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The Contributions of W.D. Stevenson to the Development of Neurosurgery in Atlantic Canada

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 December 2014

K. Mukhida  and
I. Mendez
K. Mukhida
Affiliation:
Division of Neurosurgery, Department of Surgery, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia
I. Mendez
Affiliation:
Division of Neurosurgery, Department of Surgery, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia
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Abstract

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The establishment of a neurosurgical department in Halifax in January 1948 marked the beginnings of the first dedicated neurosurgical service in Atlantic Canada. The development of neurosurgery in Halifax occurred in a receptive place and time. The Victoria General Hospital, the region’s largest tertiary care centre, and the Dalhousie University Faculty of Medicine were in a period of growth associated with medical specialization and departmentalization, changes inspired in part by the Flexner Report of 1910. Atlantic Canadians during this period were increasingly looking to specialists for their medical care. Although this social environment encouraged the establishment of surgical specialty services, the development of neurosurgery in Halifax, as in other parts of Canada, was closely associated with the efforts of individual neurosurgeons, such as William D. Stevenson. After training with Kenneth G. McKenzie in Toronto, Stevenson was recruited to Halifax and established the first neurosurgical department in Atlantic Canada. From the outset and over his twenty-six years as Department Head at the Victoria General Hospital and Dalhousie University, Stevenson worked to maintain the department’s commitment to clinical practice, medical education, and research. Although Stevenson single-handedly ran the service for several years after its inception, by the time of his retirement in 1974 the neurosurgery department had grown to include five attending staff surgeons who performed over two thousand procedures each year. This paper highlights the importance of Stevenson’s contributions to the development of neurosurgery in Atlantic Canada within the context of the social and medical environment of the region.

Résumé

RÉSUMÉ

L’établissement d’un département de neurochirurgie à Halifax en janvier 1948 a marqué le début du premier service spécialisé en neurochirurgie dans les provinces Maritimes. La neurochirurgie s’est développée à Halifax à un moment et en un lieu favorables. Le Victoria General Hospital, le centre de soins tertiaires le plus important de la région, et la faculté de médecine de l’université Dalhousie étaient dans une période de croissance associée à la spécialisation médicale et à la formation de départements, des changements inspirés en partie par le Rapport Flexner en 1910. Pendant cette période, les canadiens des provinces Maritimes se tournaient de plus en plus vers les spécialistes pour leurs soins de santé. Bien que cet environnement social encourageait l’établissement de services chirurgicaux spécialisés, le développement de la neurochirurgie à Halifax, comme dans d’autres parties du Canada, était étroitement associé aux efforts de certains neurochirurgiens, dont William D. Stevenson. Après avoir fait son entraînement avec Kenneth G. McKenzie à Toronto, Stevenson fut recruté à Halifax et établit le premier département de neurochirurgie dans les provinces Maritimes. Dès le début et pendant les vingt-six ans qu’il fut chef du département au Victoria General Hospital et à l’université Dalhousie, Stevenson s’est efforcé de maintenir l’orientation du département vers la pratique clinique, l’éducation médicale et la recherche. Bien que Stevenson ait dirigé seul le service pendant plusieurs années après son établissement, au moment de sa retraite en 1974, le département de neurochirurgie comprenait cinq chirurgiens qui faisaient plus de deux mille interventions par année. Cet article souligne l’importance des contributions du Dr Stevenson au développement de la neurochirurgie dans les provinces Maritimes, dans le con- texte de l’environnement social et médical de cette région.

Type
Historical Neurosurgery
Information
Canadian Journal of Neurological Sciences , Volume 26 , Issue 3 , November 1999 , pp. 217 - 223
Copyright
Copyright © The Canadian Journal of Neurological 1999

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