Derek "Duke" Thomas

Dr. Thomas returns to his roots, having grown up in Moon Township. He was Valedictorian of his high school class and graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of Notre Dame with a degree in Chemical Engineering. He obtained his medical degree from Virginia Commonwealth University/Medical College of Virginia in 1999.

Moving further South, Dr. Thomas served his Internship and Residency in General and Orthopaedic Surgery at the Medical University of South Carolina in 2004. While there he received the John Arthur Seigling Award for the Highest Orthopaedic In-training Exam Score.

Dr. Thomas accepted a fellowship in Spine Surgery at the Combined St. Mary’s Medical Center / Stanford University, Palo Alto, California. The fellowship was completed in July 2005.

The focus of his practice includes a broad range of spinal disorders along with general orthopaedics. Notably, he has participated in the FDA trials for disc replacement products like Prodisc and Flexicore. He was involved in the FDA trial of X-stop which is a treatment that offers patients a minimally invasive way to treat spinal stenosis. Dr. Thomas’ patients will also benefit from his extensive experience with Kyphoplasty, a minimally invasive way to treat compression fractures in the elderly.