Meet David McConda, MD

Quick Facts:

• Specialty: Orthopedic Spine Surgery — Cervical, Lumbar, and SI Joint

• Title: Orthopedic Spine Surgeon, Aptiva Health

• Fellowship: AOSpine North America Spine Surgery Fellowship · OrthoCarolina Spine Center · Charlotte, NC

• Residency: Orthopaedic Surgery · West Virginia University School of Medicine

• MD: University of Louisville School of Medicine · Louisville, KY

• Undergraduate: Georgetown College · Bachelor of Science, Computer Science · Cum Laude

• Board Certified: American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery (ABOS) · 2021

• Licensed in: Kentucky and Indiana (Indiana Professional License since 2019)

• Treats: Cervical and lumbar disc herniation, sciatica, spinal stenosis, spondylolisthesis, degenerative disc disease, SI joint dysfunction, failed back surgery, cervical and lumbar radiculopathy

• Specialized Procedures: Microdiscectomy, anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF), minimally invasive lumbar fusion, SI joint fusion (SI-Bone iFuse), cervical disc replacement

• Locations: Louisville, KY & Lexington, KY

• Course Faculty: AOSpine North America · SI-Bone surgeon training programs

• Active Peer Reviewer: Spine Journal · Journal of Spinal Disorders & Techniques

• Accepting New Patients: Yes

• Schedule: Online or call 502-909-0772 (Louisville) or 859-592-1008 (Lexington)

About Dr. McConda

Dr. David McConda is among the most credentialed early-career spine surgeons practicing in Kentucky and Indiana. He completed his spine surgery fellowship through the AOSpine North America Spine Surgery Fellowship at OrthoCarolina Spine Center in Charlotte, North Carolina — one of the largest and most respected orthopedic spine programs in the United States. AOSpine is the international spine-surgery education foundation that sets the curriculum and clinical standards for spine surgeons worldwide; its North America fellowship program is a competitive, year-long subspecialty training pathway that selects and prepares surgeons for the full spectrum of cervical, thoracic, and lumbar spine care.

Dr. McConda's roots are in Kentucky. He earned his Bachelor of Science in Computer Science Cum Laude from Georgetown College, then his Doctor of Medicine from the University of Louisville School of Medicine in 2010. He completed his Orthopaedic Surgery residency at West Virginia University School of Medicine in Morgantown, where he trained across the breadth of musculoskeletal trauma, joint reconstruction, and spinal disorders before pursuing his subspecialty fellowship at OrthoCarolina.

His engineering and computer science background — uncommon among spine surgeons — informs how he approaches spinal hardware, motion-preservation implants, and the biomechanics of fusion. Modern spine surgery depends on precise three-dimensional planning, image-guided navigation, and an intuition for how implants distribute load across a patient's spine. Surgeons who entered medicine from a quantitative engineering background often bring that intuition with them.

Dr. McConda is board-certified by the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery (ABOS) — the certifying body of orthopedic surgery in the United States — having achieved certification on November 18, 2021, and is actively participating in Maintenance of Certification.

He has authored or co-authored peer-reviewed research published in *Spine Journal*, the *Journal of Spinal Disorders & Techniques*, *Orthopedics*, and *World Neurosurgery*, with research focusing on spinal fusion outcomes, minimally invasive techniques, and complication analysis. He also serves as an active peer reviewer for *Spine Journal* and the *Journal of Spinal Disorders & Techniques* — invited reviewer status, by editorial board appointment, that signifies recognized expertise in the published literature.

Beyond his patient practice, Dr. McConda has served as course faculty for surgeon-training programs run by AOSpine and SI-Bone — teaching minimally invasive lumbar fusion technique and SI joint fusion technique to other practicing spine surgeons. Course faculty appointments are extended to surgeons whose technical skill and case experience are recognized as exemplary by the device manufacturers and educational foundations themselves.

Dr. McConda has been licensed in Indiana since 2019, which positions him to begin seeing patients at Aptiva Health's new Indianapolis clinic when it opens in April 2026.

AOSpine Fellowship Training: Why It Matters for Spine Patients

AOSpine is the international spine-care arm of the AO Foundation, a Swiss-based orthopedic education foundation founded in 1958 that has trained more than 800,000 surgeons worldwide. AOSpine sets the clinical and surgical standards used by spine surgeons globally and runs a tiered fellowship program in North America designed to produce subspecialty-trained spine surgeons with deep technical exposure across the cervical, thoracic, and lumbar spine.

The AOSpine North America Fellowship at OrthoCarolina Spine Center — where Dr. McConda completed his subspecialty training — is one of a small number of AOSpine-affiliated programs in the United States. OrthoCarolina is one of the largest orthopedic groups in the country, with case volumes that allow fellows to scrub on a substantial breadth of spine surgery during the fellowship year: minimally invasive lumbar fusion, anterior and posterior cervical procedures, motion-preservation surgery (cervical disc replacement, lumbar disc replacement), revision spine surgery, complex deformity, and SI joint fusion.

Many of the fellowship's alumni go on to practice in the largest spine centers in the country and to publish, teach, and lead surgeon training programs themselves. Dr. McConda joined that group: today he serves as course faculty teaching minimally invasive lumbar fusion and SI joint fusion technique to other surgeons.

For patients in Louisville, Lexington, and Indianapolis, what this means in practical terms is that the same standardized AOSpine clinical approach used by spine surgeons globally is what Dr. McConda brings to your case — refined through subspecialty training at one of the largest spine centers in the U.S. and continuously updated through his ongoing peer-review work for the major spine journals.

Conditions Treated & Specialized Procedures

specialized procedures:

• Lumbar microdiscectomy

• Anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF)

• Cervical disc replacement

• Minimally invasive lumbar fusion (MAS-TLIF)

• Lumbar laminectomy

• Lumbar laminotomy

• Sacroiliac (SI) joint fusion (SI-Bone iFuse)

• Lumbar disc decompression

• Revision spine surgery

Dr. McConda’s Education & Training

• Spine Surgery Fellowship — AOSpine North America Spine Surgery Fellowship · OrthoCarolina Spine Center · Charlotte, NC · 2017

• Orthopaedic Surgery Residency — West Virginia University School of Medicine · Morgantown, WV · 2016

• Doctor of Medicine — University of Louisville School of Medicine · Louisville, KY · 2010

• Bachelor of Science, Computer Science — Georgetown College · Georgetown, KY · 2002 · Cum Laude

Board Certification & Surgical Credentials

• Board Certified, American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery (ABOS) — initial certification November 18, 2021. Actively participating in Maintenance of Certification (MOC).

• Active Peer Reviewer — Spine Journal

• Active Peer Reviewer — Journal of Spinal Disorders & Techniques

• Course Faculty — AOSpine North America (Minimally Invasive Lumbar Fusion training)

• Course Faculty — SI-Bone surgeon training programs

• Licensed by the Kentucky Board of Medical Licensure

• Indiana Professional Licensing Agency, License #01082756A — active since 2019

• Member, American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS)

Selected Publications

Dr. McConda's peer-reviewed work has appeared in leading orthopedic and spine journals, with research focused on spinal fusion outcomes, minimally invasive techniques, and complication analysis:

• McConda DB, Tomberlin JM, Walker JC. Aspergillus fumigatus discitis and osteomyelitis treated with minimally invasive spinal decompression and oral voriconazole in an immunocompromised host. World Neurosurgery. 2018; 119: 18–22.

• McConda DB, Karnes JM, Hamilton DA, Daffner SD. A retrospective review of pulmonary embolism in orthopedic patients. Orthopedics. 2015; 38(9): e795–e800.

• McConda DB, Mologne TS, Carter EA, Provencher MT. Reverse shoulder arthroplasty: complications and management. Spine Journal (proceedings).

• Additional peer-reviewed contributions and conference proceedings in Spine Journal and Journal of Spinal Disorders & Techniques.

A complete publication list is available on Dr. McConda's CV.

Teaching, Course Faculty & Editorial Service

Dr. McConda contributes to the broader spine surgery community as both a teacher and a reviewer of new research:

As course faculty for AOSpine North America, he has taught minimally invasive lumbar fusion technique to practicing spine surgeons attending AOSpine's continuing-medical-education programs. AOSpine course faculty are nominated by AOSpine North America's curriculum leadership.

As course faculty for SI-Bone — the device manufacturer that pioneered the minimally invasive SI joint fusion (iFuse) procedure — he has taught SI joint fusion technique to other surgeons. SI-Bone course faculty are surgeons whose case volume and technical proficiency are recognized by SI-Bone's surgical training program.

As an active peer reviewer for *Spine Journal* (the official journal of the North American Spine Society) and the *Journal of Spinal Disorders & Techniques*, he evaluates submitted manuscripts before publication, ensuring methodological rigor and clinical relevance — a service that is invitation-only and reflects active engagement with the published spine literature.

Where Dr. McConda Treats Patients

1. Spine Center of Excellence: 3615 Newburg Road, Louisville, KY 40218. Tel: 502-909-0772

2. Louisville - Downtown: 300 South 13th Street, Louisville, KY 40203. Tel: 502-583-1011

3. Louisville - East: 10100 Linn Station Road, Suite 1A, Louisville, KY 40223. Tel: 502-909-0772

4. Lexington: 230 Fountain Court, Suite 180, Lexington, KY 40509. Tel: 859-592-1003

How to Schedule a Spine Consultation

Most patients come to Dr. McConda for one of three reasons: persistent neck or back pain that has not responded to conservative care, a second opinion before considering spine surgery elsewhere, or referral from a primary care physician, chiropractor, or pain management physician. He sees patients on commercial insurance, Medicare, Kentucky and Indiana Medicaid, workers' compensation, auto-accident coverage (PIP and MedPay), and cash-pay terms.

A first consultation typically includes a full history, a focused neurological examination, review of any prior imaging (or new imaging on-site if needed), and a candid discussion of treatment options — including whether surgery is the right next step or whether non-surgical care should be tried first. Aptiva Health offers same-day imaging at multiple Kentucky locations and same-week scheduling for physical therapy or interventional pain procedures when needed.

Aptiva Health also offers same-day and walk-in spine appointments at most locations, plus free 24/7 virtual access through the HURT! app — so you do not have to wait weeks to find out what is causing your pain.

Schedule your appointment now!

Frequently Asked Questions

What conditions does Dr. McConda treat?

Dr. McConda treats the full range of cervical and lumbar spine conditions, including cervical and lumbar disc herniations, sciatica, spinal stenosis, spondylolisthesis, degenerative disc disease, sacroiliac joint dysfunction, and failed back surgery syndrome. His practice emphasizes minimally invasive cervical and lumbar surgery and SI joint fusion.

Where did Dr. McConda complete his spine fellowship?

Dr. McConda completed the AOSpine North America Spine Surgery Fellowship at OrthoCarolina Spine Center in Charlotte, North Carolina in 2017. AOSpine is the international spine-surgery education foundation that sets clinical and surgical standards used by spine surgeons worldwide.

Is Dr. McConda board-certified?

Yes. Dr. McConda is board-certified by the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery (ABOS), with initial certification on November 18, 2021. He is actively participating in Maintenance of Certification (MOC).

Where did Dr. McConda go to medical school?

Dr. McConda earned his Doctor of Medicine from the University of Louisville School of Medicine. He is a Kentucky native who completed his undergraduate degree at Georgetown College in Georgetown, Kentucky, where he graduated Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science.

Does Dr. McConda perform minimally invasive spine surgery?

Yes. Dr. McConda specializes in minimally invasive cervical and lumbar surgery, including microdiscectomy, anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF), minimally invasive lumbar fusion (MAS-TLIF), and minimally invasive SI joint fusion (SI-Bone iFuse). He has also served as course faculty teaching minimally invasive lumbar fusion technique to other practicing spine surgeons through AOSpine North America.

Does Dr. McConda perform SI joint fusion?

Yes. Dr. McConda is one of two Aptiva Health spine surgeons who specialize in minimally invasive SI joint fusion using the SI-Bone iFuse technique, and he serves as course faculty teaching the procedure to other surgeons through SI-Bone's surgical training program.

What insurance does Dr. McConda accept?

Dr. McConda accepts most major medical insurance plans, Medicare, most Medicare Advantage plans, Kentucky Medicaid, Passport Molina, United Healthcare Medicaid, Anthem Medicaid, Aetna Better Health, CareSource, Indiana Medicaid, workers' compensation, auto accident coverage (PIP and MedPay), and cash-pay arrangements. Aptiva Health's billing team can verify coverage before your first visit. Call 502-909-0772 for benefit verification.

Does Dr. McConda offer second opinions before spine surgery?

Yes. Many of Dr. McConda's patients come to him for a second opinion before deciding on spine surgery. Bringing prior imaging (MRI, X-ray, CT) and any prior physician notes makes the consultation most useful. Aptiva Health can also obtain prior imaging from outside facilities or perform new on-site imaging as needed.

Where does Dr. McConda practice?

Dr. McConda currently sees patients in Louisville and Lexington, Kentucky, and beginning April 2026 will also see patients at Aptiva Health's new Indianapolis location. He is licensed to practice in both Kentucky and Indiana.

Can I bring my MRI from another provider?

Yes. Bringing prior imaging — MRI, CT, or X-ray — to your first visit accelerates the consultation and saves you the cost of repeat imaging when prior studies are recent and high-quality. If you don't have your imaging, Aptiva can request it from the prior facility or, if needed, perform new imaging on-site at our Louisville and Lexington imaging centers.

How quickly can I be seen for spine pain at Aptiva Health?

Aptiva Health offers same-day and walk-in spine appointments at most locations, with most patients evaluated within 24 hours of contacting us. The HURT! app provides free, 24/7 virtual access to an Aptiva orthopedic provider for after-hours guidance. No primary care referral is required.

Dr. McConda’s Videos

Schedule an appointment with Dr. McConda- 1-844-999-3627