Dr. Robert Wharen Jr, MD is a neurosurgery specialist in Jacksonville, FL and has been practicing for 33 years. He graduated from Pa State Univ Coll Of Med in 1979 and specializes in neurosurgery.Read his story
Insurance Accepted
- Aetna
- Blue Cross Blue Shield
- Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida
- Cigna
- MultiPlan
*Please verify this information when scheduling an appointment.
Learn about Dr. Wharen Jr
Be confident in your decisions by checking out your provider's top areas of care, education, patient reviews and more. Learn about finding the right doctor for you.
Top Care Areas
See how frequently Dr. Wharen Jr performs your care needs compared to other doctors.
Hydrocephalus
very high
more than 98% of peers
Brain Surgery
very high
more than 95% of peers
Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus
very high
more than 93% of peers
Dr. Wharen Jr's percentages are based on the rate of treatment compared to peers nationwide from insurance data. Learn more info about our data and this Top Care Areas component.
Dr. Wharen Jr's bio
This content was provided by Dr. Wharen Jr "Dr. Robert Wharen is a Professor of Neurosurgery in the Department of Neurosurgery at Mayo Clinic Florida. He completed his residency training at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota in 1985, which also included six months of chief resident training at Emory in Atlanta, Georgia. Following completion of residency, he was an Assistant Professor at the University of Pittsburgh under Dr. Peter Janetta and Dr. Robert Selker from July, 1985 through October, 1986. Since the establishment of the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida in October, 1986 until July of 2016, he served as Chair of the Department of Neurosurgery. During this tenure, the neurosurgery department grew from two to ten neurosurgeons performing over 2000 major neurosurgical cases per year. He helped to establish a new neurosurgery residency program in 2012 at Mayo Clinic Florida, and served as the Program Director from 2012 to 2015 and the Assistant Program Director from 2015-17. In 2016, the residency program received a $10 Million endowment from John and Carolyn Sonnentag in gratitude for the neurosurgical treatment by Dr. Wharen. His areas of expertise are in functional neurosurgery, brain tumors and skull base surgery, and neurosurgical procedures for pain. He has been involved with clinical and/or basic research in Parkinson's Disease, essential tremor, dystonia, gliomas, hydrocephalus, epilepsy, pituitary tumors, dysesthetic pain, trigeminal neuralgia, lumbar stenosis, acoustic tumors, and arteriovenous malformations. Along with Dr. Ryan Uitti, a movement disorder neurologist, Mayo Clinic Florida has been a leading academic center in functional neurosurgery and deep brain stimulation. He holds two patents for inventions related to deep brain stimulation, and over the past 30 years has performed over 2000 functional neurosurgical procedures. Dr. Wharen has served as President of the Southern Neurosurgery Society, Vice-President of the Neurosurgery Society of America, and the American Association of Neurological Surgeons representative to ASTM International (formerly the American Standards for Testing and Materials) where he was involved in the development of industry standards for shunts and aneurysm clips."
Less
1 Specialties
- Neurosurgery
1 Board Certifications
- NeurosurgeryAccredited by: American Board of Neurological Surgery*
54 Conditions Treated
- Acoustic Neuroma
- Aneurysm
- Bone Cancer
- Bone Disorders
- Brain and Nervous System Cancer (incl. Gliomas, Astrocytoma, Schwannoma, Medulloblastoma, Chordoma)
- Brain Aneurysm
- Brain Cancer
- Brain Disorders
- Broken Neck
- Cancer
- Cerebral Artery Thrombosis
- Cerebral Hemorrhage
- Cerebrospinal Fluid Leak (CSF Leak)
- Cerebrovascular Disease
- Cervical Spine Myelopathy
- Chiari's Deformity
- Craniopharyngioma
- Degenerative Disc Disease
- Ear Disorders
- Epilepsy
- Fracture
- Herniated Disc
- Hydrocephalus
- Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertension
- Intervertebral Disc Disease
- Low Back Pain
- Lumbar Spine Fracture
- Meningiomas
- Myelopathy
- Nerve Root Injury and Plexus Disorders (incl. Pinched Nerve)
- Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus
- Osteosarcoma
- Pathological Spine Fracture
- Post-Laminectomy Syndrome
- Radiculopathy (Not Due to Disc Displacement)
- Scoliosis
- Secondary Malignancies
- Spina Bifida
- Spinal Cord Injury
- Spinal Stenosis
- Spine Deformities
- Spine Disorders
- Spine Fractures, Traumatic
- Spondylolisthesis
- Spondylosis
- Stroke
- Subarachnoid Hemorrhage
- Subdural Hemorrhage
- Thoracic Spine Myelopathy
- Thrombosis
- Torticollis
- Traumatic Brain Injury
- Vascular Disease
- Vertebral Column Tumors
Less
28 Procedures
- Abscess or Cyst Drainage or Aspiration
- Abscess or Fluid Incision and Drainage
- Brain Surgery
- Carotid Ultrasound
- Cerebrospinal Fluid (CSF) Shunt - Insertion, Repair or Removal
- Craniectomy, Craniotomy, Surgery of Skull Base, Neuroendoscopy
- Cyst Incision and Drainage
- Deep Brain Stimulation
- Dural Repair or Other Spinal Cord Repair
- Epidural Block, Facet Blocks
- Herniated Disc Surgery
- Incision and Removal of Foreign Object
- Intracranial Vessel Angioplasty and Stenting
- Lamina Procedures (incl. Laminectomy, Laminoplasty, Laminotomy)
- Nerve Block, Somatic
- Nerve Destruction by Neurolytic Agent
- Neuroplasty
- Neurostimulation
- Pituitary Gland Tumor Excision
- Spinal Cord Stimulation
- Spinal Fusion
- Spinal Nerve Block
- Spinal Reconstructive Surgery for Deformities
- Stereotactic Radiosurgery
- Stereotactic Radiosurgery, Spinal or Cranial
- Stereotactic Surgery
- Stereotaxis
- Vascular Transcatheter Embolization
Background Check
0 Malpractice Claims
No malpractice history found for Florida.
0 Sanctions
No sanctions history found for the years that Healthgrades collects data.
0 Board Actions
No board actions found for the years that Healthgrades collects data.
Education
- Pa State Univ Coll Of MedMedical School | Graduated 1979
- Mayo Clinic-RochesterInternship Hospital | Completed 1980
- Mayo Clinic-RochesterResidency Hospital | Completed 1985
Awards & Recognition
Awards & Honors
- Healthgrades Honor Roll
Media & Publications
Dr. Wharen Jr has no media or publications listed.
Languages Spoken
- English
Memberships & Professional Affiliations
Dr. Wharen Jr does not have any memberships or affiliations listed. If you are Dr. Wharen Jr and would like to add memberships or affiliations, please update your profile.
Dr. Wharen Jr's Reviews
Likelihood of recommending Dr. Wharen Jr to family and friends
8 total reviews
Are you Dr. Wharen Jr?
Make it easy for patients to share their feedback. Also manage your personalized profile!
Visit Dr. Wharen Jr
Now Accepting New Patients
Dr. Wharen Jr accepts 5 insurance carriers
- AetnaChoice Plus POS II
- Blue Cross Blue ShieldBlue Card PPO
- Blue Cross Blue Shield of FloridaBlueDental Choice
- CignaCigna HMOCigna PPOOpen Access Plus
- MultiPlanMultiPlan PPOPHCS Network PPO
Less
*Please verify this information when scheduling an appointment.