James J. Lynch, MD, FACS, FAANS

Dr. James Lynch is a board-certified neurosurgeon with 30 years of experience specializing in complex spine surgery, cervical disorders, degenerative spine, spinal deformities, trauma, tumor infection, and minimally invasive spine surgery. He is also proficient in endoscopic spine surgery techniques. Dr. Lynch has been performing minimally invasive spine surgery techniques since 2002. He was the first neurosurgeon in Reno to perform MIS TLIF and MAS PLIF procedures and the first to perform both cervical and lumbar artificial disc replacements. Dr. Lynch performs over 600 spine surgeries per year in both hospital and outpatient center settings. He is recognized as an expert in cervical spine disorders and performs over 200 cervical spine fusions a year.

Dr. Lynch is one of a handful of spine surgeons with three fellowships in the specialty of spine surgery. Known as a national leader in outpatient spine surgery, he has been a consultant neurosurgeon in the Reno area since 2000. Dr. Lynch serves as a Partner and Director of Spine Services at Regent Surgical Health, a company involved in developing hospitals and ASC outpatient surgery centers. Dr. Lynch is Chairman and Director of Spine Programs at Surgery Center of Reno. He previously held the role of Chief of Neurosurgery at St. Mary's Hospital.

Dr. Lynch also contributes as a Clinical Assistant Professor at the University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine. He is published in leading journals, including Spine: Journal of Neurosurgery and Neurosurgery. Dr. Lynch is a member of the Society of Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery and the Society of Lateral Access Surgery.

He earned his medical degree from Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland, followed by a Mayo Clinic residency in Rochester, MN. Dr. Lynch completed a spine fellowship under Alan Crockard, MD, at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery in Queens Square, London, UK. At the prestigious Mayo Clinic, Dr. Lynch finished a spine fellowship and an additional spine fellowship under Volker Sonntag, MD, at Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix, AZ. Dr. Lynch is a Fellow of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons.

As a leading authority on Ambulatory Surgery Center (ASC) development, Dr. Lynch lectures at national meetings on outpatient spine surgery and minimally invasive spine surgery. Dr. Lynch was a keynote panelist at the 2016 Becker's 14th Annual Spine, Orthopedic and Pain Management-Driven ASC Conference + The Future of Spine. During the panel, entitled "Independence, healthcare business & outpatient spine — 4 spine surgeons discuss the next five years", Dr. Lynch emphasized the importance of differentiating the spine practice to both patients and payers. Demonstrate you are "doing something different and you have a commodity and not just a surgical service," said Dr. Lynch.

He is as well a pioneer in reducing the cost of orthopedic and spinal implants. As a device expert and innovator, he regularly presents on the topic and is a board member of the Orthopaedic Implant Company - OIC.

Dr. Lynch is a Board Member for the High Fives Foundation. He also serves on the Grant Selection Committee and is the Medical Director for the organization. High Fives Non-Profit Foundation based in Truckee, CA, was founded by Roy Tuscany. The Tahoe based organization is dedicated to raising money and awareness for athletes that have suffered a life-altering injury while pursuing their dream in the winter action sports community. Dr. Lynch was the recipient of the inaugural 2014 High Fives Foundation Community Five Award.

In 2020, Dr. Lynch organized Rounds 4 Heroes as a way to support our heroes on the frontlines battling the COVID-19 pandemic. "Our frontline workers deal with stress daily, and even more so now as they are on the frontlines of this public health crisis," he explained. Rounds 4 Heroes has a shared vision with Feed Our Heroes, and the two projects joined forces to help feed and assist frontline workers and family members throughout Reno, Sparks, and Carson City.

Dr. Lynch was the founder of Spine Nevada and IXE Healthcare Group. In 2022, Spine Nevada merged with Tahoe Fracture and became Swift Institute. He serves as President of Swift Institute, a multidisciplinary group focused on providing value-based specialty care and services.