Dr. Hendricus MB Bolly, neurosurgeon at Padjadjaran University in Indonesia and Dr. Ali Dolachee, neurosurgeon at Neurosurgical Teaching Hospital in Baghdad, are two young neurosurgeons from developing countries who participated in the field training program promoted by the World Federation of Neurosurgical Societies, which brings together 49. The programme is led by Prof. Franco Servadei, neurosurgeon at Humanitas and professor at Humanitas University.

Humanitas has become part of the international training structures of the WFNS thanks to the experience of its team, with over 2500 surgeries per year and one of the best technological equipment in Europe.

The global education project promoted by the World Federation of Neurosurgical Societies (WFNS) Foundation aims to overcome the disparities in neurosurgical knowledge between countries around the world.

“Humanitas is the WFNS reference centre: for two years now, we have been hosting young neurosurgeons from developing countries for a month in the Department of Neurosurgery headed by Dr Fornari. We offer them the opportunity to stand by our side, assist with even complex surgical procedures, have access to the most advanced technologies and discuss with us clinical cases and the best procedures to adopt”.

The experience of Dr. Hendrikus Bolly

In this month of exchange and training at Humanitas University and Research Hospital “I have chosen to focus my studies and my research on cases on spinal surgery”, in particular “the use of neuronavigation technology – explained Bolly -. Here in Humanitas what is used in the operating room is the O-arm technology, one of the most important tools for performing spinal surgery, which has a high quality of imaging while in Indonesia we have the C-arm which is a much more backward tool. In Humanitas the results of O-arm are combined with those of preoperative neuronavigation, in order to obtain more precise results. This reduces complications for patients and also reduces radiation for safer operations”.

“A second thing I followed – added the neurosurgeon – was the complex surgery of the spine: it is a difficult procedure, too complicated for the instruments we currently have in Indonesia. Here Dr. Maurizio Fornari and Dr. Costa have excellent experience and showed me their technique: they have the ability to use every single instrument, combine complex procedures and decide the best one for every single patient. Finally, “I have also been able to see the surgery with “awake” patient that is very rare in my country: there are difficult steps to follow and criteria to be met to decide who to undergo this type of surgery. Not everyone can handle it,” concluded Bolly.

“Humanitas is an advanced institution, I came here to discover some advanced technologies and operations and I learned a lot. We have some advanced tools in Indonesia, but we have little knowledge of all the possible operations that can be achieved through these tools. It was very important for me to come here, I met excellent specialists: they guided me and I learned so much that I can return to my country and hope to apply some changes to the way operations are currently performed,” added the neurosurgeon with satisfaction.

“After this experience, I am planning some new research projects for the future, related to brain and spinal surgery. Professor Servadei and I discussed the practical application of this research. I really appreciated the fact that he shared his experience with me and showed me some of his publications. I will certainly draw inspiration from there,” concluded Bolly.

The experience of Dr. Dolachee

“My experience at Humanitas hospital has been really useful to increase my knowledge and skills in neurosurgery – explained the neurosurgeon -, it has also allowed me to share with the experts of Humanitas my knowledge and at the same time to learn many things: I was able to update my skills on how to deal with surgical cases, especially in the spinal cord, in the field of complex surgery, neuroendoscopy and basicranium surgery. This research center is highly developed and uses many advanced operational and guidance tools. I will therefore return to my country and share this experience with all my colleagues”.

“I have shared some of my experiences with Humanitas and its experts, especially in the field of head injuries, with Prof. Servadei and Dr. Tomei: In Iraq we have many cases of head trauma. At the same time I learned a lot, in the field of complex spinal surgery with Dr. Maurizio Fornari (Head of Neurosurgery in Humanitas) and neuroendoscopy with Dr. Giovanni Battista Lasio (Head of Neurosurgical Endoscopy in Humanitas),” explained Dolachee.

“I have learned a lot – added the neurosurgeon – enough to raise my level of knowledge in the field of neurosurgery. Humanitas is a research hospital and publishes a number of articles of high scientific value. This is what we need in Iraq: it is very important to update all doctors and surgical techniques,” he concluded.