Spine Surgeon
Roland S. Kent, MD
Dr. Roland S. Kent is a fellowship trained Spine Surgeon and the co-founder of Axis Spine Center. He specializes in minimally invasive spine surgery, robotic-assisted spine surgery, revision spine surgical care, complex spinal disorders, alternatives to bony fusion including disc replacement, fracture care, bone health, and sacroiliac (SI) joint disease. He has a wealth of experience and a passion for returning patients to function through the careful utilization of non-surgical spine treatment strategies combined with the appropriate, evidence-based application of surgical interventions.
Dr. Kent is a Coeur d’Alene High school graduate and received his Bachelor’s degree as Valedictorian of the College of Anthropology from Brigham Young University. While serving his country in the United States Navy, he attended medical school at Uniformed Services University in Bethesda, Maryland followed by internship and residency at the Naval Medical Center in Portsmouth, Virginia.
He then graduated from the combined Neurosurgery and Orthopaedic Spine Fellowship at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, Washington, where he performed complex surgical care at Harborview, the University of Washington, and Seattle Children’s Hospital. This is among the highest levels of training available for spine surgical care in the United States.
Dr. Kent completed his active duty service to the Navy as the Chief of Spine Surgery at Naval Medical Center Portsmouth, where he taught spine surgery to resident physicians and managed the Navy’s highest volume interdisciplinary spine practice. There, he built a comprehensive spine surgical practice specializing in cutting-edge technologies and time-honored surgical strategies. He has presented numerous academic papers at national and international spine meetings and helped to establish a standardized curriculum to teach young surgeons spine surgical techniques and principles. He continues to be actively involved in several research protocols at Axis Spine Center.
Dr. Kent has provided expert spine surgical care to active duty military members, the elite Navy special warfare community, military retirees and their families. During his two decades in the US Navy, he served in Washington, DC, Virginia, Diego Garcia, Italy, Cuba, Afghanistan and finally in Spokane as a Navy reservist.
- MD, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, MD
- BA, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT
- Valedictorian of the BYU Anthropology department
- Fellowship—Combined Neurosurgery and Orthopaedic Spine, Harborview Medical Center and the University of Washington, Seattle, WA
- Residency—Orthopaedic Surgery, Navy Medical Center Portsmouth, Portsmouth, VA
- United States Navy Flight Surgery, Navy Aerospace Medicine Institute, Pensacola, FL
- Internship—General Surgery, Navy Medical Center Portsmouth, Portsmouth, VA
American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery
- AOSpine International
- Society of Military Orthopaedic Surgeons
- Member of the Academy of Orthopaedic Surgery
- Military Member of the Orthopaedic Trauma Association
- North American Spine Society
- Founder – Inland Northwest Spine Consortium
- Prior faculty at Navy Medical Center Portsmouth
- Prior faculty at University of Washington Medical School (as a fellow)
- Corresponding Member of the Department of Surgery at Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences
- Associate Professor of Orthopedic Surgery for Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences
- Assistant Professor Orthopedics/Spine Idaho College of Osteopathic Medicine
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Dr. Kent enjoys spending time with his wife and three children. He participates in sports and outdoor activities including triathlons, snow sports, water sports, camping, hiking, rock-climbing and kite surfing. He has completed Coeur d’Alene Ironman on multiple occasions and continues to cycle and compete in triathlons regularly. He participates actively as a youth mentor.