100 years of neurological surgery at the Mayo Clinic

The practice of neurological surgery at the Mayo Clinic began as early efforts were undertaken by Drs. Charles Mayo and Emil Beckman, and surgical procedures were performed for trauma, infection, tumor, epilepsy, and hemorrhage. In 1919, the Section of Neurologic Surgery was established, with Alfred W. Adson as its first chair. Subsequently, Drs. Winchell McK. Craig, J. Grafton Love, Collin S. MacCarty, Ross H. Miller, and Thoralf M. Sundt, Jr., followed as eminent chairmen. Beginning with a modest number of cases per year, the neurosurgical service at the Mayo Clinic has grown to become one of the largest in North America. Under the current leadership of Dr. David G. Piepgras, approximately 3200 surgical procedures spanning the spectrum of subspecialties are performed each year by a staff of 10 neurosurgeons. This article traces neurosurgery at the Mayo Clinic, including several persons who contributed to its achievements over the past century.