Neurosurgery or neurological surgery, known in common parlance as brain surgery, is the medical specialty that focuses on the surgical treatment or rehabilitation of disorders which affect any portion of the nervous system including the brain, spinal cord, peripheral nervous system, and cerebrovascular system. Neurosurgery as a medical specialty also includes non-surgical management of some neurological conditions.
The study of neurology and neurosurgery dates back to prehistoric times, but the academic disciplines did not begin until the 16th century. The formal organization of the medical specialties of neurology and neurosurgery are relatively recent, taking place in Europe and the United States only in the 20th century with the establishment of professional societies distinct from internal medicine, psychiatry and general surgery. From an observational science they developed a systematic way of approaching the nervous system and possible interventions in neurological disease.
Walter Edward Dandy was an American neurosurgeon and scientist. He is considered one of the founding fathers of neurosurgery, along with Victor Horsley (1857–1916) and Harvey Cushing (1869–1939). Dandy is credited with numerous neurosurgical discoveries and innovations, including the description of the circulation of cerebrospinal fluid in the brain, surgical treatment of hydrocephalus, the invention of air ventriculography and pneumoencephalography, the description of brain endoscopy, the establishment of the first intensive care unit, and the first clipping of an intracranial aneurysm, which marked the birth of cerebrovascular neurosurgery.
Alfredo Quiñones-Hinojosa is a Mexican-American neurosurgeon, author, and researcher. Currently, he is the William J. and Charles H. Mayo Professor and Chair of Neurologic Surgery and runs a basic science research lab at the Mayo Clinic Jacksonville in Florida.
Gail Linskey Rosseau is Clinical Professor of Neurosurgery at George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Washington, D.C. Prior to this position, she was Associate Chairman of Inova Fairfax Hospital Department of Neurosciences. She previously served as director of skull base surgery of NorthShore University HealthSystem. She is board-certified and has been an examiner for the American Board of Neurological Surgery. She has been elected to the leadership of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons, World Federation of Neurosurgical Societies, and the Société de Neurochirurgie de Langue Française.
Philip E. Stieg is an American academic physician and neurosurgeon. He has been the Neurosurgeon-in-Chief of NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center since 2000.
Griffith Rutherford Harsh IV is an American neurosurgeon, Professor of Neurological Surgery at the University of California, Davis, and former Julian R. Youmans Endowed Chair of the department. Dr. Harsh also led the UC Davis School of Medicine and UC Davis Health faculty as Chair of the Council of Department Chairs. Currently, he maintains his academic appointment at UC Davis and holds visiting professorships at the University of Nairobi and Kenyatta University, while living in Nairobi with his wife, Meg Whitman, the US Ambassador to Kenya.
Barrow Neurological Institute is the world's largest neurological disease treatment and research institution, and is consistently ranked as one of the best neurosurgical training centers in the United States. Founded in 1962, the main campus is located at 350 W. Thomas Road in Phoenix, Arizona.
Albert Loren Rhoton Jr., was an American neurosurgeon and a professor specializing in microsurgical neuroanatomy. He was on the editorial boards of six surgical journals, and worked as professor and chairman of the Department of Neurological Surgery at the University of Florida. He was also president of organizations such as the American Association of Neurological Surgeons, among other surgical organizations.
Michael L. J. Apuzzo is an American academic neurological surgeon, the Edwin M. Todd/Trent H. Wells, Jr. Professor Emeritus of Neurological Surgery and Radiation Oncology, Biology, and Physics at the Keck School of Medicine, of the University of Southern California. He is also editor emeritus of the peer-reviewed journals World Neurosurgery and Neurosurgery. He is distinguished adjunct professor of neurosurgery at the Yale School of Medicine, distinguished professor of advanced neurosurgery and neuroscience and senior advisor, at the Neurological Institute, Wexner Medical School, The Ohio State University, and adjunct professor of neurosurgery, Weill Cornell Medicine, Department of Neurological Surgery & Weill Cornell Brain and Spine Center.
Aaron A. Cohen-Gadol is a professor of clinical neurological surgery at the Keck School of Medicine of USC.
Endoscopic endonasal surgery is a minimally invasive technique used mainly in neurosurgery and otolaryngology. A neurosurgeon or an otolaryngologist, using an endoscope that is entered through the nose, fixes or removes brain defects or tumors in the anterior skull base. Normally an otolaryngologist performs the initial stage of surgery through the nasal cavity and sphenoid bone; a neurosurgeon performs the rest of the surgery involving drilling into any cavities containing a neural organ such as the pituitary gland. The use of endoscope was first introduced in Transsphenoidal Pituitary Surgery by R Jankowsky, J Auque, C Simon et al. in 1992 G.
Theodore H. Schwartz is an American medical scientist, academic physician and neurosurgeon.
James Rutka is a Canadian neurosurgeon from Toronto, Canada. Rutka served as RS McLaughlin Professor and Chair of the Department of Surgery in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto from 2011 – 2022. He subspecializes in pediatric neurosurgery at The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids), and is a Senior Scientist in the Research Institute at SickKids. His main clinical interests include the neurosurgical treatment of children with brain tumours and epilepsy. His research interests lie in the molecular biology of human brain tumours – specifically in the determination of the mechanisms by which brain tumours grow and invade. He is the Director of the Arthur and Sonia Labatt Brain Tumour Research Centre at SickKids, and Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Neurosurgery.
Robert Wheeler Rand, was an American neurosurgeon, inventor, and Professor of Neurosurgery in the Department of Neurosurgery at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) from 1953 to 1989.
Charles Anthony Fager was an American neurosurgeon, medical academic, and leader at the Lahey Hospital & Medical Center.
Nelson M. Oyesiku is a Nigerian-American professor of neurosurgery and endocrinology. With a specialty in pituitary medicine and surgery, currently, he is the chair of the department of Neurological Surgery and Professor of Medicine (Endocrinology) at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. he has been editor-in-chief of Neurosurgery, Operative Neurosurgery, and Neurosurgery Open. He was previously chair of the American Board of Neurological Surgery, among other organizations.
Claire Karekezi is a Rwandan neurosurgeon at the Rwanda Military Referral and Teaching Hospital in Kigali, Rwanda. As the first female neurosurgeon in Rwanda, and one of the eight Rwandan neurosurgeons serving a population of 14 million, Karekezi serves as an advocate for women in neurosurgery. She has become an inspiration for young people pursuing neurosurgery, particularly young women.
Sandi Lam is a Canadian pediatric neurosurgeon and is known for her research in minimally invasive endoscopic hemispherectomy for patients with epilepsy. Lam is the Vice Chair for Pediatric Neurological Surgery at Northwestern University and the Division Chief of Pediatric Neurosurgery at Lurie Children's Hospital. She has spent her career advancing pediatric brain surgery capabilities globally through her work in Kenya performing surgeries as well as training and mentoring local residents and fellows.
Deborah L. Benzil is an American neurosurgeon specializing in brain and spine tumors, stereotactic radiosurgery, socioeconomic education. She was awarded the Anthony Greto Fellowship from the Association of Brain Tumor Research. She is the Vice Chair and professor of neurosurgery at the Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio, USA.
