Dr. Neil Manson MD, FRCSC, Dip Sports Med

Dr. Manson attended Dalhousie University Medical School and completed his Orthopaedic Surgery Residency Training at Dalhousie in 2004.

He completed sub-specialty training in Orthopaedic Sports Medicine at the University of Cincinnati in Cincinnati, Ohio under the mentorship of Dr. Rob Heidt and his team. This fellowship solidified expertise in the medical care of the injured athlete. Responsibilities included care of athletes for the NFL Cincinnati Bengals and NCAA University of Cincinnati Bear Cats, Association of Tennis Professionals, AHL Cincinnati Mighty Ducks, Cincinnati Flying Pig Marathon, as well as multiple other sports.

Dr. Manson completed further sub-specialty training in the area of Spine Care at Rush University in Chicago, Illinois under the guidance of Dr. Howard An, Dr. Frank Phillips, and their team. This provided a solid acquisition of spine knowledge including the management of complex spinal reconstructions of the cervical, thoracic, and lumbar spine, minimally invasive surgical techniques, and the use of novel technologies to manage spinal pathologies.

Dr. Manson accepted a position within the Division of Orthopaedics in Saint John in 2006 providing spine, sports medicine, and trauma care. He co-founded the Canada East Spine Centre to optimize spine care in New Brunswick via improved spine surgeon collaboration, education, and research. Saint John remains one of the highest volume spine care centres in Canada. Surgeries utilize state of the art technologies: 3D imaging, surgical navigation, intra-operative monitoring, autologous blood return, biologic enhancement, and leading edge instrumentation.

Dr Manson is active as surgical educator for medical and surgical learners. He is a Key Opinion Leader for Medtronic providing peer-to-peer surgeon education, particularly pertaining to minimally invasive surgery and lateral access surgery. He provides subject matter expertise for third party medical management and contributes to Canadian Health Solutions, a leading company delivering professional health management solutions to public and private organizations.

Dr. Manson brings to the hospital an extensive research interest in the area of spine care. His patients provide their time and information, lending to one of the highest single surgeon enrolments in the Canadian Spine Outcomes Research Network database. This Network, through the Canadian Spine Society, includes more than 20 centres working to improve the understanding and management of spine pathologies and treatments. This research has been acknowledged and accepted for presentation both nationally and internationally. The topics of interest address problems and treatments of the neck and back include the following:

• The use of bone morphogenic protein in obtaining fusion in lumbar spinal surgery
• Adjacent segment degeneration following lumbar fusion
• The challenges of complex thoracolumbar reconstruction
• Construct failure in thoracolumbar fusion
• The role of nerve root injections in alleviating the need for spinal surgery
• Traditional open versus minimally invasive surgery to treat degenerative pathology

These research efforts have been possible through the generous support of provincial granting agencies, Chesley Research Foundation, Worksafe NB, and industry.

Dr Manson remains strongly committed to providing Sports Medicine care. He provides field of play and surgical coverage as the Head Team Physician for the QMJHL Saint John Sea Dogs. He also is active providing care for the National Alpine Ski Team as a traveling Team Physician. He provided medical care at the XXI Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver for the Men’s Alpine Ski venue in 2010 and many other national championships and international competitions. He remains active skiing, running, mountain biking, and kayaking.