Jourosurgery: Walter Dandy And Dr. Harvey Williams Cushing

Even though Hippocrates was a very prominent person known in the medical field for his many theories about medical practices, such as neurosurgery, there are many other people to thank for the advancements in the neurosurgery field. These people include Walter Dandy, Benjamin Carson, and Harvey Williams Cushing. Walter Dandy is regarded as the founder of neurosurgery, alongside his mentor Harvey Cushing. Walter Dandy was a graduate of the well-known University John Hopkins and after graduating, went on to work at John Hopkins Hospital. When Dr. Dandy began working at John Hopkins Hospital, he concentrated on studying the different disorders of the brain and spinal cord. Because of his focus on the brain and spinal cord, Dr. Dandy contributed
greatly to the many innovations in neurosurgery. Several of Dr. Dandy’s discoveries included treatment of hydrocephalus, air ventriculography and pneumoncephalography, and the first clipping of an intracranial aneurysm. The first clipping of an intracranial aneurysm made way for a new specialty called cerebrovascular neurosurgery, but his most important discovery would have to be ventriculography. Because of Dr. Dandy’s discovery of ventriculography, it allowed neurosurgeons to find the correct location of an intracranial brain tumor (Phillips). Furthermore, Dr.
Harvey Williams Cushing also contributed a great deal to neurosurgery from the many new techniques he developed. Unlike Dr. Dandy, Dr. Cushing’s student he trained, Dr. Cushing was a graduate of Yale University and studied at Harvard Medical School. When he was thirty two, he worked at John Hopkins Hospital as an associate professor of surgery. From here, Dr. Harvey Cushing began his life journey of accomplishments. Some of the techniques he established for neurosurgery include using x-rays to diagnose tumors and using electrical stimuli to study the human sensory cortex. Dr. Cushing also had many inventions such as the blood pressure apparatus, the Cushing Forceps, and vascular clips. The blood pressure apparatus is used to measure blood pressure and vascular clips are used to control bleeding. The Cushing Forceps are tools named after Dr. Cushing that grab thick tissues in the scalp during cranial surgery. Besides inventing all of these medical devices, Dr. Cushing also discovered something called the “Cushing’s Disease”. The Cushing’s Disease happens when there is a tumor or excess growth of the pituitary gland. This is actually Dr. Cushing’s most well-known discovery. From the many techniques and inventions Harvey Cushing developed, he is still known in the medical field as a
legacy. Lastly, there is Benjamin Carson, an African American also credited in the evolution of neurosurgery.
Benjamin Carson was born on September 18, 1951 and ironically as a child was not really good in school until his mother pushed him to do better. Because Dr. Carson’s mom pushed him to do better in school, this eventually lead him to become interested in learning. As a result, Dr. Carson became a graduate of Yale University and the University of Michigan. After earning his degrees, Dr. Carson went on to work at the hospital that both Cushing and Dandy worked at, which is John Hopkins Hospital. Here, Dr. Carson became the director of Pediatric surgery. Some of the innovations that Dr. Carson is credited with are better ways of controlling bleeding and infections and also coming up with a system of removing specific brain parts in units instead of in whole sections. Although these innovations are impressive, Dr. Carson’s most amazing and extraordinary technique is the separation of conjoined twins. This was the most complex surgical challenge in history and Dr. Carson was able to successfully overcome this challenge. Dr. Carson was also the first person to save a hydrocephalic twin using something called an intrauterine shunt. Hydrocephalus is when there is fluid in inside and outside of the brain. Dr. Carson used the shunt to drain the fluid from the baby’s brain to the inside of the mother’s amniotic sac, which is what protects a baby inside a woman’s womb. The many
techniques Dr. Carson contributed remain as influences for neurosurgery today.