Neurological Surgery

Thomas Jefferson University Hospital
Methodist Hospital Division of Thomas Jefferson University Hospital

Director, Division of Spine and Peripheral Nerve Disorders

Dr. James Harrop is a Board Certified Professor of Neurological Surgery. He completed his neurosurgical residency training at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital. He then completed a post-graduate combined neurosurgical and orthopedic spine fellowship at the Cleveland Clinic.

His areas of expertise include the treatment of:

• spinal cord injury
• spinal trauma and fractures
• spine oncology (tumors and neoplasms)
• intradural and extradural tumors
• complex spine procedures and spinal instrumentation
• revision spinal surgeries

Invited Lectures (2004-present)

Spine & Spinal Cord Injury Future Therapies. MCP/DUCOM, Philadelphia, PA, February 20, 2004

Metastatic Disease and the Spinal Cord and Column, Kimmel Cancer Center Grand Rounds, Philadelphia, PA, March 10, 2004.

Spinal Cord Injury and Treatment Strategies. The 16th Pan-Philadelphia Neurosurgery Conference, Philadelphia, PA, December 3, 2004.

Occipital cervicothoracic fixation Nex-Link". NASS 19th Annual Meeting, Chicago, IL, October 2004.

Adult & pediatric spinal trauma (Practical Course PC18). CNS Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA, October 2004.

Advances in posterior cervical instrumentation. Thomas Jefferson Spine Fellow Symposium, Cambridge, MD, July 2004.

Cervical Spine & Sports Injuries, 31st Annual Scientific Meeting of ASIA, Marco Island, FL, April 2005.

The natural history and surgical management of cervical myelopathy, AAPM&R, Philadelphia, PA, 2005.

A new classification of thoracolumbar fractures: the importance of mechanism of injury, neurologic status and the integrity of the posterior osteoligamentous complex. AANS 67th Annual Meeting, Half Moon Bay, CA, September 22, 2005.

Lumbosacral biomechanics (practical course), CNS, Boston, MA, October 8, 2005.

Future SCI treatments (practical course), CNS, Boston, MA, October 9, 2005.

Operative Debates, Recurrent lumbar disc herniation. NASS, Philadelphia, PA, October 2005

New Technologies in the surgical management of cervical spine pathologies, October 21-22, 2005.

Anterior instrumentation constructs in TL spine trauma: techniques and construct options. STSG Medtronic Sofamor Danek, November 2005, Memphis, TN.

Consultants' Corner: Spinal Disorders Panel. 17th Pan-Philadelphia Neurosurgery Conference, Philadelphia, PA, December 2, 2005

Biomechanics of the spine. Neurosurgery Residents Spine Education Summit, Boston, MA, March 2-4, 2006.

Surgical management of thoracolumbar trauma to the spine. Neurosurgery Residents Spine Education Summit, Boston, MA, March 2-4, 2006.

How do we define injury to the posterior ligamentous complex in the setting of thoracolumbar trauma? Federation of Spine Associations, CSRS ASIA, March 25, 2006.

Emergency treatment for spinal injury (adult & pediatrics). Philadelphia International Medicine Video Conference, Philadelphia, PA, April 4, 2006.

Acute spinal cord issue from the ER to the future. Nursing Conference, Philadelphia, PA, June 13, 2006.

Neurosurgery management of spine trauma. American Society of Neuroradiologists. February 23,2007; Marco Island, Florida.

Cervical facet with incomplete spinal cord injury. Cervical Spine Research Society, Dec 3, 2008;Austin, Texas.

Spinal deformity complications. Advanced Deformity Peer-to-Peer Meeting. Dec. 13, 2008: NYC, NY.

Tips for fixation in soft bone. Advanced Deformity Peer-to-Peer Meeting. Dec. 13, 2008: NYC, NY.

Occipital Condyle Fractures: Epidemiology, Classification and Treatment (Invited Discussant). AANS, May 4, 2009: San Diego, CA

Dr. Harrop is a neurological surgeon who treats neurologic diseases and specializes in the complete surgical management of spine disorders. This includes common conditions like degenerative disc disease (e.g., scoliosis, disc herniations, spinal stenosis), to rarer ones, such as traumatic spinal cord injury and tumors within the spinal cord and canal. Dr. Harrop did a fellowship in Orthopedic and Neurosurgery Spine.  He is the Neurologic director of the Delaware Valley SCI center.  Recently, he has spearheaded the creation of Jefferson’s Comprehensive Spine Unit. This model, an innovative collaboration between Orthopedic Surgery and Neurological Surgery, was designed to provide patients with care supported by the most recent literature emerging from both fields. This has allowed the team to decrease the amount of time people spend away from home after spine surgery and shorten their course of rehabilitation. This interest in quality and improved care resulted in him further training and receiving his Masters in Quality Improvement and Patient Care.

spinal cord injury; spinal trauma and fractures; spine oncology (tumors and neoplasms; intradural and extradural tumors; complex spine procedures; spinal instrumentation; revision spinal surgeries; herniated disc; spinal stenosis; spondylosis; spondylolisthesis