Great hospitals of Asia: the Department of Neurosurgery at Seoul National University College of Medicine

Abstract

Established in 1957, the Department of Neurosurgery at Seoul National University College of Medicine is the one of the oldest neurosurgical departments in Korea. The seven past Chairmen (Bo Sung Sim, Kil Soo Choi, Dae Hee Han, Byung-Kyu Cho, Hyun Jib Kim, Hee-Won Jung, and Dong Gyu Kim) have devoted themselves to the development of the department. The current chair, Chun Kee Chung, assumed the position in July 2010. The current department comprises several clinical programs that encompass the entire spectrum of neurosurgical disorders, with 29 specialized faculty members and care teams in three hospitals: Seoul National University Hospital (SNUH), Boramae Medical Center (BMC), and Seoul National University Bundang Hospital (SNUBH). The remarkable growth of the department during the last half century made it possible to perform 5,666 operations (3,299 at SNUH, 411 at BMC and 1,860 at SNUBH) during 2009. A total of 1,201 articles authored by faculty members were published in scientific journals between 1958 and 2009, approximately 32% of which were published in international journals. The department is regarded as the "Mecca" of neurosurgery in Korea because of its outstanding achievement and the many distinguished alumni with leadership roles in the academic field. This article traces the clinical, academic, and scientific development of the department, its present activities, and its future direction.