Hostname: page-component-77c89778f8-n9wrp Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-22T05:33:10.090Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

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
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

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

References

1. Atlee, HB. Dalhousie Medical School, 1907–1957. Dal Med J 1958; 11: 21–33.Google Scholar
2. Cameron, I. One hundred years of Dalhousie. Dal Med J 1967; 21: 5–9.Google Scholar
3. Howell, CD. A Century of Care. Halifax: Victoria General Hospital, 1988.Google Scholar
4. MacKenzie, KA. A Century of Medicine in Nova Scotia. NovaScotia Med Bull 1953; 32: 290–295.Google Scholar
5. Murray, TJ. The Visit of Abraham Flexner to Halifax Medical College. Nova Scotia Med Bull 1985; June: 34–41.Google Scholar
6. Rice, TB. The Doctor’s Dilemma. Nova Scotia Med Bull 1950; 29: 183–184.Google Scholar
7. Alexander, E Jr.. Kenneth George McKenzie, Canada’s first neurosurgeon. J Neurosurg 1974; 41: 1–9.Google Scholar
8. Feindel, W. Highlights of neurosurgery in Canada. JAMA 1967; 200: 853–859.Google Scholar
9. Findlay, JM. Neurosurgery at the Toronto General Hospital, 1924–1990: Part I. Can J Neurol Sci 1994; 21: 146–158.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
10. Findlay, JM. Neurosurgery at the Toronto General Hospital, 1924–1990: Part 2. Can J Neurol Sci 1994; 21: 278–284.Google Scholar
11. Morley, TP. Some professional and political events in Canadian neurosurgery. Can J Neurol Sci 1985; 12: 230–235.Google Scholar
12. Turnbull, F. Neurosurgery in Canada. Surg Neurol 1974; 2: 81–84.Google ScholarPubMed
13. Weir, BK. Development of neurosurgery in Canada. Aust N Z J Surg 1988; 58: 929–936.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
14. Stewart, R. The Victoria General Hospital — glimpses of the past. Dal Med J 1968; 21: 51–55.Google Scholar
15. Duns worth, FA. An Outline of Psychiatric Care in Nova Scotia. Nova Scotia Med Bull 1980; April/June: 61–65.Google Scholar
16. Ernst, WA. The History of Urology in Nova Scotia. Nova Scotia Med Bull 1981; April/June: 47–49.Google Scholar
17. Marble, AE. Surgeons, smallpox, and the poor. Montreal and Kingston: McGill – Queen’s University Press, 1993.Google Scholar
18. Waite, P. The lives of Dalhousie University, Volume 1. Montreal – Kingston: McGill – Queen’s University Press, 1993.Google Scholar
19. Atlee, HB. In memoriam: John George MacDougall. Nova Scotia Med Bull 1950; 29: 186–189.Google Scholar
20. Pollett, WE. The Best of Times and the Worst of Times. Nova Scotia Med Bull 1961; 40: Editorial.Google Scholar
21. Cushing, H. Foundation Lecture – Neurosurgery. In: Montreal Neurological Institute. Neurological Biographies and Addresses. London: Oxford University Press, 1936: 17–36.Google Scholar
22. Stevenson, WD. Neurosurgery in Halifax, a personal account. Unpublished paper 1986.Google Scholar
23. Janes, RM. Memories of forty-five years in surgery. Dal Med J 1961; 13: 9–13.Google Scholar
24. Canale, DJ. Osler, William and “the special field of neurological surgery.” J Neurosurg 1989; 70: 759–766.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
25. Feindel, W. Neurosurgery at the Montreal Neurological Institute and McGill University Hospitals. Neurosurgery 1996; 39: 830–839.Google Scholar
26. Findlay, JM. William, M. Lougheed and the development of vascularneurosurgery at the Toronto General Hospital. Can J Neurol Sci 1993; 20: 337–340.Google Scholar
27. Parkinson, D. Early history of neurosurgery in Manitoba: threads inthe tapestry of world neurosurgery. J Neurosurg 1995; 82: 900–906.Google Scholar
28. Tator, CH. New Division of Neurosurgery at Toronto Hospital. Surg Neurol 1991; 36: 378–379.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
29. Dalhousie University/Victoria General Hospital. Department of Neurosurgery Annual Reports 1956–1957, 1958–1962, 1968–1970, 1971–1972, 1973–1978, 1989–1990.Google Scholar
30. Dalhousie University/Victoria General Hospital. Department of Neurosurgery Accreditation Survey 1972.Google Scholar
31. Dalhousie University/Victoria General Hospital Department of Neurosurgery. Letter from Dr.Stevenson, W.D. to Robertson, W.B.C., Director, Division of Public Hospitals, Re: Standards for Neurosurgery 1972.Google Scholar
32. Dalhousie University/Victoria General Hospital Department of Neurosurgery. Report to the Hospital Administration 1974.Google Scholar
33. Alexander, E Jr. Perspective on neurosurgery. J Neurosurg 1967; 27: 189–206.Google Scholar
34. Jasper, HH. The early development of neuroscience in Canada. Can J Neurol Sci 1985; 12: 221–229.Google Scholar
35. Szerb, JC. Neurosciences at Dalhousie: past, present and future. DalMed J 1997; 25: 45–48.Google Scholar
36. McKletchie, NGB, Stevenson, WD. Allergic encephalitis. CMAJ 1957; 26: 208–210.Google Scholar
37. Saunders, RLDeCH. Medical research at Dalhousie. Dal Med J 1958; 11:50–75.Google Scholar
38. Stevenson, WD. Head Injuries in Relation to Traffic Accidents. Nova Scotia Med Bull 1957; 36: 84–88.Google Scholar
39. Carroll, L. Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. New York: Random House, 1955.Google Scholar