A fantastic voyage: a personal perspective on involvement in the development of modern stereotactic and functional neurosurgery (1974-2004).

Overview

Stressing environments, individuals, ideas, and global events, this historical stereotactic and functional neurosurgical vignette initially presents a review of factors in the genesis of personal interest and the foundations of involvement in the discipline of neurological surgery. The vignette then traces the development of concepts and instrumentation and their ultimate practical utilization in patient care on the neurosurgical services at the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California over the course of a 3-decade period (1974-2004). The article summarizes and elaborates details of contributions to the literature and complex involvement on the national and international levels as the refinements and capabilities of stereotactic and functional neurosurgery have been reinvented over a generation through the emergence of new technology, ideas, individual ingenuity, and active collegial exchange.