Spinal neurosurgeon John S. Collis, Jr., M.D., died on November 10, 2020 at home. Dr. Collis, 89, was a pioneer in the spinal field.
Kentucky Roots
Dr. Collis was born in Lexington, Kentucky, and raised in Winchester, Kentucky, by parents John and Elizabeth. In his youth, he taught Sunday School and played the organ at the Disciples of Christ Church. He was also an Eagle Scout.
He graduated from Saint Agatha’s Academy High School in 1947 at only fifteen. He went on to graduate from Kentucky Wesleyan College in 1950 by age eighteen.
Collis excelled at academics and baseball. In 1949, he was offered a major league contract as a pitcher for the Saint Louis Cardinals. Collis declined in order to focus on pursuing a career in medicine. He graduated from University of Louisville Medical School in 1955 and went on to then complete a neurosurgical residency at the Cleveland Clinic in 1961.
Spinal Surgery Specialization: A Groundbreaking Decision
Early neurosurgery focused on head and brain injury, not spine treatment. Dr. Collis saw how common and also how complex back pain and injury were. After 16 years of active medical work at the Clinic, Collis felt there was a dire need for a separate department to specialize in spinal surgery. He thus became the first neurosurgeon to specialize in spinal treatment.
At the time, the medical community did not validate a need for such a specialty. For this reason, Collis chose to go into private practice. Today, many neurosurgeons and orthopedists are spine specialists and over 800,000 spinal surgeries are performed annually.
Donlin M. Long, M.D., former Director of Spinal Surgery at Johns Hopkins Medical Center, spoke of Dr. Collis’ accomplishments at a recent celebration of Collis’ work. He said, “What happened as a result of the Collis decision [to specialize in spinal surgery], John’s example and success convinced the next generation of neurosurgeons and orthopedic surgeons that spinal surgery was a viable subspecialty. Now the majority of neurosurgeons in practice do mostly spinal surgery… John Collis can take credit for all of this. He was the first to tell us why it was important to emphasize the spine and he then showed us how to do it!”
Dr. Collis was also the first to treat spinal pain with steroid injection.
Dr. Collis was an associate professor at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, director of spine surgery at Cleveland Clinic and director of neurosurgery at Lutheran Hospital and St. Vincent Charity Medical Center in Cleveland.
Dr. Collis is referred to as the “father of spinal surgery.” He is known for revolutionizing the treatment of back pain. He specialized in the treatment of cervical and lumbar spine treatment and was the first to establish spinal surgery as a neurosurgery sub-specialty.
Dr. Collis started his practice in 1963 after a residency at Cleveland Clinic. He had treated over 400,000 patients and performed 17,000 spinal surgeries over the course of his career. He was dedicated to his subfield and continued to treat patients at St. Vincent’s up until six days before his death.
This wonderful man gave me back my life in 1980 when I was 30. After the surgery for the L5 disc, in 6 months, I was back on a horse, training and jumping again. God bless you and your family.
This incredible doctor saved my life. I was 13 years old. He found a blood clot pressing upon my optic nerve. He found it. I was told the blood clot was caused by a blow to my head. I had severe headaches that were so painful that a number of aspirins would not relieve any pain at all. When I would take a step, my head would throb. I was starting to lose my eyesight. Was told this blood clot he found would cause me to go blind and eventually I would lose my life. He operated on my head. I believe, from follow up doctor discussions, the surgery took 12 hours. This man has been a hero in my life. I am certain he had an impact on many other’s lives. May our God hold him in His arms.