Shay Bess, MD
Shay Bess, MD, is an internationally recognized spine surgeon, clinical researcher, educator, and healthcare leader specializing in complex spinal reconstruction. He is Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery and Professor of Neurosurgery at the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix and serves as Spine Medical Director for Banner Health’s Phoenix market. In his leadership role at Banner Health, Dr. Bess provides clinical and strategic direction for the development of a comprehensive, integrated Orthopaedic and Neurosurgical Spine Program across the Phoenix region. He leads initiatives focused on expanding access to advanced spine care, strengthening regional referral networks, standardizing evidence-based clinical pathways, improving patient safety and outcomes, recruiting and developing multidisciplinary clinical teams, and advancing technology, research, and education. He is also leading the development of a multidisciplinary Spine Center of Excellence and a comprehensive perioperative spine-optimization program addressing medical risk, bone health, weight management, rehabilitation, and other factors that influence surgical outcomes and recovery.
Dr. Bess’s clinical practice focuses on the treatment of adult and pediatric scoliosis, complex spinal deformity, persistent pain or disability following previous spine surgery, and conditions requiring revision surgery or complex spinal reconstruction. His approach combines individualized treatment planning, advanced surgical techniques, multidisciplinary care, and findings from outcomes research to help patients achieve meaningful improvements in pain, function, independence, and quality of life.
Dr. Bess earned his undergraduate degree from Columbia University and his medical degree from The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. He completed his orthopaedic surgery residency at Case Western Reserve University and advanced fellowship training in pediatric and adult spine surgery through Washington University in St. Louis, Barnes-Jewish Hospital, St. Louis Children’s Hospital, and Shriners Children’s St. Louis. Dr. Bess is the founder and president of the International Spine Study Group Foundation, one of the world’s most productive and influential collaborative research organizations dedicated to complex spinal deformity. Since its founding in 2009, the ISSG Foundation has helped shape national and international standards in spine care, outcomes research, surgical education, and evidence-based deformity treatment. Under his leadership, the organization has developed a global network of orthopaedic surgeons, neurosurgeons, clinical researchers, data scientists, and other specialists working collaboratively to improve the treatment of complex spinal disorders.
Dr. Bess currently leads a major international initiative to develop and validate a multicultural, multidimensional outcomes-assessment tool for adult spinal deformity. This effort brings together surgeons, researchers, psychometricians, and technology experts from North America, Europe, Japan, Korea, India, Latin America, and the Middle East to create more culturally relevant and patient-centered methods for evaluating the effects of spinal deformity and its treatment. He also directs the ISSG Annual Resident and Fellows Instructional Course, the largest comprehensive cadaver-based educational program for spine surgery trainees worldwide.
Before joining Banner Health and the University of Arizona, Dr. Bess served as National Medical Director for Spine Surgery at HCA Healthcare. In that role, he led enterprise-wide initiatives in spine-program development, outcomes measurement, quality improvement, clinical research, physician collaboration, and healthcare delivery across one of the nation’s largest healthcare systems.
Dr. Bess has authored more than 550 peer-reviewed publications, has an h-index of 78, has delivered more than 200 invited lectures and visiting professorships nationally and internationally, and has secured more than $25 million in research and educational funding to support multicenter research, surgeon education, and outcomes-based spine care. In recognition of his contributions to spine surgery, research, and education, he received the 2025 Award for Meritorious Achievement in Orthopedic Surgery, jointly presented by the American Association of Neurological Surgeons and the Congress of Neurological Surgeons. In addition to his clinical, academic, and leadership work, Dr. Bess is committed to international service and has provided pro bono spine care to children in Ethiopia, Ghana, and Colombia through global medical missions.
