surgical expertise is complemented by an extensive portfolio of advanced non-surgical solutions including natural healing through stem cell therapy and PRP.
Leading the nation in ultra-minimally invasive surgeries, he prides himself on the ability to customize treatments to meet each patient’s unique anatomy and goals for recovery. Dr. Haines is a renowned expert in accurately diagnosing and successfully treating Bertolotti syndrome, a unique and often misunderstood spinal condition. With a vast knowledge of the intricacies of this condition, Dr. Haines understands the emotional and physical challenges patients face. Many patients suffering from Bertolotti syndrome have failed to find proper diagnosis and treatment elsewhere, and patients can trust Dr. Haines to provide innovative non-surgical and surgical solutions that they may not have been offered before. This provides hope and relief for those impacted by this challenging condition.
Known for his compassion and humility he works to connect with patients to learn more about their life goals for recovery. His ability to get to their level and fully uncover what their needs are allows him to more effectively create a custom treatment and serves as a resource and support through recovery.
While 90% of Dr. Haines’ patients overcome their pain without surgery, when surgical intervention is necessary, he utilizes ultra-minimally invasive surgical techniques that improve patient safety and dramatically reduce recovery time. These techniques include robot-guided spine surgery, augmented reality (AR), ultrasonic spine surgery, and laser spine surgery. He is a nationally leading expert in endoscopic spine surgery. Additionally, Dr. Haines promotes motion preservation through the use of single and multi-level disc replacements and is currently a lead investigator for an FDA trial for cervical disc replacements.
As the Director of Research at VSI, Dr. Haines actively facilitates national research studies to advance effective treatment options for his patients. Notably, he was involved in the largest study on professional baseball players with back pain and is currently leading multiple FDA trials on cervical disc implants. Dr. Haines is a frequent presenter at international conferences, and his research findings can be found in esteemed textbook chapters and peer-reviewed publications.
Dr. Haines masters the balancing act between his demanding career, being active in his fitness and wellness, and being a family man and proud father of three daughters. He is active on the Peloton, running, and playing tennis and pickleball.
College
- Bucknell University
Medical School
- University of Buffalo, School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences
Residency
- Orthopaedic Surgery, The George Washington University Hospital
Fellowship
- Spine Surgery, The Cleveland Clinic
Board Certified
- American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery
Affiliations
- Fellow, American College of Surgeons
- BioMed Research International Journal, Reviewer
- American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery
- AO Spine
- North American Spine Society, Reviewer
- Reston Hospital Center Medical Executive Committee, Member-at-Large
Dr. Haines’ Surgical Highlights
- First in the Mid-Atlantic region to utilize the Mazor X™ System for transformative robotic spine surgery
- World’s First Combined Endoscopic & Robot-Guided Spine Surgery
- First Endoscopic Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery Performed at Reston Hospital Center
- First Robotic Spine Surgery in the World Using the Mazor X™ Stealth Edition
- American College of Spine Surgeons, First Place in Research Competition
Recent Research
Global Spine Journal – 2022 Best Paper Award research on augmented reality(AR). The Journal’s Editor-in-Chief has announced the paper “Augmented Reality-Assisted Spine Surgery: An Early Experience Demonstrating Safety and Accuracy with 218 Screws” has won a Global Spine Journal’s 2022 Best Paper Award.
Cervical Hybrid Constructs Reduce Superior Adjacent Segment Burden Compared to Multilevel Anterior Cervical Discectomy and Fusion
Journal of Spine Surgery (2024)
Augmented Reality-Assisted Spine Surgery: An Early Experience Demonstrating Safety and Accuracy with 218 Screws
Global Spine Journal, Best Paper 2022 (January 2022)
90-Day Complication and Revision Surgery Rates Using Navigated Robotics in Thoracolumbar Spine Surgery
Podium Presentation at the International Society for the Advancement of Spine Surgery, San Francisco, California, Best Paper 2023 (June 2023)
Which is Better: Percutaneous or Open Robot-Assisted Spine Surgery? Prospective, Multicenter Study of 2,524 Screws in 336 Patients
Podium Presentation at the International Meeting on Advanced Spine Techniques, Dublin, Ireland (March 2023)
Opioid Use After Elective Spine Surgery: Do Spine Surgery Patients Consume Less than Prescribed Today?
North American Spine Society Journal (November 2022)
Opioid Utilization After Elective Spine Surgery: How Many Pills Are Leftover?
Podium Presentation at the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgery, Chicago, IL (March 2022)