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MUSC Health Spine Center

The MUSC Health Spine Center provides comprehensive spine care for patients across South Carolina through a multidisciplinary team of specialists dedicated to treating spinal conditions at every level of complexity.

As a comprehensive spine center, we offer a full continuum of care that includes both non-surgical and surgical treatment options. Our non-surgical care is delivered through expert teams in Anesthesia Pain Medicine and Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, with these services offering advanced pain management techniques and interventional procedures to improve symptoms and support recovery.

MUSC Health Spine Center is a leader in advanced spine surgery, offering a full range of surgical options for minor to complex spinal conditions. Our neurosurgeons and orthopedic spine surgeons specialize in both minimally invasive and complex spinal procedures, utilizing the latest evidence-based techniques and advanced technology. Surgical care ranges from outpatient, minimally invasive interventions to complex spinal fusion and deformity corrections.

Our goal is to improve function, preserve mobility, and help patients achieve the highest possible quality of life.

MUSC Health High Performing in Spinal Fusion

MUSC Health has been recognized as High Performing in Spinal Fusion in the 2025–2026 U.S. News & World Report rankings. This recognition reflects our expertise in advanced spine surgery and our commitment to improving patient mobility and quality of life.

Spine Surgery Team

Accepting New Patients
Kelley Banagan

Kelley Banagan, MD, FAOA, FAAOS

4.9/5.0 - 35 rating
Specialties
  • Spine Surgery
  • Orthopaedic Surgery
Locations (3)
  • Charleston, SC
  • Mount Pleasant, SC
  • Summerville, SC
Accepting New Patients
James Lawrence

James Lawrence, MD, MBA

4.7/5.0 - 185 rating
Specialties
  • Orthopaedics
  • Spine Surgery
Locations (2)
  • Charleston, SC
  • Summerville, SC
Accepting New Patients
Charles Reitman

Charles Reitman, MD

4.8/5.0 - 197 rating
Specialties
  • Orthopaedics
  • Spine Surgery
Locations (1)
  • Charleston, SC

Non-Surgical Specialists

Our Pain Medicine and Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation providers offer a variety of non-surgical treatments to deliver back pain relief.

Accepting New Patients
Matthew Sherrier

Matthew Sherrier, MD

4.8/5.0 - 446 rating
Specialties
  • Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation
  • Orthopaedics - Sports Medicine
Locations (1)
  • Summerville, SC
Accepting New Patients
James Gardner

James Gardner, MD

4.9/5.0 - 224 rating
Specialties
  • Orthopaedics - Sports Medicine
  • Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation
Locations (2)
  • CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA
  • West Ashley, SC
Accepting New Patients
Keith Polston

Keith Polston, MD, MS

4.8/5.0 - 341 rating
Specialties
  • Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation
Locations (4)
  • CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA
  • Mount Pleasant, SC
  • Summerville, SC
  • West Ashley, SC

Conditions & Treatments

MUSC Health offers a comprehensive range of treatment options for patients with spine-related conditions. From non-surgical care, including targeted injections and conservative therapies, to advanced surgical interventions utilizing minimally invasive and robotic-assisted techniques, our team works collaboratively to develop an individualized treatment plan tailored to each patient’s needs.

Conditions We Treat

  • Ankylosing Spondylitis
  • Cauda Equina Syndrome
  • Cervicalgia (Neck Pain)
  • Craniocervical Instability
  • Degenerative Disc Disease
  • Diffuse Idiopathic Skeletal Hyperostosis (DISH)
  • Ehlers Danlos Syndrome
  • Facet Joint Pain
  • Failed Back Surgery Syndrome
  • Fractures
  • Herniated Disc
  • Infections (Osteomyelitis and Discitis)
  • Lumbago (Lower Back Pain)
  • Myelopathy
  • Nerve Compression
  • Radiculopathy
  • Sacroiliac Joint Pain
  • Sciatica
  • Spina Bifida
  • Spinal Deformities
  • Spinal Instability
  • Spinal Bone Spurs
  • Spondylolisthesis
  • Spinal Stenosis
  • Tethered Cord
  • Traumatic Spinal Injury
  • Tumors

 

Non-Surgical Spine Treatments

Our Pain Medicine and PM&R teams offer a variety of non-surgical treatments to deliver back pain relief. Our pain specialists are board-certified and fellowship trained who have extensive training in pain management. Examples of some treatments this Spine Center team provides include injections and nerve block, regenerative medicine, spinal cord stimulators and joint and tendon injections.

Surgical Spine Treatments

Our Spine Center's surgical team represents top experts within the orthopedic and neurosurgery fields. Many of our surgical treatments are minimally-invasive, in order to provide the best post-surgical results, with decreased post-operative pain, smaller incisions, and a lower risk of infection. Robotic-assisted surgery is also available to our spine patients, which allows for enhanced surgical precision and shorter recovery times. Examples of treatments our spine surgeons provide include, but are not limited to:

  • Artificial disc replacement
  • Coccygectomy
  • Corpectomy
  • Endoscopic spine surgery
  • Osteotomy
  • Spinal fusion
  • Spinal fracture repair
  • Scoliosis and kyphosis surgery
  • Sacroiliac joint surgery
  • Spinal cord stimulator
  • Spinal nerve and cord decompression
  • Tethered cord release
  • Pain pumps

Meet the Team

Throughout your MUSC Health journey for spine care, you will engage with a variety of experts from our multidisciplinary team led by the Spine Center's Co-Medical Directors Dr. Charles Reitman and Dr. Stephen Kalhorn.

The Spine Center's care team members include:

Neuro and Orthopaedic Spine Surgeons
Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Specialists (PM&R)
Pain Management Specialists
Neurologists
Neurointerventional Radiologists
Physical and Occupational Therapists
Behavioral Health Specialists
Athletic Trainers
Physician assistants and nurse practitioners

Below is a list by location of our surgeons and which APP is assigned to them. Our APPs provide you with quick and convenient care. They are able to evaluate, order test, treat you, and refer you to the correct spine experts (surgical or non-surgical).

Amelia
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