Our Physicians

Dr. Anson is a Board certified neurosurgeon and a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons. Before practicing in Las Vegas, Dr. Anson was on the faculty of the New Mexico School of Medicine where he was Director of the Cerebrovascular and Skull Base Surgery program. He currently serves as Chief of the Division of Neurosurgery at Southern Hills Hospital. In the past he has served as Chief of Neurosurgery at both Sunrise Hospital and Valley Hospital, Chairman of the Department of Surgery at Sunrise Hospital, and Director of the Nevada Neurosciences Institute.Dr. Anson is a graduate of The University of Illinois College of Medicine. He then completed a fellowship in cerebrovascular and skull base surgery at Barrow Neurologic Institute, arguably one of the top programs anywhere.Dr. Anson has been invited faculty at national courses sponsored by the American Association of Neurological Surgeons where he has instructed other neurosurgeons on new techniques in spine surgery.

Dr. Anson is skilled in all aspects of neurological surgery including, but not limited to:

– Cerebrovascular surgery

– Skull Base surgery

– Minimally invasive and complex spine surgeries

– Trigeminal Neuralgia

– Pituitary Tumors

– Brain Tumors (adult and pediatric)

– Congenital skull and intracranial maladies

Dr. Derek Duke is a Board certified neurosurgeon who has been practicing in Las Vegas since 1999. He received his Doctorate of Medicine with Distinction from the University of Missouri, Kansas City, and completed his neurosurgical residency at the prestigious Mayo Clinic School of Graduate Medical Education in Rochester, Minnesota. Dr. Duke is also a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons.

Dr. Duke has received many honors and awards for academic achievements in which he placed in the top few percentile of the nation. He has published numerous original journal articles and book chapters on many aspects of intracranial and spinal surgery. He is a member of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons.

Dr. Duke is a highly skilled surgeon with expertise in all aspects of spine surgery, ranging from the craniocervical junction to the sacrum.

Dr. James Forage is a Board certified neurosurgeon with expertise in all aspects of spinal and intracranial neurosurgery. After receiving his medical degree from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, MO, he completed his internship and neurosurgical residency at UCLA Medical Center in 2002. Dr. Forage then completed a Spine Fellowship at Barrow Neurological Institute, arguably one of the top programs anywhere.

Dr. Forage was Director of Spine Surgery at Loma Linda University in Loma Linda, California, prior to relocating to Las Vegas in 2004. Dr. Forage is a member of the Congress of Neurologic Surgeons, the American Association of Neurological Surgeons, and the American Medical Association. He received numerous awards and honors for outstanding academic achievement, and has many publications in both spinal and intracranial neurosurgery.

Dr. Forage is a highly skilled neurosurgeon with extensive experience in all aspects of neurosurgery including, but not limited to:

– Degenerative Spinal Conditions

– Brain Tumors

– Parkinson’s Disease

– Cerebrovascular Surgery

– Intracranial Hemorrhage

– Pain Syndromes

Efrem Michael Cox, MD FAANS is Board certified and a fellowship trained neurosurgeon. He currently serves as Chief of the Division of Neurosurgery at St Rose Siena Hospital. He attended the University of California, Los Angeles and graduated with a bachelor degree in psychobiology in 2006. He attended medical school at the University of Iowa, Roy & Lucille Carver College of Medicine and earned a Dean's Scholarship. He was elected into the Gold Humanism Honor Society. During his medical education, he completed the Emory Warner Medical Student Research Fellowship and graduated with research distinction in 2011. He went onto complete his residency in neurological surgery at Case Western Reserve University - University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center in 2018. While in residency, he completed an enfolded spine fellowship with the Case Western Reserve University Department of Orthopaedics in 2017. After his residency training, Dr. Cox went onto complete a post graduate spine fellowship in complex and minimally invasive spine surgery at the University of Miami-Jackson Memorial Hospital in 2019.

Dr. Cox's extensive training enables him to treat all aspects of complex spinal conditions including trauma, degenerative, deformity, oncology and revision spine surgery. He is adept with utilizing the latest forms of navigation and robotics. He has training in both open and minimally invasive spine surgery techniques including endoscopic spine surgery.

In addition to Dr. Cox's passion for management of disorders of the spine, he also specializes in innovative methods for treating complex neurological conditions of the brain including, but not limited to:

– Tumors

– Trauma

– Pain Disorders

– Intracranial Hemorrhages

– Motion preservation

– Minimally invasive and complex spine surgeries

Dr. Michael Seiff is a Board certified neurosurgeon specializing in both spine and brain surgery. Dr. Seiff received his Doctorate of Medicine from the State University of New York Health Science Center in 1992, and completed his neurosurgical training at both Ohio State University Medical Center and Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York. He practiced in Houston, Texas, before relocating to Las Vegas in 2001. Dr. Seiff is a Diplomate of the American Board of Neurological Surgery, and a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons.

Dr. Seiff is currently Chief of Neurosurgery at Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center, and is formerly Chief of Neurosurgery at Valley Hospital Medical Center. Dr. Seiff also serves as Medical Director and Chairperson of the Executive Board of the Nevada Neurosciences Institute, the region’s only comprehensive neurosciences center.

Dr. Seiff has a national reputation in treating Chiari Malformation, a brain disorder for which patients travel to Las Vegas from all over the nation seeking consultation and surgery. He also specializes in minimally invasive spine surgery, helping to develop and refine cutting-edge modern techniques to make spine surgery easier on patients. Dr. Seiff is also certified in both Gamma Knife and Cyberknife Radiosurgery, non-surgical alternatives to certain pain and tumor diagnoses.

Dr. Seiff is highly skilled and has expertise in treating the full spectrum of spinal and intracranial disorders, including but not limited to:

– Brain Tumors

– Degenerative spine conditions

– Chiari Malformations

– Brain Aneurysms

– Brain Hemorrhage

– Hydrocephalus

– Trauma of the spine and brain

– Pain Syndromes

Dr. Angela Palmer is a Board certified neurosurgeon who practices the full range of general neurosurgery with a particular interest in the care of patients with complex congenital, degenerative or traumatic spine conditions. She also treats patients with brain or spine tumors and is trained in minimally-invasive techniques and the newest technologies including robotics and neuro-navigation. Dr. Palmer currently serves as Chief of the Division of Neurosurgery at Southern Hills Hospital.

She obtained her undergraduate degree from MIT and her medical degree from the University of Tennessee, followed by residency training at the University of Arkansas. She has received subspecialty training in adult and pediatric complex spinal surgery during her time in Arkansas.

Dr. Palmer is a strong advocate for customized and effective treatment plans for her patients and seeks to empower patients in the surgical decision-making process. Her goals are to help patients return to being active again. She believes in treating each patient as though she would her own family member.

Dr. Palmer is skilled in all aspects of neurological surgery including, but not limited to:

-Minimally invasive and complex spine surgeries (adult and pediatric)

-Spine tumors

-Pediatric spine conditions (idiopathic, congenital)

-Brain tumors

-Traumatic spine and brain disorders