Curtis Dickman

Curtis Dickman (born August 4, 1959) is an American researcher, author, and retired Neurosurgeon.

He was the Founder of the Spinal Biomechanics Research Laboratory, the Director of Spine Research, the Associate Chief of the Spine Section, and the Volker Sonntag Endowed Chair of Spinal Surgery at Barrow Neurological Institute (BNI).

Education and early career Dickman received his B.S. in Psychology from Arizona State University in 1981 and his M.D. from the University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, in 1985.

Between 1986 and 1992, Dickman received Residency Training in Neurological Surgery at Barrow Neurological Institute. After completing his training, Dickman joined the faculty of the Department of Neurosurgery, specializing in neurosurgery of the spine. He pioneered the field of thoracoscopic neurosurgery, becoming one of the first neurosurgeons to use endoscopes for treating diseases of the thoracic spine via a minimally invasive method.

In 1998, he treated the baseball pitcher Billy Wagner and made national headlines in 2003 when he helped save an 18-year-old patient Marcos Parra whose skull was ripped from his cervical spine in an automobile accident.

He was as a Scientific Reviewer and Chairman of the Scientific Program Committees of the North American Spine Society (NASS) In 2015, Dickman retired from practicing medicine. He writes, produces diverse artwork, and aids humanitarian and philanthropic organizations.

Dickman founded a band, Crosstown Traffic, that helped raise more than $9 million for Arizona charities.

Dickman holds memberships in the American Association of Neurological Surgeons, the American Medical Association, the American Spinal Injury Association, the Arizona Medical Association, the Arizona Neurosurgical Society, the Congress of Neurological Surgeons, the Joint Section of Spinal Disorders and Peripheral Nerves, and the Maricopa County Medical Society.

He also served in numerous national leadership and committee roles, including appointments with the North American Spine Society (CPT Coding, Research and Grants Review, and Scientific Program Committees, including Chair), the Cervical Spine Research Society, and multiple committees and executive positions within the Congress of Neurological Surgeons and the Joint Section of Spinal Disorders and Peripheral Nerves, as well as national committee service for the American Medical Association and the American Association of Neurological Surgeons.

Art Dickman developed a parallel professional career as a contemporary visual artist whose practice centers on perceptual art, opticokinetic effects, and reverse-perspective sculpture, creating interactive mixed-media works that change according to the viewer’s position. Based in Paradise Valley, Arizona, he has exhibited widely in Arizona and beyond and was appointed Artist in Residence for the Town of Paradise Valley (2025–2026), presenting a continuous year-long public exhibition at the town complex beginning in October 2025.

His work has been shown at the Barrow Neurological Institute, community and museum-style exhibitions in Phoenix and Scottsdale, and at multiple art galleries. A component of his artistic career is philanthropic practice: for more than a decade he has donated major works to benefit Childhelp, with numerous high-profile live auctions and commissions raising more than $250,000, including large-scale opticokinetic and sculptural works honoring figures such as Muhammad Ali, Sir Elton John, Jewel Pilcher and Keith Richards.

Other works Dickman launched Curtis Dickman Fine Art in Paradise Valley, Arizona around 2009 and has since developed a practice focused on vibrant mixed-media works, optical illusions, reverse-perspective constructions, and multimedia sculpture. His work explores perception, healing, and emotional narrative through optical and tactile elements that invite active viewer engagement.

As an author and advocate, Dickman wrote Living With Edwin (2022), a memoir that intertwines his art-therapy journey with experiences of childhood abuse, post-traumatic stress, and recovery, and pays tribute to his father’s resilience.

He also published clinical and biomechanical studies on lumbar and thoracic pedicle screw fixation vertebral artery injury during cervical surgery, and anatomical suitability of the upper cervical spine for internal fixation.

A major area of his research advanced thoracoscopic and endoscopic approaches to the thoracic spine, including large clinical series and technical studies demonstrating the safety and effectiveness of minimally invasive access for thoracic disc disease, trauma, deformity, and tumor surgery. Thoracoscopic Spine Surgery, Surgical Anatomy & Techniques to the Spine , and Surgery of the Craniovertebral Junction, which reflect his sustained scholarly leadership in complex spinal and craniovertebral surgery.

Patents

Plating system for stabilizing a bony segment, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006 Intervertebral disc replacement, 2002, 2006, 2007 Spinal plating and intervertebral support systems and methods, 2006 Anterior planting system and method, 2003, 2005

Recent Publications

Medical Books

Dickman CA, Fehlings M, Gokaslan ZL: Spinal Cord and Spinal Column Tumor. Thieme Medical Publishers Dickman CA, Spetzler RF, Sonntag VKH: Surgery of the Craniovertebral Junction. Thieme Medical Publishers, 1998 Dickman CA, Rosenthal D, Perin N: Thoracoscopic Spine Surgery. Thieme Medical Publishers, 1999. Dickman CA, Kim D, Henn J, Vaccaro A: Surgical Anatomy and Techniques to the Spine

Medical Scientific Papers (Peer-Reviewed)

Clark, J. C., Oppenlander, M. E., & Dickman, C. A. (2016). "Thoracoscopy: a minimally invasive approach to the anterior thoracic spine." Barrow Q, 26, 13-19.

Hartl R, Theodore N, Dickman CA, Sonntag VKH (2004). "Technique of Thoracic Pedicle Screw Fixation for Trauma. Operative Techniques in Neurosurgery," (7) 1,22-30. Annes CP, Smith JS, Preul MC, Crawford NR, Kim GE, Nottmeier E, Chamberlain R, Speiser B, Sonntag VKH, Dickman CA., (2004). "Effect of Recombinant Human Bone Morphogenetic Protein-2 in an Experimental Model of Spinal Fusion in a Radiated Area." Spine(30) 23, 2585-2592 Karahalios, D.G., Apostolides, P.J., Vishteh, A.G. and Dickman, C.A., (1997). "Thoracoscopic spinal surgery. Treatment of thoracic instability. Neurosurgery Clinics of North America," 8(4), pp. 555–573. doi:10.1016/S1042-3680(18)30300-0 Romanelli DA, Dickman CA, Porter RW, Haynes RJ, (1996). "Comparison of Initial Injury Features In Cervical Spine Trauma C3-C7: Predictive Outcome with Halo Vest Management." J Spinal Disorders 9 (2): 146-149 Dickman, C.A., Hadley, M.N., Browner, C. and Sonntag, V.K., (1989). "Neurosurgical management of acute atlas-axis combination fractures: a review of 25 cases." JournaNeurosurgeryrgery, 70(1), pp. 45–49. doi: 10.3171/jns.1989.70.1.0045