James M. Schuster, MD, PhD

Neurosurgery
Accepting new patients
Sees patients age 15 and up
Penn Neurosurgery Westtown
View 1 additional location
Headshot of James M. Schuster, MD, PhD
Penn Medicine Provider

About me

  • Director, Neurotrauma
  • Director, Neurosurgery Education
  • Professor of Neurosurgery at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania

My education and training

  • Medical School: Duke University Medical Center
  • Residency: University of Washington School of Medicine
  • Residency: Atkinson Morley's Hospital
  • Residency: University of Washington
  • Fellowship: University of Washington

Spoken languages

English
English

Reviews

Average Rating

792 reviews

Comments are submitted by patients and reflect their views and opinions. The comments are not endorsed by and do not necessarily reflect the views of Penn Medicine.

Anonymous
July 2026
recommended by my primary md
Anonymous
July 2026
felt comfortable and a little less afraid.
Anonymous
July 2026
i actually went to see dr schuster on a recommendation from a friend and i in turn recommended him to my family member.
Anonymous
July 2026
i trust their medical expertise

Insurance accepted

Please contact the practice and/or the member services department of your insurance company for specific details before receiving services. Providers may participate in some, but not all, products offered by a health plan; providers may also accept plans at some practice locations but not others.

Locations

Penn Medicine hospital privileges

  • Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania: Has privileges to treat patients in the hospital.
  • Pennsylvania Hospital: Has privileges to treat patients in the hospital.
  • Penn Presbyterian Medical Center: Has privileges to treat patients in the hospital.
Dr. Schuster is a Penn Medicine physician.

Qualifications and experience

Treatments and conditions

Research

Publications

Hoglund ZT, Kathawate VG, Sollenberger CS, Wu AQ, Englander R, Rani N, Saadoun J, Massaad E, Schuster JM, Marcotte PJ, Shammassian BH, Welch WC, Casper DS, Ozturk AK, Ali ZS, Malhotra NR, Shin JH, Judy BF. Cost-effectiveness of three-level cervical disc arthroplasty vs. anterior discectomy and fusion: a comparative single-system analysis , J Spine Surg, 12: 2026,90


Versteeg AL, Sahgal A, Laufer I, Rhines LD, Sciubba DM, Schuster JM, Weber MH, Lazary A, Boriani S, Bettegowda C, Fehlings MG, Clarke MJ, Arnold PM, Gokaslan ZL, Barzilai O, Dea N, Gasbarrini A, Netzer C, Reynolds JJ, Verlaan JJ, Fisher CG, AO Spine Knowledge Forum tumor. Minimal clinically important differences in the Spine Oncology Study Group Outcomes Questionnaire (SOSGOQ2.0) in patients with symptomatic spinal metastases. , Spine J.: 2026


Golubovsky JL, Rajan A, Gu BJ, Chen HI, Petrov D, Ali ZS, Shammassian BH, Schuster JM. Percutaneous navigation-assisted versus open posterior fixation for thoracolumbar fractures in ankylosing spinal diseases: a single-institution 15-year cohort analysis , J Neurosurg Spine, 45: 2026,160-168


Meredyth N, Song J, Hatchimonji J, Haddad D, Cannon J, Wathen C, Howard S, Schuster J, Kaufman E. Brain and body: Early decision making and outcomes for multiply injured patients with penetrating brain injury , J Trauma Acute Care Surg, 100: 2026,478-483


Xu E, Karsalia R, Kost J, Park K, Malhotra RD, Gor A, McClintock SD, Butala A, Peters GW, Hassankhani A, Knollman HM, Schuster J, Freeman CW, Malhotra NR. Matched Analysis of the Risk Assessment and Prediction Tool for Post-Operative Disposition Needs in a Spinal Oncology Population , Global Spine J: 2026


Golubovsky JL, Crabill GA, Rajan A, Messing I, Massaad E, Hu BY, Hejazi-Garcia C, Wathen CA, Shost M, Ozturk AK, Shin JH, Cipriano CA, Weber KL, Peters GW, Butala AA, Malhotra NR, Schuster JM. A retrospective cohort analysis evaluating the utility of the spinal instability neoplastic score in screening for spinal instability and vertebral compression fracture risk in plasma cell neoplasm and lymphoma lesions , Spine J: 2026


Ghenbot Y, Turlip RW, Howard S, Arena JD, Dagli MM, Ahmad HS, Petrov D, Shammassian B, Ali Z, Schuster JM. Osteotomy of a Congenital Paracondylar Process: 2-Dimensional Operative Video. , Oper Neurosurg.: 2025


Fehlings MG, Pedro KM, Alvi MA, Moghaddamjou A, Harrop JS, Stanford R, Ball J, Aarabi B, Arnold PM, Guest JD, Kurpad SN, Schuster JM, Nassr AN, Schmitt KM, Wilson JR, Brodke DS, Ahmad FU, Yee A, Ray WZ, Brooks NP, Wilson J, Chow DS, Toups EG, Thorpe KE, Huang J, Huang P The sodium-glutamate antagonist riluzole improves outcome after acute spinal cord injury: results from the RISCIS randomised controlled trial analysed using a global statistical analytic technique. , EBioMedicine: 2025


Xu E, Schuster JM, Butala A, Peters GW, Hassankhani A, Knollman HM, Freeman CW, Malhotra NR. Disparities in patient enrollment of spinal oncology clinical trials. , Neurooncol Pract., 12(5): 2025,892-900


Wathen C, Santangelo G, Muhammad N, Ellens N, Catanzaro S, Singh A, Dagli MM, Petrov D, Ozturk AK, Bender M, Stone JJ, Schuster J. Management and outcomes of cerebrovascular injuries after gunshot wounds to the cervical spine. . doi: 10.1016/j.clineuro.2024.108376. Epub 2024 Jun 7. PMID: 38865803. , Clin Neurol Neurosurg. 2024 Aug;243:108376: 2024