Dr. Ashraf El Naga is an orthopedic surgeon who specializes in treating spinal conditions and traumatic injuries, including fractures of the spine, pelvis, arms and legs. He directs the orthopedic spine service at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center (ZSFG), where he has led efforts to integrate its work with the care delivered by the neurosurgery and physical medicine teams, as well as more generally to improve spinal care quality and patient access to this care. He also established a referral clinic at ZSFG for traumatic spine and pelvic injuries. At UCSF's Parnassus Heights campus, he manages patients with spinal cord injuries, leads morning spine conferences with his colleagues, and performs both essential complex spine surgeries and elective spine procedures.
El Naga's research focuses on spine and pelvis injuries and fractures with high complication rates. He evaluates advancements in percutaneous spine instrumentation (minimally invasive techniques for inserting spinal fixation devices), studies the economic impact of delayed spinal care in low-resource settings, and analyzes outcomes of patients with traumatic spine injuries. He also explores fluoroscopic guidance (an imaging tool) in procedures to place spinal fixation devices and aims to address deficiencies in current spine fixation techniques.
El Naga earned his medical degree at UCSF and completed a residency in orthopedic surgery at Baylor College of Medicine. He completed fellowships in orthopedic trauma at both Hannover Medical School in Germany and the UCSF Orthopaedic Trauma Institute. He also completed a fellowship in spine surgery at Harborview Medical Center, an affiliate of the University of Washington School of Medicine.
Along with caring for patients, El Naga supervises fellows, residents and medical students. He completed the UCSF Leadership Development Program as well as the APEX Leadership Certificate Program at the University of Southern California's Marshall School of Business. In 2022, he received the James M. Morris Award, given annually to the orthopedic specialist best exemplifying compassion in patient care.
When not in the clinic or hospital, El Naga enjoys spending time with his family, exploring diverse cultures through travel, and seeking out new food experiences.
