John G. Finkenberg, MD

Voted San Diego Magazine's Top Doctors of 2023

Dr. Finkenberg has been in private practice with Alvarado Orthopedic Medical Group in San Diego, California since 1992. He is a general orthopaedic surgeon who has obtained fellowship training after his orthopaedic residency in advanced spinal reconstructive surgery. After attending U.C.L.A. Medical School, he completed his orthopaedic training at Harbor-U.C.L.A. Medical Center in Torrance, California. He has been the Chief of the Orthopaedic Department at Alvarado Hospital Medical Center and has served on the Executive Supervisory Committee for many years. Dr. Finkenberg serves as a specialist at the Alvarado Hospital Advanced Spine & Joint Institute. As a surgical consultant for a spinal instrumentation company, he has developed instrumentation utilized in reconstructive spinal surgery. Dr. Finkenberg has authored several published articles and lectures nationally and internationally on spine surgery. He currently serves at Vice-President of the North American Spine Society and instructs the national hands-on spinal surgery course. Presently he coordinates multi-center prospective outcome studies on lumbar and cervical spinal fusion. He holds a patent for diagnosing fractures with intrasound vibration and has sculpted statues that are on display at U.C.L.A. Medical Center, Johns Hopkins Hospital and Grossmont Hospital Women’s Center.

My philosophy in patient care involves making extraordinary efforts to find the correct diagnosis with the least amount of testing possible. I have found that treatment success depends on ensuring the injury history, physical exam and X-rays all point to the same diagnosis. I also believe that each patient is different and all efforts should be made to exhaust nonsurgical treatments when indicated.

In my spare time, I enjoy sports, sculpting bronze figures and advocating for better health care in Washington, D.C.