Dr. Richard Kahmann is a distinguished, board-certified, fellowship trained orthopedic spine surgeon specializing in the treatment and care of disorders and deformities of the spine. He has been a leading partner of Santa Barbara Orthopedic Associates since 1989. Dr. Kahmann has dedicated his career to improving patient care through the advancement of new and better treatments and technology for spine surgery. He has continuously introduced innovative techniques in treating his patients. Dr. Kahmann is an expert in disc replacement, minimally invasive METRx techniques and image guided surgery. He is an expert in the treatment of cervical myelopathy, cervical and lumbar degenerative disc disease, spinal stabilization and fusion for traumatic and degenerative spinal instability and deformity. Dr. Kahmann brings the expertise necessary to evaluate and, if required, treat disorders of spinal alignment such as scoliosis or imbalance. Dr. Kahmann has advanced training in minimally invasive techniques which spare the muscle when surgically accessing the spine using METRx image guided surgery. Traditional, open spine surgery involves cutting or stripping the muscles from the spine. Minimally invasive spine surgery involves a small incision or incisions and muscle dilation, allowing the surgeon to separate the muscles surrounding the spine rather than cutting them. Research has proven that minimally invasive spine surgery is both safe and effective. Patients who undergo minimally invasive spine surgery benefit dramatically over those who received open spine surgery. Patients require less recovery time and reduced hospital stays due to reduced trauma of muscles and soft tissues surrounding the spine. In fact, the majority of Dr. Kahmann’s spine surgeries can be performed on an outpatient basis. His patients’ satisfaction is apparent from numerous online testimonials. Dr. Kahmann operates at both Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital and the Santa Barbara Surgery Center. Dr. Kahmann graduated Summa Cum Laude and Phi Beta Kappa from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) with a B.A. in Biology. He received his Medical Degree at The David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. Dr. Kahmann is one of a select group of American doctors elected to the Medical Honors Society Alpha Omega Alpha. Dr. Kahmann subsequently completed his surgical internship at the University of California, San Diego, and Orthopedic Residency at the University of California Orthopedic Hospital Research Center at UCLA. After residency, Dr. Kahmann furthered his training in an intensive fellowship program with the highly acclaimed John H. Moe spine fellowship at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities Spine Center - one of only 16 spine programs accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) - under the Director David S. Bradford M.D. This broad base of experience in well-established and new cutting-edge techniques has given Dr. Kahmann a unique skill set in patient care for high-quality treatment both surgical and non-surgical. A leader in his field, Dr. Kahmann is board-certified by the American Board of Orthopedic Surgery. He has published numerous peer-reviewed journal articles and clinical research papers at national and international meetings. He has given presentations on new treatment techniques for spinal trauma, disorders and deformities of the spine, scoliosis in adolescents and the deformities of the adult and adolescent spine. Dr. Kahmann is a member of several academic and scientific organizations such as the American Association of Orthopedic Surgeons (AAOS), the North American Spine Society (NASS), the California Orthopedic Association (COA), the Scoliosis Research Society (SRS). Dr. Kahmann maintains his expertise as a spine surgeon by regularly attending national and international spine conferences keeping current with research in orthopedic surgery and disorders of the spine. When not practicing state of the art medicine, you can find Dr. Kahmann spending time with his family, hiking, skiing, golfing or flying.