Ernest Braxton, MD, MBA

Ernest E. Braxton, Jr., MD, MBA, FAANS, is a board-certified neurosurgeon and Partner of Vail Summit Orthopaedics and Neurosurgery in Vail, Colorado. His practice focuses on minimally invasive and outpatient spine surgery, cervical and lumbar disc arthroplasty, and awake spine surgery under regional anesthesia. He is a founding collaborator of the Awake Spine Research Group and co-editor of the textbook Awake Spine Surgery (Thieme, 2026), and his recent publications include an umbrella review of awake versus general anesthesia in lumbar surgery, a 180-patient comparison of perioperative narcotic use after awake and general anesthesia TLIF, and a review of postoperative anesthesia and ERAS care pathways for spine surgery. Dr. Braxton serves as a site principal investigator for several FDA IDE trials in spinal fusion and cervical arthroplasty, and as President of the Colorado Neurosurgical Society. A graduate of the United States Air Force Academy and the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, he completed his neurosurgery residency at Allegheny General Hospital and holds an MBA from Carnegie Mellon University. He served ten years on active duty in the Air Force, including a deployment to Afghanistan and a term as Chief of Neurosurgery at San Antonio Military Medical Center, and has served as a physician for the US Ski Team.