Physician Bios

John K. Stokes, MD

Board-Certified Neurosurgeon
Fellowship-Trained in Spinal Neurosurgery
Co-Chief, Texas Spine and Scoliosis

Dr. John Stokes is a board-certified neurosurgeon and fellowship-trained spine specialist whose practice is dedicated exclusively to spinal surgery. With more than 14 years in practice in Austin, he has performed thousands of spinal procedures and serves as a regional referral resource for both routine and complex spinal conditions. Despite maintaining one of the busiest surgical practices in the area, Dr. Stokes is guided by an ethical, conservative-care-first philosophy, ensuring that surgery is recommended only when truly necessary.

Raised in East Texas, Dr. Stokes earned his undergraduate degree from The University of Texas at Austin in 1991, continuing a long family tradition of Longhorn graduates. He received his medical degree from The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio in 1995. He then completed his neurosurgical residency at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he served as Chief Resident before finishing his training in 2001.

Driven by a strong interest in spinal neurosurgery, Dr. Stokes pursued advanced fellowship training at the Cedars-Sinai Institute for Spinal Disorders and UCLA, completing his fellowship in 2002. He then returned to Austin with his family to begin his spine-focused practice. In 2009, he was named Co-Chief of Texas Spine and Scoliosis and is the only fellowship-trained spinal neurosurgeon affiliated with the Seton Brain and Spine Institute.

Dr. Stokes achieved board certification from the American Board of Neurological Surgery in 2005 and remains a member in good standing. He is also an active member of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons and the Congress of Neurological Surgeons. In addition to his clinical work, Dr. Stokes maintains an active research interest and has authored numerous peer-reviewed scientific publications. He served as a principal investigator in the Mobi-C cervical artificial disc Investigational Device Exemption (IDE) study, which led to the device becoming the first artificial disc approved by the FDA for two-level cervical implantation.

Special interests:

• Cervical artificial disc implantation
• Minimally invasive and endoscopic spine surgery
• Spinal cord and spinal column tumors

Clinical Services:

Degenerative spine

• Conservative care of degenerative spinal disorders
• Lumbar and Cervical artificial disc placement
• Minimally invasive cervical, thoracic and lumbar micro discectomy
• Endoscopic discectomy
• Minimally invasive spinal fusion
• Open spinal fusion
• Cervical, thoracic and lumbar decompression for stenosis
• Cervical, thoracic and lumbar reconstruction for instability
• Cervical and thoracic treatment of myelopathy

Tumors

• Primary tumors of the spinal cord and associated structures (glioma, meningioma, schwannoma, etc.)
• Primary tumors of the spinal column
• Metastatic tumors of the spinal column

Spinal Deformity

• Conservative care of adult spinal deformity
• Adult scoliosis surgery
• Adult kyphosis surgery
• Care for the previously operated scoliosis patient
• Complex spinal instrumentation

Personal Website

Meet Dr. Stokes - Treating Neck & Back Pain in Austin for over 14 years