Dr. Howard Sharf
Dr. Howard Sharf is a board certified orthopedic surgeon focused on spine and neck conditions, with a career built across 13 years of U.S. Army service and senior surgical leadership in Florida.
Dr. Howard Sharf
Orthopedic Spine Surgeon
About
Dr. Howard Sharf learned surgery in settings where there was no margin for hesitation. Over 13 years of active duty in the U.S. Army he served as a flight surgeon, taught orthopaedics as a preceptor, deployed multiple times, and ultimately ran a surgical department as Chief of Surgery at Fort Sill. He carried that leadership into civilian practice, serving as Chief of Surgery at St. Petersburg General Hospital in Florida. His clinical focus is the spine and neck, and he works across the whole treatment range rather than defaulting to the operating room, from non-invasive care through minimally invasive procedures to traditional open surgery when a condition genuinely requires it. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons and has published in the American Journal of Surgery.
Credentials
Dr. Howard Sharf is a board certified orthopedic surgeon whose practice centers on conditions of the spine and neck.
He completed his undergraduate degree in Biology at Pennsylvania State University and earned his medical degree from Hahnemann Medical College in Philadelphia. His postgraduate training was carried out largely in uniform: an internship at Madigan Army Medical Center in Tacoma, Washington, an orthopedic residency at Lutheran Hospital of Indiana, and a spine fellowship at the Florida Spine Institute.
Dr. Sharf served 13 years on active duty with the U.S. Army. He spent two years as a Flight Surgeon at Fort Hood, Texas, followed by two years there as an Orthopedic Preceptor. He was subsequently appointed Chief of Orthopedic Surgery and then Chief of Surgery at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, and deployed on multiple occasions during his service. After leaving active duty he continued in senior surgical leadership as Chief of Surgery at St. Petersburg General Hospital in Florida.
His clinical philosophy is to match the intervention to the problem. He treats the full spectrum of spinal disorders and deformities using non-invasive care, minimally invasive procedures, and traditional surgical techniques, selecting among them based on what a patient's condition actually calls for. Dr. Sharf has published in the American Journal of Surgery and presented at professional conferences. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons and a member of the American Medical Association and the North American Spine Society.
Specialties
- Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery
- Cervical Spine Surgery
- Spinal Deformity Correction
- Non-Surgical Spine Care
- Traditional Open Spine Surgery
Conditions Treated
- Neck Pain
- Back Pain
- Herniated Disc
- Spinal Stenosis
- Spinal Deformity
- Degenerative Disc Disease
- Sciatica
Snapshot
Career Highlights
- Board certified orthopedic surgeon specializing in spine and neck conditions
- Fellow, American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS)
- Spine fellowship, Florida Spine Institute
- 13 years of active duty service in the U.S. Army, including multiple deployments
- Chief of Orthopedic Surgery and later Chief of Surgery, Fort Sill, Oklahoma
- Chief of Surgery, St. Petersburg General Hospital, Florida
- Orthopedic residency, Lutheran Hospital of Indiana; internship, Madigan Army Medical Center
- M.D., Hahnemann Medical College, Philadelphia; B.S. Biology, Pennsylvania State University
- Published in the American Journal of Surgery; member of the AMA and North American Spine Society