Nicholas Theodore, MD, MS

Director, Neurosurgical Spine Center

Nicholas Theodore, MD, MS

Nicholas Theodore, M.D., director of the Johns Hopkins Neurosurgical Spine Center, is a nationally recognized expert in brain and spinal cord injury, minimally invasive spine surgeries and robotics. He earned a medical degree at  Georgetown University School of Medicine and completed both a residency in neurosurgery and a fellowship in spinal surgery at the Barrow Neurological Institute.

As an award-winning teacher and researcher, Dr. Theodore has written or co-authored 30 book chapters, over 180 peer-reviewed journal articles and is co-holder of 10 patents for medical devices and procedures. His research focuses on trauma, spinal cord injuries, robotics and developing an understanding of the genetic and molecular basis of spinal diseases.

Dr. Theodore treats patients with a variety of spinal disorders including, trauma, Chiari malformations, spinal deformities, degenerative spine conditions and spinal cord tumors. He sees patients at both the Johns Hopkins Outpatient Center and the Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center.

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Related Videos

Case Presentation: Robotic Spinal Decompression and Fusion Surgery Video

Case Presentation: Robotic Spinal Decompression and Fusion Surgery

Director of the Johns Hopkins Neurosurgical Spine Center, Nicholas Theodore, discusses surgical treatments options considered for a patient who presented with disabling back pain and spine instability.

American Association of Neurological Surgeons 2023 Meeting - Chuck Noll Foundation Lecture: The Neurosurgeon and Sports: From Bedside to Bleachers & Beyond Video

American Association of Neurological Surgeons 2023 Meeting - Chuck Noll Foundation Lecture: The Neurosurgeon and Sports: From Bedside to Bleachers & Beyond

Dr. Nicholas Theodore, Director of the Johns Hopkins Neurosurgical Spine Center discusses the role of neurosurgeons as advocates for patients with sports related injuries.

Management of Complex Tethered Cord in Transitional and Adult Patients: Spinal Cord Shortening, Spinal Cord Stimulation, or Repeat Intradural Repair? Video

Management of Complex Tethered Cord in Transitional and Adult Patients: Spinal Cord Shortening, Spinal Cord Stimulation, or Repeat Intradural Repair?

Neurosurgeon Nicholas Theodore recaps his presentation on vertebral column shortening for tethered cord syndrome that he gave at the 2022 Congress of Neurological Surgeons.

Cerebrospinal Fluid Drainage in Acute Spinal Cord Injury: A Multi-Center, Randomized, Controlled Trial Video

Cerebrospinal Fluid Drainage in Acute Spinal Cord Injury: A Multi-Center, Randomized, Controlled Trial

CSF drainage was shown to be safe and a potential adjunct to the treatment of these patients and merits further study.

Case Study on Robot-assisted Spinal Surgery Video

Case Study on Robot-assisted Spinal Surgery

Johns Hopkins neurosurgeon Nicholas Theodore, presents the case of a 65-year-old woman with grade 1 mobile spondylolisthesis - a new robotic technology was used to surgically place the hardware.

Case Presentation: Complex Craniovertebral Junction Stabilization and Reconstruction Video

Case Presentation: Complex Craniovertebral Junction Stabilization and Reconstruction

Neurosurgeon, Nicholas Theodore discusses the case of a 9-year-old girl with a severely unstable craniovertebral junction secondary to pseudoarthrosis and broken hardware with brainstem compression.