Veteran Chicago pediatric neurosurgeon Arthur DiPatri, MD, joins UChicago Medicine Comer Children’s Hospital
The University of Chicago Medicine welcomes Arthur DiPatri, MD, a nationally recognized pediatric neurosurgeon, as its new Director of Pediatric Neurosurgery at Comer Children’s Hospital, effective August 1.
DiPatri will also serve as Chief of Pediatric Neurosurgery for the Chicagoland Children’s Health Alliance (CCHA) — a group of pediatric experts from Comer, Advocate Children’s Hospital and Pediatrics at Endeavor Health.
Board certified by both the American Board of Neurological Surgery and the American Board of Pediatric Neurological Surgery, DiPatri brings over 27 years of experience in caring for children with complex neurological disorders.
His clinical expertise includes craniofacial surgery and craniosynostosis, pediatric brain and spinal tumors, and the surgical management of a broad spectrum of congenital and acquired conditions affecting the developing nervous system.
In his new role, DiPatri aims to enhance the hospital's established pediatric neurosurgery programs. He'll also draw on Comer’s expertise in other areas to develop new, high-impact clinical services which can position the hospital as a destination center for patients with craniosynostosis, pediatric brain tumors, epilepsy and other complex neurological conditions.
He’ll work primarily on UChicago Medicine’s Hyde Park’s campus.
“There are incredible opportunities for growth within the pediatric neurosurgery service lines at UChicago Medicine’s Comer Children’s Hospital and our CCHA affiliates,” DiPatri said. “Advances in structural and functional imaging, surgical navigation, robot-assisted surgery and minimally invasive techniques — even in infants — are changing how we care for children. The outcomes we can achieve for our patients are truly remarkable.”
A native of New Jersey, DiPatri earned his undergraduate and medical degrees from Rutgers University. He did his neurosurgery residency at the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore, plus additional pediatric neurosurgical training at Boston Children’s Hospital.
He completed a dedicated fellowship in pediatric neurosurgery at Children’s Memorial Hospital in Chicago (now Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital), and then led the pediatric neurosurgery service at the University of Maryland Medical System.
He was recruited back to Lurie's in 2003, where he had practiced for the past 22 years. He is also affiliated with Shriners Children’s Chicago.
DiPatri is an active member of several professional societies, a fellow of both the American Association of Neurological Surgeons and the College of Neurological Surgeons, and a specialty fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics. He has lectured at numerous national and international conferences and authored dozens of peer-reviewed publications and textbook chapters in the field of pediatric neurosurgery.
DiPatri’s career in neurosurgery has been guided by a commitment to combine technical excellence with compassionate, patient- and family-centered care. He's proud of the many relationships he's developed with his patients and their families throughout his career.
"The bonds formed often last well beyond the hospital—and being invited to graduations or family celebrations years later is one of the greatest pleasures of this work," he said.
“To help families through a time of crisis is deeply meaningful,” he added. “When a mother and father come to you with their pride and joy, and say ‘We’re unable to fix this, please take care of this for us,’ that’s a responsibility I take very seriously."