The Future of Neurosurgery

Neurosurgery devices are used for diagnosis, prevention and treatment of a range of neurological conditions and disorders including diseases such as hematoma, brain aneurysm, traumatic brain injury and major spinal cord injury. The neurosurgery devices include instruments and devices that are used in the most common surgeries to even the most complex surgeries.

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In late 2019, a new coronavirus disease emerged, and has been referred to as coronavirus disease 2019, abbreviated “COVID-19.”1-3 This virus initially caused a local infection of the city of Wuhan, China,1,4,5 and then quickly spread to over 30 countries and was declared a global pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) on March 11, 2020.6-12 As of March 13, 2020, there were 1629 cases and 41 total deaths in the United States, according to the statistics compiled by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).13 These cases have been concentrated in California, Washington, and New York; however, almost all states have reported cases of COVID-19. As our health-care system faces this outbreak, the most pressing issues facing neurosurgeons involve the decision to cancel elective cases and outpatient clinics, organizing staff (including advanced practitioners and resident physicians) to minimize exposure risk, and handling neurosurgical emergencies in situations where intensive care unit (ICU) bed availability is compromised by an increasing number of COVID-19 patients.

Throughout this crisis, it is important to respect the nuances of COVID-19 policies set forth by local hospital systems and health-care institutions. However, such institutions often seek the advice of the neurosurgeon to synthesize national and international policy to formulate local treatment algorithms. This report is designed to aid neurosurgeons in this endeavor, and to serve as a reasonable starting point in making such local policy.

The situation regarding COVID-19 is rapidly evolving, and changes daily. Although timely policies should be implemented to facilitate objective decision-making, it is inevitable that such directives will need to adapt to this fluid environment. The challenge of COVID-19 for the neurosurgeon is to minimize the risk of transmission of the virus, while continuing to provide care for neurosurgical patients in need of urgent and emergent treatments. Here, we provide our institutional experience to serve as an example for neurosurgeons facing these issues related to the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak.

Future Prognosis of Neurosurgery

Karl Storz , Medtronic , B.Braun Melsungen AG , Stryker , BrainLab , Integra Lifesciences Corporation , Boston Scientific Corporation , Elekta AB , Cyberonics, Inc. , NeuroVista Corporation