Dr Neil Cleaver graduated from St Thomas’s Hospital, London, in 1996 with a BSc in Human Physiology and the MB BS in Medicine and Surgery. After completing an internship in the UK and spending 18 months working voluntarily in South America he moved to Australia and pursued a career in orthopaedic surgery via the Queensland branch of the Australian Orthopaedic Association, before finally sub-specialising in surgery of the spine. Dr Cleaver maintains a surgical practice which is committed, where appropriate, to utilising motion preservation technologies such as total disc replacement (TDR) in surgical reconstructions. About 95% of Dr Cleaver’s practice is concerned with the application of minimally invasive procedures in his surgical reconstructions. Dr Cleaver pioneered the use of the minimally invasive extreme lateral total disc replacement in Australia (XL-TDR) and the extreme lateral interbody fusion technique (X-LIF), and is committed to further research and development in the field of minimally invasive surgical reconstructions of the spine.

Dr Cleaver has developed a website, purely for educational purposes, located here which you are strongly encouraged to view and peruse. This site explains in detail the origins of back and neck pain, the causes of leg pain and radiculopathy and, using simple layman’s language and illustrations, explains how each is treated.

Dr Cleaver has a strong commitment to patients covered under workers compensation schemes. Twice monthly a specific WorkCover clinic operates at South Coast Spine in conjunction with physiotherapy and occupation rehabilitation specialists from CORE Injury Management. More information on this topic can be found on the WorkCover page.

Dr Cleaver also has a strong medico-legal practice and is board certified by the American Board and Independent Medical Examiners. He has a special interest in formulating fair medico-legal reports in the setting of complex spinal pathologies and consults regularly with the legal profession in the interests of both plantiff and insurers where there is mal-representation from non-spinal specialists. More information on this topic can be found on the WorkCover page.