Functional neurosurgery

Abstract

It is a great honour to write the editorial for this month’s CME
component of the SAMJ. Functional neurosurgery is a subdivision of
neurosurgery that does not always receive the recognition we feel that
it deserves among general medical practitioners. It is definitely the
less ‘sexy’ component of neurosurgery compared with vascular and
skull base neurosurgery, but it is an important and highly specialised
part of our field. There are currently only one academic unit and
about five private sector units that perform functional neurosurgery
procedures on a regular basis in South Africa. This, unfortunately,
leads to many patients and their medical caregivers not knowing
about the options available to them on their doorstep. Patients do not
need to leave the country to search for help in other countries.