Veteran Chicago pediatric neurosurgeon Arthur DiPatri, MD, joins UChicago Medicine Comer Children’s Hospital
Arthur “Art” DiPatri, MD, a veteran Chicago pediatric neurosurgeon, joined the University of Chicago Medicine on August 1 as Director of Pediatric Neurosurgery at Comer Children’s Hospital.
DiPatri will also serve as Chief of Pediatric Neurosurgery for the Chicagoland Children’s Health Alliance — a group of pediatric experts from Comer, Advocate Children’s Hospital and Pediatrics at Endeavor Health.
He’ll work primarily on UChicago Medicine’s Hyde Park’s campus.
DiPatri has extensive experience treating craniosynostosis, pediatric brain tumors, hydrocephalus, spina bifida, traumatic brain injuries and craniofacial disorders. He plans to build on Comer’s expertise in these areas and help the hospital become a “destination program” for craniosynostosis and neuro-oncology patients.
“There are incredible opportunities for growth in the pediatric service line,” DiPatri said, noting the technological advances that are rapidly advancing care, including high-tech imaging, navigation tools and robot-assisted surgery.
“Now, you can do things endoscopically (minimally invasively) at even two months of age and have incredible results.”
DiPatri, a New Jersey native, earned his medical degree at Rutgers University and worked at children’s hospitals in Boston and Philadelphia before becoming Chief of Pediatric Neurosurgery at the University of Maryland Medical System.
He was recruited in 2003 to be a pediatric neurosurgeon at Children’s Memorial Hospital in Chicago (now Lurie Children’s) where he worked for the past 22 years. He is also affiliated with Shriner’s Children’s Chicago.
DiPatri calls his career spent working with children “incredibly rewarding” and has maintained strong bonds with many families for years after treatment. It’s not uncommon, he said, to be invited to graduations and family celebrations.
“To help families through a crisis is the part that I enjoy, but it’s also a lot of responsibility,” he said. “When mom and dad come to you with their pride and joy, and say ‘We can’t fix this, take care of this for us,’ that’s something I take very seriously.”