Gordon Mao, MD

Bio

Gordon Mao, MD is an assistant professor of neurological surgery at Indiana University of Medicine. He joined IU in the summer of 2021 after completing extensive neurosurgical training in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvannia, and additional postgradual specialty fellowship at Johns Hopkins University in complex spinal surgery and robotics spinal surgery.

His clinical practice includes treating general neurosurgical diseases, which includes brain tumors, neurotrauma and degenerative spinal conditions with an emphasis on minimally invasive management of back and neck pain along with robotic-assisted spinal surgeries. Dr. Mao has extensive experience with various FDA-approved spinal surgery robotic platforms available from different major vendors and the Synaptive robotic exoscope. His main goal for each and every patient is pain relief, improvement in strength and function and to restore their quality of life through the least invasive intervention, whether that involves surgery or noninvasive medical treatment modalities.

Dr. Mao also has strong clinical research interests that span a wide variety of neurosurgical conditions. He has an extensive research background with more than 40 journal publications, national meeting presentations and various book chapters. He is currently interested in studying the utility, adoption, and efficacy of robotic technology in aiding and advancing spinal surgery and promoting better outcomes after surgery. He also looks for new techniques in minimally invasive surgery to complement existing approaches to treat spinal condition. Other long-term interests include improved neuroimaging and biomarkers testing after acute spinal cord injury to predict outcomes and guide medical management after surgery, indications and factors affecting surgery in major spine trauma and fractures, as well as risk stratification for elective surgery in elderly patients older than 80 years of age.

Outside of the OR, Dr. Mao enjoys hiking, outdoor activities, tennis, reading, and most of all, spending time with his family and young daughters. While he is new to the state and Indianapolis area, he has discovered plentiful new trails and parks around the city to explore.