About Us

Dr. Christopher F. Wagener

Board Certified Orthopedic Spine Surgeon

Dr. Wagener is originally from Southern California. Prior to establishing the Elevate Ortho Spine practice i Mid-Town Manhattan, Dr. Wagener moved to South Florida after a 15-year career in the Northeast where he served as the Chair of Spine Surgery and Vice-Chair of Staff at a major hospital network, leading a large team of spine surgeons and health care providers focused on neck and back care. His reputation and results made him one of the busiest spine surgeons in his region, performing more than 350 surgeries per year.

Dr. Wagener’s elite training and practice experience have made him one of the nation’s premier surgeons and an expert in spine surgery. He is a graduate of Georgetown University School of Medicine, where he graduated with honors. He performed his Orthopedic Surgery training at Georgetown University Hospital before completing a spine surgery fellowship at the world-famous Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.

Dr. Wagener has performed thousands of procedures on the neck and back, helping patients to live better lives. His professional interests are in minimally invasive and alternative spine surgery procedures, and he is considered an expert and innovator in the field. He has been on the development team of multiple FDA-approved minimally invasive surgical implants and is an international speaker/expert, author, and instructor on minimally invasive surgical techniques.

Dr. Wagener believes in an honest and up-front approach to his patients’ problems. “I am lucky to have done a lot of spine surgery as well as having access to a network of colleagues to discuss cases,” he notes. “I have a sense of who will benefit from surgery and who will not. In sensitive cases involving surgery of the neck and back, experience matters.”

When Dr. Wagener is not doing spine surgery, he enjoys spending time with his two young children and traveling with his wife, Marie, a dermatologist. In the last few years, he has traveled to Iceland, England, Peru, Argentina, Brazil/Amazon, Panama, and Nicaragua. “Seeing and experiencing different parts of the world allows me to connect with all kinds of patients, as well as appreciate what we have at home,” he says. “Without question, it has made me a better person and a better physician.”

He is also an avid fisherman and surfer, and enjoys playing golf.