Departmental History The history of neurosurgery at Northwestern University is a long and colorful one. Surgeons training at Northwestern began performing procedures upon the nervous system at the turn of the 19th century under the Return to top 
guidance of Allen Buckner Kanavel (1874-1938). An energetic and skillful expert surgeon in many fields of surgery, Kanavel was a self-instructed innovator in the surgery of the brain, spine and peripheral nerves. He was the first, in 1909, to describe the infranasal transsphenoidal approach to the pituitary gland. With his colleague, the urologist Victor Lespinasse, Kanavel attempted unsuccessfully to treat hydrocephalus in two infants by coagulating the choroid plexus through a cystoscope introduced into the ventricular system. He authored a chapter in the 1930 edition of Ochsner’s Surgery entitled “Diagnosis and treatment of tumors, inflammations and abscesses of the brain,” and wrote about the anatomy of the trigeminal nerve and of the laminectomy procedure. In 1917, he and his colleagues decided to establish three schools in which surgery of the nervous system would be taught. The designated schools would be in New York, Chicago, and St. Louis. He would, in 1920, establish such a program at Northwestern while assuming the position of Chairman of the Department of Neurosurgery, choosing Loyal Davis as its first leader.
Loyal Davis (1896-1982) was born in Galesburg, IL. After graduating from Knox College, Davis attended Northwestern Medical School, receiving his M.D. in 1918, M.S. in 1921, and Ph.D. in 1923. Disaffected from a short stint as a general practitioner in his hometown, Davis returned to Northwestern to begin a career in neurosurgery under the direction of Kanavel. Davis studied with the neurologist, Lewis J. Pollack, and the renowned neuroanatomist, Stephen W. Ranson. His work focused on decerebrate rigidity and peripheral nerve injury. Following his time in the laboratory, Davis traveled to Johns Hopkins Medical School to work with Harvey Cushing. He would pattern his professional ethic and personality after Cushing’s example.
Upon his return to Chicago, Davis established Chicago’s first neurosurgical service. His training program was marked by his insistence on excellence in the hospital and the laboratory. His goal was to produce not only excellent neurosurgeons but also “principled men and women.” Davis himself was a strict, quiet and meticulous surgeon, concerned about the welfare of his patients and the growth of his profession and his trainees. His legacy resides not only in his contribution to our understanding of peripheral nerve injury, but in his many students who have become leaders in neurosurgery.
Following Dr. Davis’s retirement in 1963, Paul C. Bucy (1904-1992) became the Chief of Neurosurgery at Northwestern. A resident of Iowa, Bucy came to Northwestern after training under Percival Bailey at the University of Chicago and studies abroad in London and Breslau. His investigations of the primate motor system, started during his time with John Fulton at Yale, were instrumental to the development of surgical treatment for movement disorders. At Northwestern, his work focused on movement disorders as well as spinal cord injury. He established the first spinal cord injury unit in Chicago and developed an active cranial and spine surgery program at Northwestern. He was a national figure in neurosurgery and the last surviving founding member of the Harvey Cushing Society at the time of his death. Graduates of his training program include Patrick Kelley, Narayan Sundrasen, Ivan Ciric, David McLone, Yoon S. Hahn, Hirokazu Naito, Barth Green, Eugene George, Hajime Handa, Tadanori Tomita, and William Coxe.
In 1972, Anthony J. Raimondi (1928-2000) became the third Chief of the Division of Neurosurgery at Northwestern. Early in his career, Raimondi worked with electron microscopy to study the effect of brain tumors on the blood-brain barrier. Later, he focused his energies on pediatric neurosurgery, becoming one of the pioneers of modern pediatric neurosurgery. His training program continued to emphasize the importance both of clinical and scientific excellence. Fifteen of Raimondi’s residents have gone on to become chairmen of neurosurgery.
Following a short period during which David Nahrwold and Leonard Cerullo served as acting chiefs of the division, Albert Butler was appointed the Michael J. Marchese Professor of Surgery and Chief of Neurosurgery at Northwestern. Butler had completed his training with Drs. Çrutchfield and Jane at the University of Virginia. Under Butler’s guidance, the Program in Stereotactic and Functional Neurosurgery was established. He would serve in this position from 1986 to 1993, after which Robert Levy served for two years as acting chief.
In 1995, H. Hunt Batjer became the Michael J. Marchese Professor of Surgery and the fifth Chief of Neurosurgery at Northwestern. Batjer trained under Drs. Clark and Samson before pursuing further cerebrovascular training with Dr. Drake in Ontario. He returned to The University of Texas, Southwestern, prior to his appointment at Northwestern. In 1998, the division was given departmental status. Since that time, the program has grown remarkably, both in scope and volume of its clinical stature.
To read the full article on the history of neurological surgery at Northwestern University, originally published in Neurosurgery in October 1998, please click here.
