About

Dr. Eeric Truumees is a board-certified, fellowship-trained orthopedic spine surgeon at Texas Spine and Scoliosis in Austin, Texas. Dr. Truumees combines expertise as a practicing spine surgeon with significant roles in academia over the years. He is currently a professor of spine surgery at the University of Texas Dell Medical School in Austin, Texas, helping to train new spine surgeons in the most advanced minimally invasive spine surgery techniques and artificial disc replacement.

Dr. Truumees is internationally recognized as a leader in spine surgery. He is a past president of the North American Spine Society which is the world’s largest association of spine surgeons, physical medicine and rehabilitation specialists and other spine experts. Dr. Truumees also was the Editor of The Spine Journal, which is one of the main research journals for the field of spine. He has been a member of the editorial boards of several other prestigious spine journals including Clinical Spine.

Dr. Truumees has served on the Board of Directors for the North American Spine Society, where he acted as Director for the Administration and Development Council. Dr. Truumees also has held several roles within the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. 

Dr. Truumees research has been published in internationalj journals such as Spine, Medical Engineering & Physics, The Spine Journal, Neurosurgery, Orthopaedics, Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery and many more. Recently, Dr. Truumees and his partners completed an "Essential Technique" guide on microdiscectomy surgery for The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery Essential Surgical Techniques. He has authored more than 100 peer-reviewed articles and textbook chapters.

With his partners in Austin, and with colleagues around the world, Dr. Truumees remains actively involved in spine research and spine clinical outcomes. Texas Spine and Scoliosis, for example, has three active clinical trials going on related to pioneering advanced spine care. 

Dr. Truumees earned his undergraduate and medical degrees, with high honors, at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. He then completed an internship in General Surgery followed by a residency in Orthopedic Surgery at the prestigious Cleveland Clinic Foundation in Cleveland. Dr. Truumees furthered his education by completing a fellowship in Spinal Surgery at William Beaumont Hospital with the world-renowned spine surgeon Dr. Harry Herkowitz in Royal Oak, Michigan.

Prior to moving to Austin in 2010, Dr. Truumees was a spine surgeon at William Beaumont Hospital in Michigan, where he also served as Clinical Director for the Harold W. Gehring Center for Biomechanical Research and Implant Retrieval. Dr. Truumeees also served as Adjunct Faculty for the Bioengineering Center at Wayne State University in Detroit. Today, he serves as faculty for the University of Texas, Dell School of Medicine and Spine Subspecialty Director for the university’s residency in Orthopaedic Surgery.

Dr. Truumees is a member of the following professional societies: the American Orthopaedic Association, the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, the North American Spine Society, the Cervical Spine Research Society, the Mid-America Orthopaedic Association, the Foundation for Orthopaedics and Complex Spine (FOCOS), and many more.

At Texas Spine and Scoliosis in central Texas, Dr. Truumees treats cervical, thoracic and lumbar spine disorders. His specialties include spinal trauma and complex/revision spine surgery. Philosophically, he emphasizes non-surgical treatment options in advance of spine surgery and works closely with the non-surgical Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation specialists at Texas Spine and Scoliosis.  Consequently, patients travel from a five-state region to the spine center of excellence for the unique multi-disciplinary team approach with spine surgeons, physical medicine MDs, spine therapists, diagnostics and injection suite under one roof. 

Dr. Truumees is proficient in minimally invasive spine surgery where he operates through tubular retractors the size of a ball point pen. This enables him to treat spine problems through a half-inch incision rather than a 3-inch long incision which is used by less proficient spine surgeons. Consequently, many of Dr. Truumees’ patients are able to go home the same day after spine surgery for a quicker and less painful recovery. Dr. Truumees is proficient in artificial disc replacement in the neck, using several of the FDA-approved artificial discs for cervical disc herniations. With artificial disc replacement, Dr. Truumees is able to retain the natural motion of the neck and lessen the likelihood of other disc herniations.