Yunus Kuntawi Aji, MD

Neurological Spine Surgeon

Yunus Kuntawi Aji, MD, is a neurological spine surgeon in Jakarta, Indonesia. He is board certified by the Indonesian Board of Neurological Surgery. Dr. Aji's expertise includes (but not limited to) the surgical treatment of herniated disc, spinal tumors, spondylitis TB, spinal trauma, and scoliosis, particularly with endoscopy and minimally invasive spine surgery. He is a member of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons, Congress of Neurological Surgeons, AO Spine, The World UBE Society, World Spinal Column Society, Eurospine, Scoliosis Research Society, North American Spine Society, International Spinal Cord Society, Indonesian Society of Neurological Surgeons, Asia Pacific Spine Society, International Society for the Advancement of Spine Surgery, Asia Pacific Cervical Spine Society, and Indonesian Neurospine Society.

Dr. Aji earned his medical degree from Faculty of Medicine Universitas Indonesia in Jakarta. He then completed a residency in neurosurgery at Faculty of Medicine Universitas Airlangga in Surabaya. He completed spine surgery fellowships at Juntendo University Hospital (Tokyo, Japan), The Jikei University Hospital (Tokyo, Japan), Niigata Central Hospital (Tokyo, Japan), Duke University Hospital-Duke Raleigh Hospital (Durham/Raleigh, United States), Yonsei University Severance Hospital (Seoul, South Korea), and King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital (Bangkok, Thailand). He also had visited the following institutions as an observer/visiting fellows: Shinshu University Hospital (Matsumoto, Japan), Aizawa Hospital (Matsumoto, Japan), Tokyo Spine Clinic (Tokyo, Japan), Heiwa Hospital (Yokohama, Japan), Kawasaki Saiwai Hospital (Kawasaki, Japan), Iwai Orthopaedic Hospital (Tokyo, Japan), Himnaera Hospital (Busan, South Korea), Soon Chung Hyang University Hospital (Seoul, South Korea), and Korea University Guro Hospital (Seoul, South Korea).

His research interests include minimally invasive spine surgery, endoscopy spine surgery, motion preservation, degenerative disc disease, complex spinal deformity, traumatic spinal injuries, and spinal tumors.

View Dr. Aji's curriculum vitae here.

Education & Training

• Workshop, National Neuroscience Institute (Singapore), Endospine Course, Full Endoscopy & Unilateral Biportal Endoscopy Spine Surgery, 2026

• Workshop, Cardinal Santos Medical Center (Manila, Philippines), Medtronic Southeast Asia AiBLE Summit, Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery & Robotic Surgery, 2026

• Workshop, Neurospine Association of Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia), Advanced Spine MIS Lumbar, Anterior Cervical, and Pain Interventional Procedures Cadaveric Workshop, 2025

• Workshop, Maxmore Spine Course (Bangkok, Thailand), Unilateral Biportal Endoscopy Spine Surgery, 2025

• Workshop, Maxmore Spine Course (Bangkok, Thailand), Full Endoscopy Spine Surgery, 2025

• Virtual Fellowship, Pediatric Spine Academy India/OrthoTV Global Academy, AIS Virtual Fellowship on Scoliosis, 2025

• Fellowship, Indonesian College of Neurosurgery, Fellow of Spine, 2025

• Mentorship, Eurospine, Eurospine Mentoring Programme, 2024-2025

• Workshop, World Spinal Column Society, World Spine 10 Endoscopic Spine, Unilateral Biportal Endoscopy Spine Surgery, 2024

• Fellowship, King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery (Bangkok, Thailand), Full Endoscopy Spine Surgery & Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery, 2024

• Fellowship, Yonsei University Severance Hospital, Department of Neurosurgery (Seoul, South Korea), Unilateral Biportal Endoscopy Spine Surgery, 2024

• Fellowship, Niigata University/Niigata Central Hospital, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery (Niigata, Japan), Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery, 2024

• Course, The Neurospinal Society of Japan (Osaka, Japan), Endoscopic Spine Surgery Skills Certification, Full Endoscopy Spine Surgery, 2024

• Fellowship, The Jikei University Hospital, Department of Neurosurgery (Tokyo, Japan), Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery, 2024

• Fellowship, Duke University Medical Center, Duke Spine (Durham/Raleigh, US), Spine Deformity and Complex Spine, 2024

• Fellowship, Juntendo University Hospital, Spine and Spinal Cord Center (Tokyo, Japan), Full Endoscopy Spine Surgery, 2023

• Observership, Soon Chung Hyang University Hospital, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery (Seoul, South Korea), Spine Deformity, 2023

• Observership, Himnaera Hospital, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery (Busan, South Korea), Biportal Endoscopy Spine Surgery, 2023

• Course, Scoliosis Research Society/National University Hospital (Singapore), Spine Deformity, 2022

• Fellowship, Shinshu University Hospital, Department of Neurosurgery (Matsumoto, Japan), General Neurosurgery, 2016

• Residency, Universitas Airlangga/dr. Soetomo Hospital, Department of Neurosurgery (Surabaya, Indonesia), Neurosurgery, 2015-2021

• MD, Universitas Indonesia/Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital, Faculty of Medicine (Jakarta, Indonesia), Medicine, 2008-2013

Professional Memberships

• American Association of Neurological Surgeons

• AO Spine

• Congress of Neurological Surgeons

• The World UBE Society

• World Spinal Column Society

• Eurospine

• Scoliosis Research Society

• North American Spine Society

• Indonesian Society of Neurological Surgeons

• International Spinal Cord Society

• Asia Pacific Spine Society

• Asia Pacific Cervical Spine Society

• International Society for the Advancement of Spine Surgery

• Indonesian Neurospine Society

Grants, Awards, and Scholarships

• ISASS 2O26 Early Career Surgeon (Miami, United States) Grant, 2026

• Eurospine Diploma in Interprofessional Spine Care 2026 Bursary, 2025

• AO Spine Fellowship (Bangkok, Thailand), 2024

• 8th Bi-Neurovascular Symposium (Busan, South Korea) Travel Grant , 2024

• North American Spine Society Clinical Traveling Fellowship (Tokyo, Japan/Seoul, South Korea), 2024

• Eurospine Observership (Niigata, Japan), 2024

• CNS Foundation International Spine Observership (Durham/Raleigh, US), 2023

• Bassett FIENS Global Neurosurgery Fellowship (Tokyo, Japan), 2023

• Junior Researcher Grant, Research and Innovation Institute Universitas Airlangga (Surabaya, Indonesia), 2019

• 18th Biennial Meeting of the WSSFN (New York, US) Travel Grant, 2019

• 3rd Congress of AASPN (Incheon, South Korea) Travel Grant, 2019

• 4th ACNS Winter Seminar (Nagoya, Japan) Travel Grant, 2018

• XVI World Congress of Neurosurgery (Istanbul, Turkey) Travel Grant, 2017

• Neurosurgery Fellowship (Matsumoto, Japan) Grant from Department of Neurosurgery Universitas Airlangga, 2016

• Medical Residency Program Scholarship (Surabaya, Indonesia), LPDP, 2015-2020

• Undergraduate/MD Scholarship (Jakarta, Indonesia), Mayapada Bank Scholarship, 2009-2012

Selected Publications

• The versatility of intraoperative ultrasound in spine surgery for intradural tumors, Indonesian Journal of Neurosurgery, 2023

• A technical note of an alternative way for lumbar pedicle screw insertion, Interdisciplinary Neurosurgery, 2023

• The effect of intratechal injection of dextromethorphan on the experimental neuropathic pain model, Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, 2021

• Thoracic myeloradiculopathy due to multilevel ossification of ligamentum flavum, Neurologico Spinale Medico Chirurgico, 2020

• Applied anatomy of lumbar canal stenosis In: Current Trends in Surgical Management of Lumbar Canal Stenosis, CBS Publishers, 2019

• Anterior cervical surgery for the treatment of cervicogenic headache caused by cervical spondylosis: A case report, Indonesian Journal of Neurosurgery, 2024

• Agar Tulang Belakang Sehat, CV IDS, 2024

• Insight into posterior cervical biportal endoscopic spine surgery outcomes in radiculopathy: A systematic review and meta analysis, Asia Spine Journal, 2026

Specialties

• PLIF/TLIF Surgery

• OLIF/XLIF Surgery

• ALIF Surgery

• Disc Replacement Surgery (ACDR/LDR)

• Cervical Spine Surgery

• Thoracic Spine Surgery

• Lumbar Spine Surgery

• Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery

• Unilateral Biportal Endoscopic Spine Surgery

• Full Endoscopy Spine Surgery

• Microdiscectomy Surgery

• Awake Spine Surgery

• Scoliosis, Kyphosis, and other Spinal Deformities Surgery

• Spine and Spinal Cord Tumor Surgery

• Spondylitis TB Surgery

• Spinal Abscess Surgery

• Spinal Fusion Surgery

• Kyphoplasty/Vertebroplasty

• OC Fusion Surgery

• SI Fusion Surgery

• C1-C2 Fusion Surgery

• Laminoplasty Surgery

• Chiari Malformation & Syringomyelia Surgery

• ACDF Surgery

• ACCF Surgery

• Spinal Vascular Malformation Surgery

• Spina Bifida and Tethered Cord Surgery

• Interventional Pain Management (Radiofrequency Ablation, Steroid Injection)

NBC Hospital Mahar Mardjono, Jakarta

Mayapada Hospital Kuningan, Jakarta

Mayapada Hospital Jakarta Timur, Jakarta

Languages

• English

• Bahasa Indonesia