It is with much sadness that we farewell Dave back to the Barrow Neurological Institute for his last 12 months of training. He will be sadly missed by all my patients who had the good fortune to be touched by his compassionate nature and conscientious clinical attention. Dave will be remembered for his pleasant manner, clinical acumen and neurosurgical excellence. Many girls will remember him for his good looks and charm, but having shared a hotel room with him, I would like to warn them that he snores! Dave Wilson is a lovely man and a fine neurosurgeon. His patients will be blessed having him care for them both in and out of the operating room. We wish him the best of luck in his future career.
Chris Profyris
In keeping with my love of nature and unique geographical places, I jump at any opportunity to teach, operate or visit South Africa. The level of neurosurgical care is excellent and some of the most innovative surgeons in history have originated from here….think Christian Barnard and Warwick Peacock. On one of my previous visits to Johannesburg to perform pro bono surgery I came across a young neurosurgeon who impressed me dramatically. He was head of his department in one of the largest public hospitals in one of the poorer sections of the city. He clearly wasn’t in it for the money and he and his beautiful wife, a plastic surgeon in the same institution, worked tirelessly to improve the care to impoverished patients. He was courageous enough to perform keyhole operations that he had learnt by reading my book, Principles and Practice of Keyhole Brain Surgery, without ever seeing it performed by someone else. His results were amazing. I wanted this person as my fellow. Thankfully, he agreed and the rest is history. Chris is a technically gifted surgeon. He has courage, dexterity, good clinical acumen, comprehensive knowledge of the literature and a caring nature. He taught us as much as we taught him and his enthusiastic personality was contagious. He will be a shining light in the field of innovative neurosurgery in his country and I am confident he will make a positive contribution to the overall welfare of both the privileged and impoverished people of South Africa. We wish him, his talented and beautiful wife, Bella, and their young family, the best of luck.
