Zachary Medress, MD
About Me
Earning the trust of my patients to operate on the most delicate and complex organ system in the body is a privilege that I approach with humility. I decided to become a neurosurgeon because I wanted to play a key role in providing healing and meaningful recovery to patients with disorders of the nervous system.
As a neurosurgeon, Dr. Medress strives to alleviate suffering and prevent further neurologic deterioration by using the most up-to-date surgical techniques. Nothing makes him happier than seeing his patients return to the lives they want to live, alongside their families and loved ones.
Dr. Medress is a Stanford educated and trained neurosurgeon with advanced sub-specialty fellowship training in complex and minimally invasive spine surgery and expertise in general neurosurgery. At Stanford, he was awarded the Samuel Hassenbusch Young Neurosurgeon Award from the Congress of Neurological Surgeons and the Robert Florin, MD Resident Award by the American Association of Neurological Surgeons. He has published over 50 manuscripts and book chapters within the field of neurosurgery and neuroscience. His clinical areas of focus include minimally invasive spine surgery, treatment of spinal stenosis, spondylolisthesis, spinal deformity, spinal tumors, infections of the spine, chiari malformations, and brain tumors.
Dr. Medress is inspired by the resilience, will, and strength of his patients, many of whom have recovered after facing incredibly challenging diagnoses and enduring technically demanding procedures.
Outside of work, Dr. Medress enjoys exploring the beautiful outdoors of the Pacific Northwest with his wife and children.
Dr. Medress loves the friendly, open, and inclusive culture of the Pacific Northwest. Nothing beats the coffee, trees, and natural beauty of Portland.
My Work
Education & Honors
- Residency, Neurosurgery, Stanford Hospital and Clinics, Palo Alto, CA, 2022
- Fellowship, Complex and Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery, Stanford Hospital and Clinics, Palo Alto, CA, 2020
- MD, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA, 2015
- BA, Human Biology, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA, 2009
- Samuel Hassenbusch Young Neurosurgeon Award (Congress of Neurological Surgeons)
- Robert Florin, MD Resident Award (American Association of Neurological Surgeons)
- Top Resident Abstract--2nd place (California Association of Neurological Surgeons)
- Estelle and Bernard Shuer Award for Excellence in Neuroscience Research (Stanford University)
- Pacific Palisades Rotary Club Scholarship, Crossroads Achievement Award
- Medress ZA, Xu LW, Ziskin JL, Lefterova MI, Vogel H, Li G. Pilocytic astrocytoma with IDH1 mutation in the cerebellum of an elderly patient. Clin Neuropathol. 2015;34(2):96-98
- Jin MC, Medress ZA, Azad TD, Doulames VM, Veeravagu A. Stem cell therapies for acute spinal cord injury in humans: a review. Neurosurg Focus. 2019;46(3):E10.
- Bhambhvani HP, Rodrigues AJ, Medress ZA, Hayden Gephart M. Racial and socioeconomic correlates of treatment and survival among patients with meningioma: a population-based study. J Neurooncol. 2020;147(2):495-501.
- Cheng I, Stienen MN, Medress ZA, et al. Single- versus dual-attending strategy for spinal deformity surgery: 2-year experience and systematic review of the literature. J Neurosurg Spine. 2020:1-12.
- Marquardt LM, Doulames VM, Wang AT, et al. Designer, injectable gels to prevent transplanted Schwann cell loss during spinal cord injury therapy. Sci Adv. 2020;6(14):eaaz1039.
- Medress Z, Ugiliweneza B, Parker J, et al. Simulating Episode-Based Bundled Payments for Cranial Neurosurgical Procedures. Neurosurgery. 2020;87(1):86-95.
- Medress ZA, Veeravagu A. Commentary: Predictors of the Best Outcomes Following Minimally Invasive Surgery for Grade 1 Degenerative Lumbar Spondylolisthesis. Neurosurgery. 2020.
- Varshneya K, Medress ZA, Jensen M, et al. Trends in Anterior Lumbar Interbody Fusion in the United States: A MarketScan Study From 2007 to 2014. Clin Spine Surg. 2020;33(5):E226-e230.
- Zhang Y, Fatemi P, Medress Z, et al. A predictive-modeling based screening tool for prolonged opioid use after surgical management of low back and lower extremity pain. Spine J. 2020;20(8):1184-1195.
- Varshneya K, Stienen MN, Medress ZA, et al. Risk Factors for Revision Surgery after Primary Adult Thoracolumbar Deformity Surgery. Clin Spine Surg. 2021
- Stanford Neurosurgery Mission in Mbarra, Uganda
- Member, American Association of Neurological Surgeons
- Member, Congress of Neurological Surgeons
- Member, Joint Spine Section
- Member, The Hanbery Society