Neurosurgery at the University of Virginia

One hundred years of neurosurgery at the Medical College of Virginia/Virginia Commonwealth University (1919-2019)

The Department of Neurosurgery at the Medical College of Virginia/Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) celebrates its 100th anniversary in 2019. It was founded by C. C. Coleman, who directed the US Army School of Brain Surgery during World War I and was one of the original members of the Society of Neurological Surgeons. Coleman began a residency program that was among the first four such programs in the United States and that produced such prominent graduates as Frank Mayfield, Gayle Crutchfield, and John Meredith. Neurosurgery at VCU later became a division under the medical school's surgery department. Division chairs included William Collins and Donald Becker. It was during the Becker years that VCU became a leading National Institutes of Health-funded neurotrauma research center. Harold Young oversaw the transition from division to department and expanded the practice base of the program. In 2015, Alex Valadka assumed leadership and established international collaborations for research and education. In its first 100 years, VCU Neurosurgery has distinguished itself as an innovator in clinical research and an incubator of compassionate and service-oriented physicians.

Young Neurosurgeons Committee of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons: Training Ground for Future Leaders in Organized Neurosurgery in the United States of America

The Young Neurosurgeons Committee, founded in 1991 by Dr. Roberto C. Heros, has been a vital component of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons. It has grown from an opportunity for young neurosurgeons to network with senior neurosurgeons to becoming the major voice of young neurosurgeons and a training ground for the future leaders of organized neurosurgery. The present report has reviewed the leadership involvement of 168 previous Young Neurosurgeons Committee members and briefly highlighted the careers of 4 of these members who have attained leadership positions in neurosurgery.

The early history of neurosurgery in the American South

As a specialty, neurosurgery was not on firm footing at the turn of the century (1900); however, it was brought into being in the American South early in the 20th century by seven young surgeons, all of whom performed neurosurgical procedures as part of their general surgery practice. A close look at the seven reveals that they were trained and/or influenced in varying degrees by either Dr. Harvey Cushing or Dr. Victor Horsley, two outstanding surgeons and teachers of this period. After overcoming many obstacles, these seven men firmly established the surgical specialty of neurosurgery in the South.