The first mission of our latest global health initiative took place in Dakar, Senegal, in 2018. In only one week, we successfully:
- Performed the first endoscopic resection of a craniopharyngioma in West Africa, on a 14-year-old girl.
- Repaired a myelocystocele and split cord malformation in a 1-year-old girl.
- Removed a cavernous malformation.
- Removed a brain tumor from a 10-year-old boy.
- Repaired an encephalocele in a 3-month-old girl.
- Performed a ventriculoatrial shunt operation on a 10-year-old boy.
- Removed a giant adult pituitary tumor.
- Removed a pediatric third-ventricular mass.
There is much more to be done — Senegalese hospitals are in desperate need of basic equipment and supplies and neurosurgical teams require training to perform many procedures, including minimally invasive ones — but we are committed to helping Dakar become a center of excellence. Not only do their brave and talented neurosurgeons care for local people, but patients from all over West Africa travel to Dakar to seek treatment. We hope to initiate a week-long multidisciplinary “boot camp” in order to train local neurosurgeons, nurses, and administrators to effectively conduct their organizations - financially, procedurally, and administratively. That’s how we provide the best care in the Western world, and that’s what we want for Senegal.