The foundation of the ISPN and its annual meeting

Abstract

On the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the first annual scientific meeting of the International Society for Pediatric Neurosurgery (ISPN), the editor of Child’s Nervous System Prof. Concezio Di Rocco asked the former historians of the ISPN (Dr. Fernando Rueda-Franco, Dr. Shizuo Oi, and Dr. Carlo Mazza) as well as two founders Prof. Maurice Choux (France) and Prof. Satoshi Matsumoto (Japan) to write an article about the origins of our society as well as the development of its annual meeting. Prof. Di Rocco asked Prof. Rueda-Franco to coordinate the group. Prof. Rueda sent letters to all the people mentioned above. Prof. Choux answered, so, he wrote about the foundation of the ISPN, Prof. Rueda and Dr. Anaya Jara on the places and chairpersons of the 41 annual meetings, as well as the list of the 41 presidents of our society and Prof. Enrique G. Ventureyra about the “poncho.” The foundation of the International Society for Pediatric Neurosurgery Maurice Choux, Marseille, France I will never forget that May afternoon in 1970. I was back from Boston where I was training on pediatric neurosurgery. I had spent a month in Shillito’s Department, who acted as chair after Matson passed away in 1969. After Boston, it was obvious that I should continue my training in Chicago with Anthony Raimondi. At that time, the Department of Pediatric Neurosurgery at Children’s Memorial Hospital was one of the most famous in the world, since there were few hospitals exclusively dedicated to pediatric neurosurgery. There was Bruce Hendrick’s Unit in the Sick Children Hospital in Toronto, where Harold Hoffman worked and which was the first in the world to be acknowledged as an independent Department of Neurosurgery. This took place in 1964. I must also mention that Raul Carrea, in 1956, already had a pediatric neurosurgery unit in Buenos Aires. However, actually the first pediatric neurosurgery service in Latin America was established in 1954 by Dr. Miguel Ramos-Murguia at the Children’s Hospital in Mexico City. There was also the Department in Philadelphia with Luis Schut as well as the unit in New York, which was not independent and where Fred Epstein used to practice. In the USA, there were several neurosurgeons of adult patients who were also interested in pediatrics. Therefore, spending a few weeks in Chicago at the Children’s Memorial Hospital that stood as a model at the time was a way to be in the midst of the best of the world for many neurosurgeons who were interested in pediatric neurosurgery. Since Tony Raimondi was very warm and open, our first encounter was easy and pleasant right away. During a discussion about what pediatric neurosurgery was at the time, we looked into every issue that prevented our specialty from being recognized by neurosurgeons of adult patients in the world. I found out something that I did not know. In the USA, this specialty was majorly opposed. This was painful for Tony, perhaps more than the rest of the pediatric neurosurgeons. Later, we discussed the situation of pediatric neurosurgery in Europe, which could be summarized in the European Society of Pediatric Neurosurgery (ESPN), created in Vienna, Austria, in 1967, and which was the first international society in the world. There were no national societies, and almost no one in the European countries practiced pediatric neurosurgery exclusively. It was the same situation in Asia, Australia, or Africa, with the exception of Japan, where Satoshi Matsumoto, in Kobe, had established a pediatric neurosurgery unit. F. Rueda-Franco (*) :M. Anaya-Jara Instituto Nacional de Pediatria, Insurgentes Sur 3700‐C, Mexico City 04530, Mexico e-mail: fruefra@hotmail.com