Alfred O. Bonati, M.D. founded the Gulf Coast Orthopedic Center for Special Surgery of Joint Disease to perform arthroscopic surgery on the hips, knees, shoulders and wrists. Dr. Bonati then established the Bonati Spine Institute, the first orthopedic ambulatory surgical center in the United States to be granted a Certificate of Need to build and operate a surgical facility outside of a hospital, and the birthplace of the world’s premiere advanced spine surgery.
Dr. Bonati, was an early advocate of arthroscopic surgery because he saw that the scarring was minimal, it shortened the patient’s recovery time, and could be performed on an outpatient basis using only local anesthesia.
In the beginning, he turned his focus on arthroscopic surgery to correct problems in the spine and began performing percutaneous discectomies. During this time, he developed advanced arthroscopic techniques and instruments for spine surgery.
He subsequently obtained patents from the United States Patent and Trademark Office for his methods and instruments, including the use of a laser on the spine. He was also the first person to obtain FDA approval for the use of the Holmium YAG laser in spine surgery.
These methods and instruments are today called the Bonati Spine Procedures. Dr. Bonati quickly gained worldwide recognition as a pioneer in the research and development of advanced arthroscopic techniques in spine surgery and has made multiple presentations to surgeons and scientists throughout the world.
The Bonati Spine Institute is the proud recipient of the first FDA approval for advanced technology of spine surgery, allowing him to perform the world’s most advanced spine surgery procedures. This dedication to innovation that is in the best interest of the patient continues on. In 2005 he obtained patents from the United States Patent and Trademark Office on his method and instruments for removing orthopedic hardware. In 2006 he obtained patents for additional surgical instruments for use in removing orthopedic hardware.
The Bonati Spine Procedures are performed exclusively at the Bonati Spine Institute in Hudson, Florida and have been performed successfully over 45,000 times.