Description:

Roberto Spiegelmann, MD, helped introduce stereotactic surgery to Niger, where there is currently one board-certified neurosurgeon, Samuila Sanoussi, for the entire country. Perceiving the need, Dr. Spiegelmann donated a stereotactic frame he had created and visited Dr. Sanoussi in Niamey, Niger, to demonstrate its use. Here he shares some of his experiences from that journey.

Getting ready to do the first (and so far only) Vim thalamotomy in Niger. Prof. Samuila Sanoussi is on the left, dialing in the coordinates. The author is holding his beloved frame, and a young assistant is doubling as both scrubbed nurse and burr hole executioner.

Photography and content by Dr. Roberto Spiegelmann.

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RELATED STORIES:

Stereotactic Surgery Is Born in Niger
Features – Volume 23, Number 3, 2014

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