Education – Academic Background
Dr Dimitrios K. Isaakidis is a Specialist Neurosurgeon with extensive clinical experience and advanced postgraduate training in Neurosurgery, with a particular focus on Spinal Surgery. He graduated from the School of Medicine of Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, where he studied from 1993 to 1999 and obtained his Medical Degree. He obtained his specialist qualification in Neurosurgery in 2016, following successful completion of the relevant board examinations in Athens.
His specialist training in Neurosurgery included training at the University Hospital of Patras from 2003 to 2005 and at Thriasio Hospital from 2005 to 2009. He subsequently continued at Thriasio Hospital as a Scientific Fellow from 2009 to 2013. Prior to this, he had gained experience in General Surgery and Emergency Medicine at Tzaneio General Hospital of Piraeus.
In 2024, he was awarded the European qualification Fellow of the European Board of Neurological Surgery (FEBNS), having successfully completed both Part I and Part II examinations. In the same year, he also obtained the EUROSPINE Advanced Diploma, further demonstrating his advanced training in spinal surgery and spinal disorders.
At postgraduate level, he completed an MSc in Applied Neuroanatomy at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens between 2017 and 2021. His CV also records doctoral research at the same University focusing on the management of patients with Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus.
A significant part of his advanced training has taken place at recognised European centres. In 2019, he completed an EANS-funded observership at the Department of Neurosurgery of Rigshospitalet in Copenhagen, while in 2020 he undertook an AO Spine-funded fellowship at the Spine Center of Uppsala University Hospital in Sweden.
His continuing medical education includes an extensive range of specialised programmes in spinal surgery, microneurosurgery, neurosurgical oncology, skull base surgery, neurovascular surgery and peripheral nerve surgery. He has attended educational programmes organised by EANS, EUROSPINE and AO Spine, as well as specialised cadaveric and hands-on courses in Athens, Copenhagen, Geneva, Strasbourg, Barcelona and other European cities.
His advanced training also includes programmes in microsurgery, surgical approaches to the cervical spine, spinal tumour and trauma surgery, the management of vascular malformations of the brain and spinal cord, as well as brain and skull base anatomy.
In addition, he has repeatedly completed certified courses in Advanced Life Support (ALS), Advanced Trauma Life Support (ATLS), Advanced Medical Life Support (AMLS), Advanced Life Support in Obstetrics, European Paediatric Advanced Life Support and PreHospital Trauma Life Support. He has also participated as an instructor in Advanced Medical Life Support programmes.
Areas of Interest
Dr Isaakidis’ extensive clinical career and specialised training focus on Neurosurgery, particularly Spinal Surgery, with experience in the management of complex conditions affecting the brain, spine and peripheral nervous system. His main areas of interest include:
- Spinal Surgery
- Degenerative Disorders of the Spine
- Cervical Spondylosis and Myelopathy
- Spinal Tumours
- Spinal Trauma
- Microneurosurgery
- Neuro-oncology and Gliomas
- Skull Base Surgery
- Neurovascular Disorders
- Vascular Malformations of the Brain and Spinal Cord
- Peripheral Nerve Surgery
- Hydrocephalus
- Endoscopic Neurosurgery
- Endoscopic Third Ventriculostomy
- Neurotraumatology
His professional career includes significant international clinical experience. From 2016 to 2019, he worked as a Consultant Neurosurgeon at the 2nd Department of Neurosurgery and Neurotraumatology at Attiko University Hospital in Athens. From 2020 to 2021, he worked as a Consultant Neurosurgeon at Agia Sofia and P. & A. Kyriakou University Children’s Hospitals in Athens.
He subsequently continued his clinical career in Sweden. From December 2021 to April 2023, he worked in the Spine Section of Akademiska University Hospital in Uppsala.
Scientific and Research Work
Dr Dimitrios K. Isaakidis has an extensive scientific and research background in Neurosurgery, covering several areas of the specialty, with particular emphasis on spinal surgery, hydrocephalus, neuro-oncology, neurotraumatology and endoscopic neurosurgery.
His published scientific work includes a study on Endoscopic Third Ventriculostomy (ETV) and the experience of a Greek neurosurgical centre, published in The Surgery Journal. He has also contributed to a publication concerning visual loss following treatment of idiopathic intracranial hypertension with lumboperitoneal shunting, as well as a scientific paper on the coexistence of spinal intramedullary teratoma and diastematomyelia in an adult patient.
He has delivered oral scientific presentations at Neurosurgery congresses. At the 33rd Annual Congress of the Hellenic Neurosurgical Society, he presented work on the clinical implications of glioma molecular markers. He has also presented neurosurgical cases and outcomes related to the surgical treatment of cervical spondylosis and myelopathy using cervical corpectomy and anterior fusion.
His scientific work also includes numerous presentations and posters concerning degenerative spinal disease, recurrent lumbar disc herniation, syringomyelia associated with Arnold–Chiari malformation, endoscopic third ventriculostomy, gliomas and intracerebral haemorrhage.
He has also contributed to scientific presentations involving complex and rare neurosurgical conditions, including Weber syndrome following endoscopic third ventriculostomy, chronic subdural haematoma, intraspinal synovial cysts, spontaneous cervical epidural haematoma, brain abscess and multiple meningiomas.
In the field of spinal surgery, he has participated in presentations addressing thoracic spinal chondrosarcoma, traumatic bilateral cervical dislocation, complex lumbar spinal trauma and the conservative treatment of Jefferson fractures of the C1 vertebra.
His research activity also extends to central nervous system infections, traumatic brain injury, hydrocephalus, neurofibromatosis and intracranial tumours. He has additionally contributed to research involving the use of a portable Near Infrared Spectroscopy (NIRS) system for the diagnosis or monitoring of intracranial injury following traumatic brain injury.
Dr Isaakidis also maintains active involvement in professional and scientific organisations. His CV records memberships and affiliations including the Hellenic Neurosurgical Society, AO Spine, EUROSPINE Society, European Association of Neurosurgical Societies (EANS) and European Society of Neuroradiology, as well as registration with the General Medical Council (GMC) in the United Kingdom.
Current Position
Since December 2024, Dr Dimitrios Isaakidis has been working as an Exclusive Associate Physician at the Mediterranean Hospital of Cyprus, participating in the clinical management of neurosurgical cases and providing specialised neurosurgical care.
