David L. Dornbos III, MD

Dr. David Dornbos III is a neurosurgeon at Kentucky Neuroscience Institute who specializes in cerebrovascular and endovascular neurosurgery. He focuses on treating stroke, carotid stenosis, intracranial aneurysms, arteriovenous malformation and other vascular disorders. He is also an assistant professor in the Department of Neurological Surgery.

Dr. Dornbos earned his medical degree from the Wayne State University School of Medicine in Detroit. During this time, he authored nearly 20 publications focused on stroke care, prevention and recovery while working in a lab focused on mechanisms of acute ischemic stroke recovery. 

After obtaining his medical degree, Dr. Dornbos completed his residency at The Ohio State University in neurological surgery. In addition to publishing numerous clinical research projects related to aneurysm treatment, he also worked in a translational stroke research lab, where he developed and tested new drugs for ischemic stroke. He also led numerous quality improvement projects aimed at enhancing patient safety and elevating the quality of neurosurgical care. He then completed a fellowship in open cerebrovascular and endovascular neurosurgery at the Semmes Murphey Clinic in Memphis, Tenn. During this time, he partnered with industry leaders and numerous collaborators around the world to facilitate device development and multi-institutional research efforts to improve outcomes in ischemic stroke, intracranial aneurysms and carotid disease.

Currently, Dr. Dornbos focuses his academic research on the new imaging modalities in ischemic stroke, the cerebral microenvironment in the acute setting of stroke and new ways to safely remove blood clots during stroke. He is collaborating with other providers at UK in numerous clinical trials evaluating new treatment modalities in stroke, intracranial hemorrhage and traumatic brain injury. He is also leading several quality improvement initiatives aimed at improving the safety and care of neurosurgical patients, and he has authored over 130 peer-reviewed manuscripts. Dr. Dornbos recently obtained NIH funding for a project to better understand the early biologic changes in stroke patients and identify new therapies.

He currently serves on the Executive Committee of Congress of Neurological Surgeons as a member-at-large, focusing on the CNS Development and Education committees. Additionally, he is heavily involved with the AANS/CNS Cerebrovascular Section and the Society of Neurointerventional Surgery. 
 

Personal Statement

Vascular and neurosurgical diseases have profound implications on a patient's life. Whenever discussing options with my patients, I try to make things as relatable and easy to understand as possible. 

Outside of medicine, I love the outdoors and enjoy activities such as hiking, running, cycling and spending time with my family. When caring for patients affected by neurosurgical disease, my primary goal is to preserve their ability to enjoy these same things, too, for as long as possible. 

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