History

Our worldwide effort to support neurosurgery education began in the fall of 1992 with a chance meeting between Henry Marsh, an Oxford-trained British neurosurgeon, and Igor Kurilets, a young Ukrainian neurosurgeon eager to improve neurosurgical care for the the people of the Ukraine. Based on a relationship of friendship and sustained commitment, Henry and Igor developed a program for improving patient care through yearly educational visits by Ukrainian neurosurgeons to hospitals in London complemented by targeted medical supply missions in support of neurosurgical clinics in Kiev. With the assistance of Richard Hatfield, a British colleague and neurosurgeon from Wales, a humanitarian grant from the British Government was awarded to provide internet access for the exchange of patient data, radiologic images, and consultation advice. Over the course of a decade, Henry, Igor and Richard developed international neurosurgery clinics in Kiev and Lviv which have provided state-of-the-art treatment for hundreds of patients while simultaneously training a new generation of young Ukrainian neurosurgeons in advanced operative techniques.

Using this successful partnership as a model, Neurosurgery International was established in Seattle, Washington in October 2000 as a non-profit educational foundation with the goal of improving neurosurgical treatment and education in developing countries through partnership based educational programs. A major initial emphasis was the expansion of internet communication through the use of real-time web-based consultations and disease specific databases. As a result of these efforts a worldwide community of neurosurgeons interested in international partnerships and internet-based collaborations quickly developed. Today Neurosurgery International programs operate globally in a variety of developed and developing countries including major new initiatives in the Russian Far East and Asia.