Andrew P Carlson, MD

Andrew Carlson, MD, is neurosurgeon and scientist with more than 10 years of clinical experience treating the most complex vascular and brain-related problems. He completed fellowships in both endovascular neurosurgery and skull-base/open cerebrovascular neurosurgery.

He says, “I take a holistic approach to each patient, considering their sociocultural situation, and their problem to provide the best available treatment. These range from medical management to surgery. In patients with aneurysms, for example, I strive to be able to provide top-level care with a variety of treatments so that I can tailor the treatment to the individual.”

Dr. Carlson began his career in medicine as a nurse assistant, taking care of patients before and after surgeries at the bedside.

“My patient-centric attitude progressed all the way through medical school and multiple fellowships to allow me to provide the best possible care,” he says.

“Even my research is focused on trying to better understand the most complex problems that my patients face, and offer both those patients and future patients better treatments.”

Dr. Carlson grew up in Los Alamos, New Mexico surrounded by science at the lab and beautiful natural wonders. He says, “Seeing the excitement of how we can bridge discovery in the laboratory to what is happening in the world around us, and live a life balanced between the two, was very motivating.”

He adds, “This was reinforced with a family where my mother was an artist, and my father was a nuclear physicist. Seeing how both those perspectives can shape our approach to different problems helped me better understand creative problem solving.”

In addition to his medical degree, he obtained a master’s degree in clinical research to help him in researching new treatments for complex problems, and to better understand some of the fundamental mechanisms of brain diseases.

“My research work focuses largely on what happens after we do a brain operation or procedure to better understand how we can protect the brain during the critical periods in the ICU and early recovery.”

He adds, “Neurosurgery is an amazing field that we are just beginning to ‘unlock’. Many previous problems that required large surgeries, we now have much better, safer ways to treat. My drive is to provide technically excellent, cutting-edge care for patients, and always consider whether there may be better options that we should be testing.”

Clinical Interests

• Vascular Neurosurgery (Endovascular and Open)
• Complex Cranial Neurosurgery
• Skull Base

Gender

Male

Languages

English

Age Groups Seen

Adults (21-65)
Older Adults (65+)

Primary Education

University of New Mexico School of Medicine

Residency

University of New Mexico School of Medicine

Fellowships

University of Illinois- Chicago, University of South Florida Morsani College of Medicine

Certification

American Board of Neurological Surgery (Neurological Surgery)