116 Years (1889–2005) of Neurosurgical Practice and Education at Gulhane Military Medical Academy

Abstract

Modern medical education in the Ottoman Empire began with the founding of the School of Medicine and Surgery in 1827. This was a military school established to provide military physicians for the army. The first neurosurgical interventions at this school were initiated by Cemil Pasha in 1889. This school has gradually expanded since its opening, and was reorganized and renamed "Gulhane Military Medical Academy" in 1898 as the result of efforts to establish modern medical education and practice in the Ottoman Empire. Neurosurgical operations have been continued by the different surgeons in the Department of Surgery at Gulhane Military Medical Academy. In 1957, the Department of Neurosurgery became an independent department through the work of Professor Zinnur Rollas. Today, neurosurgery is a dynamic and constantly changing department at Gulhane Military Medical Academy with work still in progress on technological, diagnostic, and surgical innovations that permit the treatment of highly complex cases.