Hillsdale Hospital: DR. LOGANATHAN

Story by Elyse Apel

Since he was a small child, Dr. Amritraj Loganathan knew he wanted to be a neurosurgeon. “I was actually interested in medicine, specifically neurosurgery, from a young age. When I was four years old, somebody got me a book called the Charlie Brown Encyclopedia of the Human Body and there was a page on the brain,” Armritraj explains. “My whole life after that when people asked me what I wanted to do when I grew up, I said that I wanted to be a neurosurgeon.”

Now, Amritraj lives out that dream with his own private practice called Jackson Spine, while also providing neurosurgery services to the Hillsdale community through Hillsdale Hospital.

A graduate of The Ohio State University College of Medicine, Amritraj completed his residency at Wake Forest University in North Carolina.

He has now been practicing neurosurgery for 11 years, serving as vice chief of surgery at Henry Ford Hospital in Jackson for a number of years.

Amritraj says that a few years ago he realized he wanted a change.

“I’d always been an employee for somebody else, so I started my own practice,” he says. “At that point, I realized I also didn’t want to work for a big hospital where I had to be on call for trauma or things like that anymore, and so Hillsdale was a perfect fit.”

Amritraj started at Hillsdale Hospital in December 2023. There, he does both patient consultations and surgeries. Now, he specializes in outpatient spine surgery, which includes minimally-invasive spine surgeries, spine fracture treatments, treatment for cervical and lumbar herniated discs, disc replacements, and more.

“Being in an environment in a small community has allowed me to really provide more direct and better care to my patients,” he explains. Amritraj says he finds it satisfying to be in a specialty where he is able to provide patients with such dramatic improvement.

“Back pain is the number one reason people see a doctor in the world, so being able to treat spine conditions, whether it is somebody’s back or neck, is satisfying,” he says. “That’s especially true when it’s something that I can treat with surgery.”

He adds that it is frustrating how common back pain is and how sometimes the treatment that worked for one patient, might not work for another patient.

“Back pain is a really common problem that up to 40% of people experience at some point in their lives,” he explains. “Because back pain and spine problems are so common, only a small subset of those people can be treated with surgery. It’s so frustrating when sometimes we can’t help people.”

Amritraj says that, because of that, it is critical to have good communication with patients.

“One of the most important values to me in my practice is having close, direct communication with my patients,” he says.

Being at a smaller hospital has especially allowed that.

“Lack of direct communication was one of the frustrating things in other employment situations I was at in the past,” Amritraj says. “When I worked for a big hospital system and there were a bunch of other people involved, a lot of times you just get told what to do.”

Now, he can spend as much time with patients as needed.

“Now that I’m my own boss, I’m able to really focus on directly dealing with patients. I see all of my patients in the office each time, every time,” he explains. “My office manager is my wife, Nikki, and so we really are a mom and pop shop in a good way.”

Currently, Amritraj lives in Ann Arbor with his wife and three children. “We start and end each day with an hour and 15 minute commute, which is relaxing.”

When in the office, Amritraj says it is very important to him to give each patient his dedicated attention. “It can be a long day seeing all these patients, but I always want to make sure that I have enough time to give everybody the care that they need,” he says.

In his free time, which is limited, Amritraj tries to spend as much time with his family as possible.

“I work with my wife, but I also have pretty small children. Now that I have more control over my schedule, I try to spend as much time with them as possible,” he says. “I also like to stay active and work out, but also just relax.”

For more information about neurosurgery at Hillsdale Hospital, visit hillsdalehospital.com. To learn more about Amritraj and his practice, visit jacksonspine.org. You can also call (517) 314-2990 for more information or to book an appointment at Amritraj’s Hillsdale office.