The Medical Journey of Dr. Mark Dekutoski

In a medical career that covers more than a quarter century as a doctor, Mark Dekutoski MD has had a great career to examine and learn from. A world-renowned orthopedic spine surgeon and researcher into medical conditions of the spine, he has demonstrated his considerable skill as a surgeon, as well as his capability to lead studies and research that leads to major breakthroughs in medicine. Man of these breakthroughs are so cutting edge as to be beyond comprehension at the turn of the century. In fact, Dr. Mark Dekutoski has demonstrated an extremely high level of research ability, to the point that he has so far published well over 50 peer-reviewed articles.

Dr. Mark Dekutoski has done extensive research into the orthopedic surgery area, both as an individual and as part of a number of research teams looking for major improvements in the area, especially with regard to spinal issues. A few of his published papers have won awards in recent years, but none has been more significant than his paper entitled, “The AOSpine North America Cervical Spondylotic Myelopathy Study: Perioperative complication rates associated with surgical treatment based on a prospective multicenter study of 302 patients.” That one attained Global Spine Congress Best Paper Award 1st Place from AOSPINE International.

When you really examine this level of experience and combine it with his time as a surgeon, what you find is a great surgeon who treats patients with uncommon passion, but also someone whose decision-making ability is excellent. That has helped him work to shape the future of the field of orthopedic spinal surgery.

Profile: Dr. Mark Dekutoski, MD

Over the course of a medical career that now spans nearly a quarter century, Dr. Mark Dekutoski MD has had a great career to look at and learn from. As a world-renowned orthopedic spine surgeon, he has demonstrated his skills as a surgeon, as well as a researcher who is uniquely capable of leading breakthroughs in medicine that may have been beyond anyone’s comprehension just a decade or two ago.

Advances in medicine are nothing new to Dr. Mark Dekutoski. Over his career, he has demonstrated significant research ability. To date he has published more than 60 peer-reviewed articles as part of his extensive research into the orthopedic surgery area. That research was performed both on his own and as part of research teams looking for major improvements in many aspects of orthopedics. Several of Mark Dekutoski’s published work has won awards in recent years, including the paper “The AOSpine North America Cervical Spondylotic Myelopathy Study: Perioperative complication rates associated with surgical treatment based on a prospective multicenter study of 302 patients,” which won Global Spine Congress Best Paper Award 1st Place from AOSPINE International.

Dr. Mark Dekutoski’s presented case studies

Since 1993, Dr. Mark Dekutoski has been practicing medicine -- specifically, he’s grown to one of the world’s most renowned orthopedic surgeons with specialities in adult and pediatric spine issues. Formerly serving the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota for approximately 20 years in its Department of Orthopedic Surgery, he moved to The Center for Orthopedic Research and Education, or The CORE Institute, in Phoenix, Arizona in 2013 to continue his work within this niche. At The CORE Institute, doctors work directly in orthopedic research, academia and individualized patient care.

It was Mark Dekutoski’s 20-plus years of medical practice that made him an ideal candidate for a role with The CORE Institute, including his hands-on excellence in the field and his plethora of peer-reviewed research on topics in the surgical field. To date, Dekutoski has published more than 60 articles, including at least three award-winning research pieces alongside his peers -- best paper and clinical awards that were won in 2010, 2011 and 2013, respectively. One of his presented and published case studies, for example, examined recurrent back pain within a 15-year-old female athlete, questioning best treatment. Another paper looks at a retired truck driver with progressive axial low back pain in addition to other issues and treatment procedures for him as he changes his levels of activity in retirement.

Mark Dekutoski MD - Chairperson, Surgeon and Researcher

Mark Dekutoski MD thrives on challenges. He enjoys the process of learning, teaching and overcoming. In addition to his orthopedic spinal surgery practice, he has been chair of committees with the Scoliosis Research Society and AOSpine North America. He is also a member of North American Spine Society and Society for Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery.
While many medical professionals go into the field in order to make money, Mark Dekutoski MD has been on academic salary. What this means is that he has chosen a salary that is in the low 5th percentile of pay. Although he has chosen to make less money than his peers, he has remained in the 99th percentile for productivity. Mark Dekutoski MD works for the betterment of people’s lives not at their expense. He has been in practice since 1993 at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota and left that facility in 2013. Prior to that he completed high level academic accomplishments that helped prepare him for his career as well as high level referral practices in the field of spine deformity and tumor trauma.

During Mark Dekutoski MD’s time at the Mayo Clinic he developed MIS Spine Techniques as well as developed MIS Instruments Medtronic Longitude. These discoveries and innovations have helped further his field greatly and he continues to strive for excellence in the boards he serves on, the practice he maintains and his research.