Maxwell S. Laurans, MD

Maxwell Laurans, MD, is a neurosurgeon at Yale Medicine who specializes in spine tumors and degenerative spine conditions. He begins each patient interaction by asking in-depth questions about symptoms, complaints and patient history to figure out the source of the problem. Dr. Laurans believes in taking his time to get to know his patients, who might require several visits.

In addition to understanding his patients’ conditions, Dr. Laurans works with his patients to define their personal goals, which he uses to develop a treatment plan that is more minimally invasive and maximally effective for the situation. “When people focus on something important to them, it allows them to take those next steps and to recover from their operations,” he says.

For Dr. Laurans, spine surgery is not just a procedure, it’s a passion, one that he identified early in medical school. “I love the excitement of discovering a new problem, identifying the issue, trying to design and execute the best intervention possible, and then, in the long run, helping people recover from that intervention to become more mobile, healthy, and able to enjoy their lives afterwards,” he says.