UCSF Neurological Surgery faculty since 2004
 
Dr. Chou completed his residency at Johns Hopkins Hospital and then undertook a fellowship in spinal surgery at Barrow Neurological Institute. He specializes in complex spinal surgery.
 
He is an expert in the treatment of spinal tumors, both metastatic and primary. He sits as a charter member of the Spinal Oncology Study Group, an international consortium of experts in the field of studying spinal tumors, and he specializes in en bloc surgery and sacral resections for primary tumors, such as chordoma. He has a particular interest in the oncologic approach to spine tumors.
 
For non-neoplastic conditions, Dr. Chou specializes in the treatment of spinal deformities, including scoliosis, kyphosis, flatback syndrome, and failed fusions. For degenerative conditions of the spine, he performs minimally invasive and thoracoscopic procedures. He has served as chairman of spine surgery courses, and he also has taught courses at national and international meetings throughout the country.
 
Education, Training, and Previous Positions
 
1991: AB, University of California, Berkeley
1996: MD, University of California, San Francisco
1996-1997: Intern, Department of General Surgery, The Johns Hopkins Hospital
1997-2002: Resident, Department of Neurosurgery, The Johns Hopkins Hospital
2002-2003: Assistant Chief of Service, Department of Neurosurgery, The Johns Hopkins Hospital
2003-2004: Spine Fellow, Barrow Neurological Institute, Phoenix, AZ
 
Selected Professional Memberships and Appointments
 
American Association of Neurological Surgeons
Congress of Neurological Surgeons
AANS/CNS Section on Disorders of Spine and Peripheral Nerves
North American Spine Society (NASS)
 
Selected Honors and Awards
 
1993: American Federation for Clinical Research Award for Excellence in Research
1994: Howard Hughes Medical Institute Research Training Fellowship
1995: Lucien J. Rubinstein Award for "Best Paper in Neuro-Oncology," American Association of Neuropathologists Annual Meeting
2000: AANS Neurosurgery Research and Education Foundation (NREF) Grant
2007: Who’s Who in American Teacher’s and Educators
2007: Who’s Who in Science and Engineering
2007: Harold Rosegay Neurosurgery Resident Teaching Award, UCSF
 
Contact
 
Dean Chou MD
University of California, San Francisco
Department of Neurological Surgery
505 Parnassus Ave. Rm. M779
San Francisco, CA 94143-0112
Phone: (415) 353-3489 (academic)
            (415) 353-2365 (clinical)
 
Selected Recent Publications
 
Chou D, Lu DC, Weinstein P, Ames CP. Adjacent-level vertebral body fractures after expandable cage reconstruction. J Neurosurg Spine 2008;8(6):584-8.
 
Lu DC, Theodore P, Korn WM, Chou D. Esophageal erosion 9 years after anterior cervical plate implantation. Surg Neurol 2008;69(3):310-3.
 
Chi JH, Acosta FL Jr, Aryan HE, Chou D, Ames CP. Partial spondylectomy: Modification for lateralized malignant spinal column tumors of the cervical or lumbosacral spine. J Clin Neurosci 2008;15(1):43-8.
 
Acosta FL Jr, Sanai N, Chi JH, Dowd CF, Chin C, Tihan T, Chou D, Weinstein PR, Ames CP. Comprehensive Management of Symptomatic and Aggressive Vertebral Hemangiomas. Neurosurg Clin N Am 2008;19(1):17-29.
 
Wang VY, Potts M, Chou D. Sarcoma and the Spinal Column. Neurosurg Clin N Am 2008;19(1):71-80.
 
Sahgal A, Chou D, Ames C, Ma L, Lamborn K, Huang K, Chuang C, Aiken A, Petti P, Weinstein P, Larson D. Image-guided robotic stereotactic body radiotherapy for benign spinal tumors: the university of california san francisco preliminary experience. Technol Cancer Res Treat 2007;6(6):595-604.
 
Wang VY, Chou D. The Cervicothoracic Junction. Neurosurg Clin N Am 2007;18(2):365-371.
 
Lu DC, Chou D. Flatback Syndrome. Neurosurg Clin N Am 2007;18(2):289-294.
 
Acosta FL Jr, Ames CP, Chou D. Operative Management of Adult High-Grade Lumbosacral Spondylolisthesis. Neurosurg Clin N Am 2007;18(2):249-254.
 
Chou D, Smith JS, Chin CT. Spontaneous regression of a discal cyst. Case report. J Neurosurg Spine 2007;6(1):81-4.
 
Hartl R, Chamberlain RH, Fifield MS, Chou D, Sonntag VK, Crawford NR. Biomechanical comparison of two new atlantoaxial fixation techniques with C1-2 transarticular screw-graft fixation. J Neurosurg Spine 2006;5(4):336-42.
 
Josephson SA, Pillai DR, Phillips JJ, Chou D. Neurolisteriosis presenting as cervical myelitis in an immunocompetent patient. Neurology 2006;66(7):1122-3.
 
Chou D, Hartl R, Sonntag VK. Conus medullaris syndrome without lower-extremity involvement in L-1 burst fractures: report of four cases. J Neurosurg Spine 2006;4(3):265-9.
Chou D, Larios AE, Chamberlain RH, Fifield MS, Hartl R, Dickman CA, Sonntag VK, Crawford NR. A biomechanical comparison of three anterior thoracolumbar implants after corpectomy: are two screws better than one? J Neurosurg Spine 2006;4(3):213-8.
 
Chi JH, Manley GT, and Chou D. Pregnancy-related vertebral hemangioma: case report, review of the literature, and management algorithm. Neurosurg Focus [serial on the Internet] 2005 [cited 2005 Sep 22];19(3):[7 p.]. Available from: http://www.aans.org/education/journal/neurosurgical/Sep05/19-3-7.pdf.
 
Acosta FL, Jr, Chin CT, Quinones-Hinojosa A, Ames CP, Weinstein PR, Chou D. Diagnosis and management of adult pyogenic osteomyelitis of the cervical spine. Neurosurg Focus [serial on the Internet] 2004 [cited 2004 Dec 5];17:[9 p.]. Available from: http://www.aans.org/education/journal/neurosurgical/dec04/17-6-2.pdf.
 
Chou D, Storm PB, Campbell JN. Vulnerability of the subcostal nerve to injury from bone graft harvesting from the iliac crest. J Neurosurg (Spine 1) 2004;1:87-89.
 
Storm PB, Chou D, Tamargo RJ. Lumbar spinal stenosis, cauda equina syndrome, and multiple lumbosacral radiculopathies. Phys Med Rehabil Clin N Am 2002;13:713-33, ix.
 
Storm PB, Chou D, Tamargo RJ. Surgical management of cervical and lumbosacral radiculopathies: indications and outcomes. Phys Med Rehabil Clin N Am 2002;13:735-59.
 
Conway JE, Chou D, Clatterbuck RE, Brem H, Long DM, Rigamonti D. Hemangioblastomas of the central nervous system in von Hippel-Lindau syndrome and sporadic disease. Neurosurgery 2001;48:55-62; discussion 62-3.
 
Chou D, Sampath P, Brem H. Hemorrhagic vestibular schwannomma: an unusual clinical entity. Neurosurg Focus [serial on the internet] 1998 [accessed 2004 July 1];5:[7 p]. Available from: http://www.aans.org/education/journal/neurosurgical/sept98/5-3-9.asp.
 
Chou D, Miyashita T, Mohrenweiser HW, Ueki K, Kastury K, Druck T, von Deimling A, Huebner K, Reed JC, Louis DN. The BAX gene maps to the glioma candidate region at 19q13.3, but is not altered in human gliomas. Cancer Genet Cytogenet 1996;88:136-40.
 
Fike JR, Gobbel GT, Chou D, Wijnhoven BP, Bellinzona M, Nakagawa M, Seilhan TM. Cellular proliferation and infiltration following interstitial irradiation of normal dog brain is altered by an inhibitor of polyamine synthesis. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys 1995;32:1035-45.
 
Yong WH, Chou D, Ueki K, Harsh GR 4th, von Deimling A, Gusella JF, Mohrenweiser HW, Louis DN. Chromosome 19q deletions in human gliomas overlap telomeric to D19S219 and may target a 425 kb region centromeric to D19S112. J Neuropathol Exp Neurol 1995;54:622-6.
 
Yong WH, Ueki K, Chou D, Reeves SA, von Deimling A, Gusella JF, Mohrenweiser HW, Buckler AJ, Louis DN. Cloning of a highly conserved human protein serine-threonine phosphatase gene from the glioma candidate region on chromosome 19q13.3. Genomics 1995;29:533-6.