Clinic: Bozeman Health Neurosurgery and Spine Clinic

Address:
931 Highland Blvd., Suite 3350, Bozeman, MT 59715
3rd Floor, Purple Zone, Parking Lot C & H, Entrance 3
Phone: 406-414-5930
Fax: 406-414-5939

Languages: English, French

Memberships/Academic Appointments:
Fellow of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons, Congress of Neurological Surgeons, Louisiana Neurosurgical Society, Foundation of International Education in Neurological Surgery

Specialties:
Neurosurgery

Special Practice Interests:
Complex spinal cord and spinal column surgeries including spinal tumors, vascular disorders, scoliosis and other spinal deformities

Accepting new patients: Yes

Biography:
James Kalyvas, MD, FAANS, is a board-certified neurosurgeon whose career has combined complex clinical care, surgical innovation and leadership in academic medicine. After 11 years leading neurosurgical spine care at Ochsner Health, Louisiana’s largest health system, he has come to Bozeman Health to care for patients across the full spectrum of spine and cranial neurosurgery. His goal is to help develop Bozeman’s first neurosurgical department and build a regional destination center for advanced spine care. Dr. Kalyvas graduated with honors in biochemistry from Harvard College, where he was a starting pitcher on the varsity baseball team. Before entering medicine, he worked on Wall Street as an Associate Director in Corporate Finance at UBS. He earned his medical degree at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, then completed his internship, neurosurgical residency and complex spine fellowship at Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix, one of the nation’s leading centers for neurosurgical training, where he gained extensive experience in both cranial and spinal neurosurgery. At Ochsner Health in New Orleans, Dr. Kalyvas served for 11 years as Section Head of Neurosurgical Spine. He founded and co-directed Tulane University’s spine fellowship program, helping train the next generation of spine surgeons. He also founded and directed the Joy and Boysie Bollinger Advanced Spine Center, uniting neurosurgical and orthopedic spine surgeons in a coordinated program for patients with challenging conditions. The center bears the name of a patient and his family whose gift recognized Dr. Kalyvas’s care and established a fund for complex spine innovation. He remains an associate professor at Tulane University School of Medicine. He has been consistently named a Castle Connolly Top Doctor.

Dr. Kalyvas treats common conditions such as herniated discs, spinal stenosis and pinched nerves, as well as scoliosis, spinal deformity, tumors of the spine and spinal cord, spinal vascular disorders, traumatic injuries and complex surgical revision cases. He has a particular interest in endoscopic spine surgery through very small incisions and in motion-preserving options, including artificial disc and facet joint replacement for appropriately selected patients. His extensive cranial training at Barrow also underpins his interest in general neurosurgery and cranial trauma. Dr. Kalyvas has published numerous peer-reviewed articles and book chapters, and presented his work at national and international conferences. His academic interests include developing neuromodulation technologies to help restore movement after spinal cord injury. In the clinic, he pairs that drive to advance the field with a straightforward commitment to each patient: understand what matters to them, explain the options clearly and recommend the approach best suited to their goals.

Outside medicine, he enjoys fly fishing, baseball, cooking, reading, travel and exploring Montana with his family.