Prof. Dr. med. Jürgen Harms

Prof. Dr. med. Jürgen Harms is an internationally preeminent orthopedic surgeon and a pioneer who has fundamentally shaped modern spinal surgery. With a career spanning over five decades and a personal surgical record of more than 10,000 procedures, he is regarded as one of the most experienced spine experts in the world. His legacy is defined by the invention of groundbreaking surgical techniques and medical devices that are now global standards, most notably the Harms titanium cage and the development of polyaxial screws, which revolutionized spine stabilization. Throughout his tenure as the Medical Director at Clinic Karlsbad-Langensteinbach and his subsequent roles in Heidelberg and Hannover, Prof. Harms has focused on the most complex spinal pathologies, including severe scoliosis, spinal tumors, and complex revision surgeries. He is particularly renowned for developing the transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion technique and innovative dorsal fixation methods for the atlantoaxial complex. As a teacher and researcher, he has authored hundreds of peer-reviewed publications and remains a central figure in the Harms Study Group, an international research collective dedicated to advancing the treatment of spinal deformities. Nowadays, he continues his clinical work at the International Neuroscience Institute, where he provides highly specialized care to patients from around the globe, maintaining his status as a living legend in orthopedic medicine.