Fernando Checo, MD

About Fernando Checo, MD

Dr. Fernando Checo is a Fellowship trained, Board Certified Fellow of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgery. Dr. Checo a graduate of Binghamton University completed his medical training at Meharry Medical College in Nashville, Tennessee from which he graduated with Honor and Distinction. This was followed by an Orthopaedic Surgery residency at the University of Connecticut. Dr. Checo completed his combined Orthopaedic/Neurosurgery Spine Fellowship at the world renowned and highly ranked New England Baptist Hospital at Tufts University.

Dr. Checo is an Orthopaedic Spinal Surgeon who specializes in non operative and operative management of cervical, thoracic and lumbar spinal conditions. Dr. Checo is an expert in complex spinal surgeries such as revisions, scoliosis, flat back syndrome and tumors.

Dr. Checo is affiliated with the Orthopaedic Surgery programs at Stonybrook and Northwell where he is actively involved in the teaching and training of Orthopaedic Surgery residents. In addition Dr. Checo is a Clinical Asssociate Professor of Surgery at Northwell Hospital at Plainview and a Clinical Spine Surgery Facilitator at Winhtrop University Hospital.

Dr. Checo has authored, and co-authored a number of peer reviewed articles and has contributed many chapters in spine surgical techniques in various textbooks. Dr. Checo is an active member of several medical societies including, the North American Spine Society (NASS), American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS), and the International Society for the Advancement of Spine surgery (ISASS).

Dr. Checo has also volunteered with the “Butterfly Foundation”. Recently, while in the Dominican Republic, Dr. Checo performed complex scoliosis surgeries and participated in educating the native Orthopaedic Surgery residents.

Fernando Checo, MD Featured Articles

Dr. Checo was recently featured in a Long Island MDNews article about his collaboration with neurosurgeon Dr. Shah in treating and removing spinal tumors.

Since 2012, Drs. Checo and Shah have combined their expertise and highly personalized care to treat spinal cord tumors. Both fellowship-trained, they bring a multidisciplinary approach to challenging procedures and provide the most advanced surgical techniques to patients.

The spinal column is the most common site for bone metastasis, treatment for which accounts for the majority of surgeries Drs. Shah and Checo perform together. Regardless of the type of tumor, however, they consider the same factors — size, neurologic compromise and spinal instability — in determining whether surgery would be beneficial.

“That’s where having two spine specialists in the operating room is an advantage,” Dr. Checo says. “It cuts down on error, it’s faster, and we’re able to discuss intraoperatively how to best remove the tumor and at what point we’ve reached our objective.”

See the full article here

Neck and Spine Surgery Expertise

As an expert in neck and spinal surgery, Dr. Checo specializes in performing several complex procedures, including spinal revisions, scoliosis, flat back syndrome, and tumor removal procedures.

Soles 4 Souls

Even before becoming a physician at The Central Orthopedic Group, Dr. Checo was passionate about putting his orthopedics knowledge to use by helping others during his time at The New England Musculoskeletal Institute.

World Spine Outreach

Dr. Checo traveled to the Dominican Republic with the Butterfly Foundation in 2016 as part of an international humanitarian initiative. He helped local surgical residents at the Salvator Gutier Hospital.