Renowned Spinal Neurosurgeon Dr. John Collis Dies at 89

Spinal neurosurgeon John S. Collis, Jr., M.D., died on November 10, 2020 at home. Dr. Collis, 89, was a pioneer in the spinal field.

Kentucky Roots

Dr. Collis was born in Lexington, Kentucky, and raised in Winchester, Kentucky, by parents John and Elizabeth. In his youth, he taught Sunday School and played the organ at the Disciples of Christ Church. He was also an Eagle Scout.

He graduated from Saint Agatha’s Academy High School in 1947 at only fifteen. He went on to graduate from Kentucky Wesleyan College in 1950 by age eighteen.

Collis excelled at academics and baseball. In 1949, he was offered a major league contract as a pitcher for the Saint Louis Cardinals. Collis declined in order to focus on pursuing a career in medicine. He graduated from University of Louisville Medical School in 1955 and went on to then complete a neurosurgical residency at the Cleveland Clinic in 1961.

Spinal Surgery Specialization: A Groundbreaking Decision

Early neurosurgery focused on head and brain injury, not spine treatment. Dr. Collis saw how common and also how complex back pain and injury were. After 16 years of active medical work at the Clinic, Collis felt there was a dire need for a separate department to specialize in spinal surgery. He thus became the first neurosurgeon to specialize in spinal treatment.

At the time, the medical community did not validate a need for such a specialty. For this reason, Collis chose to go into private practice. Today, many neurosurgeons and orthopedists are spine specialists and over 800,000 spinal surgeries are performed annually.

Donlin M. Long, M.D., former Director of Spinal Surgery at Johns Hopkins Medical Center, spoke of Dr. Collis’ accomplishments at a recent celebration of Collis’ work. He said, “What happened as a result of the Collis decision [to specialize in spinal surgery], John’s example and success convinced the next generation of neurosurgeons and orthopedic surgeons that spinal surgery was a viable subspecialty. Now the majority of neurosurgeons in practice do mostly spinal surgery… John Collis can take credit for all of this. He was the first to tell us why it was important to emphasize the spine and he then showed us how to do it!”

Dr. Collis was also the first to treat spinal pain with steroid injection.

Dr. Collis was an associate professor at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, director of spine surgery at Cleveland Clinic and director of neurosurgery at Lutheran Hospital and St. Vincent Charity Medical Center in Cleveland.

Dr. Collis is referred to as the “father of spinal surgery.” He is known for revolutionizing the treatment of back pain. He specialized in the treatment of cervical and lumbar spine treatment and was the first to establish spinal surgery as a neurosurgery sub-specialty.

Dr. Collis started his practice in 1963 after a residency at Cleveland Clinic. He had treated over 400,000 patients and performed 17,000 spinal surgeries over the course of his career. He was dedicated to his subfield and continued to treat patients at St. Vincent’s up until six days before his death.

Infection Prevention Innovator

“I’ve done about 16,000 major cases; 5,000 of those have been fusions,” Dr. Collis stated at a 2017 lifetime achievement award acceptance ceremony in Cleveland. “I’ve never had my first infection in all those fusions,” he said.

Dr. Collis said, “I’d say the aspects of spinal surgery that I have perhaps started, certainly contributed to, is geared about safety for the patient.” He described the keys to avoiding infections as: preparation of the body before surgery, antibiotics use and efficient wound draining. While serving as a military surgeon in Hawaii, Dr. Collis researched infection combat after a series of infections became so rampant it led to the closure of a Hawaiian hospital.

He first instructed patients to take a “septosol shampoo and shower” the night before and morning of surgery.

Secondly, Dr. Collis said he initiated new antibiotics protocols. Dr. Collis stated, “Everyone used antibiotics after you had an infection, but after you had the infection, antibiotics almost can’t get to the abscess. You have to open that abscess, drain it, so the antibiotics can get to it.”

“I thought, why not have those antibiotics in you before you start the surgery?” he said.

Dr. Collis reported he received initial criticism for “excessive use of antibiotics.” However, he proceeded to administer pre-surgery antibiotics after a careful comparison of the risks of excessive antibiotics and the risks of surgical infections.

Pre-surgical baths became protocol by the late 1970s and pre-surgical antibiotics use became standard care in the 1990s “Now, I don’t think there’s any surgeon in this country who does spinal surgery without preoperative antibiotics,” he said. “I’m very proud of that.”

A Lifelong Dedication to Patient Care and Outcomes

Dr. Collis contributed to the invention of various spinal surgery tools and technologies. These surgical instruments included those for total disc replacement, a table for disc puncture testing and treatment, a laminectomy retractor, and various other spinal retractors.

Collis wrote a multitude of publications on spinal surgery topics. In addition, Collis was also an innovator in providing patients with a complete copy of all medical and test records and doctor’s notes.

Even during the COVID-19 pandemic, Collis continued to be devoted to his patients, quickly adapting to telemedicine in order to care for patients and confer with surgeons.

“I look at patients like they are family. I believe we must treat others the way we want to be treated,” said Dr. Collis. “That is why in my operating room environment is church-like, and I mean the old fashioned church, when it was quiet. At a Catholic Mass, the attention is on the Eucharist, on God; in my operating room I want my team quiet, focused only on the patient.”

Personal Life: Faith, Family, Medicine and Art

Collis was active in both his local and the national Greek Orthodox Church, served on the Archdiocese Council for 20 years, served on the Board of Trustees of Hellenic College Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology and served as chair of fundraising for Saints Constantine and Helen Cathedral in Cleveland Heights and the Hellenic Preservation Society of Northeastern Ohio. He and his wife were devoted patrons of the Cleveland Museum of Art, where they established the Dr. John and Helen Collis Annual Lecture of Ancient Greek and Byzantine Art.

Dr. and Mrs. Collis were also closely involved in the restoration and preservation and restoration of a collection of painted icons from the mid-twentieth century Mount Athos in Greece.

In more recent years, Collis enjoyed duplicate bridge and gathering with friends to play.

Collis’ faith, love of his patients, family, medicine and the arts were known to all who knew him.

In Remembrance

Due to COVID-19 concerns, a Greek Orthodox funeral was held on November 12 with only Dr. Collis’ immediate family attending. Interment was at Orange Hill Cemetery in Hunting Valley, Ohio. The Collis family will hold a celebration of life at a later time.

He is survived by his loving wife Helen (nee Levas); daughter Maribeth (Steve) Lekas, son John III (Katey), grandchildren Michael Lekas, Andrea (James) Cappello, Kacey Collis, and Laina Collis and brother Dr. William Collis. He was predeceased by his brother, Foster Collis.

In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to: Saints Constantine and Helen Cathedral, 3352 Mayfield Road, Cleveland Heights, OH 44118; The Cleveland Museum of Art, 11150 East Boulevard, Cleveland, OH 44106; St. Herman House – FOCUS Cleveland, 4410 Franklin Boulevard, Cleveland, OH 44113; and ZOE for Life!, 3352 Mayfield Road, Cleveland Heights, OH 44118.