Robert H. Byers, MD

Specialties

Dr. Byers has continued to make every effort to provide his patients with the ultimate experience in diagnostic evaluation, during which time is taken to explain the underlying pathology and treatment options, followed by appropriate non-​operative, and if necessary, operative care. He is responsible for popularizing the use of therapeutic injections in the treatment of spinal disorders in Marin which has resulted in a very high satisfaction rate in our post-​operative patients that is now documented by our use of outcomes collection in which the patients tell us if we have been successful. Specifically, the treatment of acute disc herniations has changed from automatic [and often premature] use of surgery to a more appropriate and natural history based intervention which usually results in the avoidance of surgery. On the other hand, when needed, Dr. Byers has also mastered the skills utilized for less invasive surgical techniques. Furthermore, with the addition of a second fellowship trained spine surgeon to the practice, Dr. Byers and Dr. Su are able to perform complex and complicated spinal surgeries that had required treatment outside of Marin County in the past. In fact, the combined talent of both surgeons on such cases permits surgical time to be markedly reduced as is the anesthetic exposure. Of course, we always reserve surgery as the last choice, and only when alternative treatments have failed.

History

Established in 1993.

Dr. Byers joined Mt. Tam Orthopedics in 1993 as the group’s first spine surgeon, and has provided patients from Marin County and the Greater Bay Area with state-​of-​the-​art spine care since then. After graduating first in his class at George Washington University School of Medicine, he completed his internship and residency at University of California at San Francisco. He subsequently spent an additional year of training in a Fellowship of Disorders of the Spine, under the guidance of Robert G. Watkins, M.D., at the world-​renowned Kerlan and Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic located in L.A., where many sports professionals seek spinal and orthopedic care. He then enjoyed eight years of private practice at Cedars-​Sinai Medical Center before returning to the Bay Area in 1993. His years of experience and expertise have been recognized by his peers who voted him into the [415] Top Doctors, as well as San Francisco Super Doctors in 2013.