Dr. Khachatryan

Dr. Armen Khachatryan is a board-certified orthopedic surgeon. In addition to broad training in many traditional spinal surgical options — such as decompression laminectomies and fusion — Dr. Khachatryan has extensive experience in minimally invasive surgery, motion preservation technology, artificial disc replacement and non-fusion technologies.

On numerous occasions, Dr. Khachatryan has been invited to and has participated at national and international conferences, lecturing and training other spinal surgeons in the use of cervical artificial disc implants. Additionally, on a frequent basis Dr. Khachatryan has hosted both US and international surgeons in Salt Lake City for surgical observation, as well as hands on training in the latest techniques in cervical disc arthroplasty.

Dr. Khachatryan was among the first to implant artificial discs in Utah, both in the lumbar and cervical spine. Even though in certain patients fusion surgery may still be the only option, Dr. Khachatryan is a firm believer in preserving motion with disc replacement surgery instead of the traditional fusion surgery. In 2013, Dr. Khachatryan established The Disc Replacement Center—the first of its kind in Utah. This Center has continued to further research and education in disc replacement technology and provide an alternative to fusion for patients both in Utah and across the globe. Patients have travelled both from US and international destinations to consult and receive surgical care from Dr. Khachatryan.

Dr. Khachatryan has been a clinical investigator in several different FDA clinical trials, including a novel bioactive composite for vertebral fracture treatment, and pivotal FDA trials for Mobi-C and Simplify cervical artificial disc prosthesis. Currently, Dr. Khachatryan is the principal investigator for Centinel Spine Prodisc C Vivo and SK FDA trial. He is also a clinical investigator for Spineart Baguera C cervical disc FDA trial both for single and two level indications.

Dr. Khachatryan is serving on the board of Dymicron, an innovative spinal implant company with a revolutionary diamond on diamond cervical disc prosthesis currently being used in Europe and will soon commence FDA trial in United States. He is a sought-after consultant for several leading industry partners, including Zimmer Biomet, Centinel Spine, Medacta, Simplify and Orthofix among others.

Dr. Khachatryan is a Fellow of American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons and North American Spine Society. He is also a member of Western Orthopedic Society, Utah Orthopedic Society and Utah Medical Association.

Dr. Khachatryan was born in Yerevan, Armenia. In 1980, at the age of fourteen, he immigrated with his family to United States and settled in Los Angeles, CA. He graduated from Hollywood High School in 1984. He earned a bachelor’s degree in Molecular Biology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1988. He received his medical degree, with honors, from Yale University School of Medicine in 1996. He completed his surgical internship and his orthopedic surgical residency at the University of Utah Department of Orthopedics. He followed this with a combined spine fellowship at the University of Utah Department of Orthopedics and Shriner’s Hospital for Children. In 2002, after completing his extensive training, he became the Director of Comprehensive Spine Center at Desert Orthopedic Center in Rancho Mirage, CA. In 2007, Dr. Khachatryan relocated back to Utah and joined his colleagues at Center of Orthopedic and Rehabilitation Excellence.

Dr. Khachatryan is married to Emily and cherishes every moment with his twin children, Jack and Isabel. He is an avid cyclist, golfer and skier. He has cycled across the United States twice and once across the Iberian Peninsula through Portugal and Spain. His lifelong commitment to fitness is the driving force behind restorative and motion preserving spinal surgery