L. Erik Westerlund, MD, FACS

About L. Erik Westerlund

Erik Westerlund, MD, FACS, graduated from The University of Virginia with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Biological Sciences in Charlottesville, VA, and he earned his medical degree from Georgetown University School of Medicine in Washington, DC. After medical school, he went to the University of Virginia Health Sciences Center where he completed a general surgery internship and a post-doctoral research fellowship in Applied Orthopaedic Biomechanics. He also completed his residency in orthopaedic surgery at the University of Virginia Health Sciences Center in Charlottesville, VA. To receive his speciality in spine surgery, Dr. Westerlund completed a fellowship at the Thomas Jefferson University Medical Center and Rothman Institute Division of Spine Surgery in Philadelphia, PA.

Dr. Westerlund is a member of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery and the North American Spine Society. He is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons and a member of the Georgia Orthopedic Society and Southern Orthopedic Association. Dr. Westerlund has published extensively in scientific journals and he has published numerous textbook chapters. He will continue to research spinal disease and injuries at the Hughston Foundation and to present his findings at national and international meetings.

Dr. Westerlund specializes in orthopaedic spinal surgery with an emphasis on minimally invasive techniques. As a fellowship-trained reconstructive spine surgeon, Dr. Westerlund appreciates that every patient is unique and that every neck and back problem requires a special, thoughtful solution. Many of his patients do not require surgery, and are often successfully treated using nonsurgical options. For those who do require surgery, he uses the least invasive operative solution possible to help the patient heal quickly and achieve the very best outcome.