Two Neurosurgery of St. Louis doctors recognized on ‘Best Doctors in St. Louis’ list

Dr. Neill Wright and Dr. Stephen Johans make list by Castle Connolly

Neurosurgery of St. Louis (NSL) is proud to announce two of its doctors are being recognized by Castle Connolly. Neill Wright, MD, made the 2023 list of Top Doctors and Stephen Johans, MD, is being recognized as a Rising Star.

The doctors are joining five other NSL physicians who have been named on the list of Top Docs previously. Neurosurgery of St. Louis, which began two years ago, includes a team of eight neurosurgeons and one nurse practitioner.

Castle Connolly, an independent healthcare research and information company, compiles information to help people find the best and most qualified medical practitioners in their area. With over 850,000 practicing doctors in the United States, Castle Connolly finalizes its list of approximately 60,000 board-certified US physicians through a rigorous research process and only these hand-selected few are awarded Top Doctor status each year. Castle Connolly Rising Stars are early career doctors recognized for their outstanding accomplishments and dedication to the field of medicine.

Dr. Wright serves as the Medical Director of NSL and is a board-certified Neurosurgeon, fellowship trained in complex spinal neurosurgery. He received his medical degree at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and completed his residency training in Neurological Surgery at Washington University, Barnes-Jewish Hospital and St. Louis Children’s Hospital. He completed his fellowship in complex spinal neurosurgery at both UCLA and Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. He has performed more than 2,500 cervical spine surgeries thus far in his career. He specializes in cervical spine disorders and has received international recognition for his development of the C2 laminar fixation technique, which is now popular worldwide for the treatment of atlantoaxial instability. He has several patents related to cervical spine devices and treatments.

“It is such an honor to be recognized as a Castle Connolly Top Doctor,” said Dr. Wright. “This accolade is a testament to the patient care we provide at NSL. We know our patients value having a doctor that listens, respects, and treats them fairly. My colleagues and I are passionate about providing the best possible care to communities all over St. Louis and the Metro East.”

Dr. Johans is a board-certified neurological surgeon and earned his medical degree at the University of Missouri – Columbia School of Medicine. He completed his neurological surgery residency at Loyola University Medical Center in Chicago, Illinois. Dr. Johans’ areas of expertise include comprehensive care for spinal disorders including cervical, thoracic, and lumbar spine issues as well as cranial surgery including brain tumors.

“At NSL, we strive to provide the utmost devotion to our patients to ensure excellent non-surgical and surgical outcomes through a team effort,” said Dr. Johans. “Our team approach with the patient, the patient’s family, and other healthcare providers allows for the best long-term outcomes. This recognition tells us that we are doing what is best for the patient at the end of the day.”

NSL has six locations in Illinois and Missouri, as well as the new Specialty Surgery Center of St. Louis which is located in the Walker Medical Building. Its dedicated team specializes in neurological diseases and disorders such as benign and malignant brain tumors, spine conditions such as degenerative spine disease, spinal stenosis, neck pain, lower back pain, spinal fractures, sciatica and peripheral nerve disorders. The highly specialized team of neurosurgeons is one of the only independent neurosurgery groups in Metro East Illinois. For more information about Neurosurgery of St. Louis, go to www.stlbrainandspine.com or call (314) 806-1770.