Theresa Williamson

Theresa Williamson, MD

Co-Chair, Surgical Ethics Working Group, HMS Center for Bioethics
Faculty Neurosurgeon, Massachusetts General Hospital & Harvard Medical School

Theresa Williamson, MD, is a neurosurgeon and surgical ethics researcher who cares for people with all types of spine disorders as well as brain and spinal trauma.  Her clinical expertise includes tailoring an approach to best fit the patient and their disease including using minimally invasive techniques. Her research focus is neurosurgical decision-making and patient-doctor communication as well as health care disparities.  She combines bioethics theory with empirical data science to tackle complex decision-making problems in neurosurgery.  Dr. Williamson is a member of the Center for Outcomes and Patient Safety in Surgery (COMPASS) at Massachusetts General Hospital.

Dr. Williamson comes to MGH from Duke University.  At Duke, she completed a neurosurgery residency.  She then completed an intramural fellowship at Duke as part of the combined neurosurgery and orthopedic surgery complex spine fellowship approved by the Committee on Advanced Subspecialty Training (CAST).  Her clinical skills were recognized when she was named the Resident Clinician of the Year (2017) and her leadership skills were recognized with the Leadership Award (2020).  She completed the University of Chicago Maclean and American College of Surgeons Surgical Ethics Fellowship (2021).  She is a graduate of the Yale School of Medicine (2014) and Yale College (2009) where she was a varsity soccer player.

Publications View
Implication of nutritional status for adverse outcomes after surgery for metastatic spine tumors.
Authors: Authors: Rigney GH, Massaad E, Kiapour A, Razak SS, Duvall JB, Burrows A, Khalid SI, De La Garza Ramos R, Tobert DG, Williamson T, Shankar GM, Schoenfeld AJ, Shin JH.
J Neurosurg Spine
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Can We Use Artificial Intelligence Cluster Analysis to Identify Patients with Metastatic Breast Cancer to the Spine at Highest Risk of Postoperative Adverse Events?
Authors: Authors: Fourman MS, Siraj L, Duvall J, Ramsey DC, De La Garza Ramos R, Hadzipasic M, Connolly I, Williamson T, Shankar GM, Schoenfeld A, Yassari R, Massaad E, Shin JH.
World Neurosurg
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Preface to Clinical Neurosurgery Volume 69, Proceedings of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons 2022 Annual Meeting.
Authors: Authors: Williamson T.
Neurosurgery
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Commentary: Workplace Meaning for Workplace Wellness: One Health System's Early Experience With a Mobile Application.
Authors: Authors: Mitchell T, Giusto A, Greene C, Staples B, Haglund M, Williamson T.
Neurosurgery
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Racial disparities in inpatient clinical presentation, treatment, and outcomes in brain metastasis.
Authors: Authors: McCray E, Waguia R, de la Garza Ramos R, Price MJ, Williamson T, Dalton T, Sciubba DM, Yassari R, Goodwin AN, Fecci P, Johnson MO, Chaichana K, Goodwin CR.
Neurooncol Pract
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Definitely, Maybe: Helping Patients Make Decisions about Surgery When Prognosis Is Uncertain.
Authors: Authors: Mitchell T, Abdelgadir J, Oshotse C, Ubel PA, Williamson T.
J Clin Ethics
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Assessment of Spinal Metastases Surgery Risk Stratification Tools in Breast Cancer by Molecular Subtype.
Authors: Authors: Duvall JB, Massaad E, Siraj L, Kiapour A, Connolly I, Hadzipasic M, Elsamadicy AA, Williamson T, Shankar GM, Schoenfeld AJ, Fourman MS, Shin JH.
Neurosurgery
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Commentary: Sacral Pedicle Subtraction Osteotomy for Treatment of High-Grade Spondylolisthesis: A Technical Note and Review of the Literature.
Authors: Authors: Williamson T, Massaad E, Shin JH.
Oper Neurosurg (Hagerstown)
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Palliative Care Consultations in Patients with Severe Traumatic Brain Injury: Who Receives Palliative Care Consultations and What Does that Mean for Utilization?
Authors: Authors: Williamson TL, Adil SM, Shalita C, Charalambous LT, Mitchell T, Yang Z, Parente BA, Lee HJ, Ubel PA, Lemmon ME, Galanos AN, Lad SP, Komisarow JM.
Neurocrit Care
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Front-Back Cervical Deformity Correction by Anterior Cervical Discectomy and Fusion With Posterior Instrumentation: 2-Dimensional Operative Video.
Authors: Authors: Srinivasan ES, Karikari IO, Williamson T, Shaffrey CI, Than KD.
Oper Neurosurg (Hagerstown)
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