Department of Neurosurgery, University of Iceland Landspítali, Reykjavík, Iceland.
Department of Neurological Surgery, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois, USA.
World Neurosurg. 2022 Nov;167:28-36. doi: 10.1016/j.wneu.2022.08.067. Epub 2022 Aug 24.
Although surgical conditions account for 32% of the global burden of diseases, approximately 5 billion people worldwide lack access to timely and affordable, surgical and anesthetic services. Disparities in access to surgical care are most evident in low- and middle-income countries, often resulting from a lack of surgical infrastructure. However, the establishment of surgical infrastructure, particularly for specialty surgical services including neurosurgery, is challenging in countries with small populations, irrespective of income classification, due to the distribution of high costs among a lesser number of individuals. One such nation is Iceland. Despite high-income status, high quality of life, literacy, and educational attainment, the population of Iceland has often lacked access to local neurosurgical care, with the establishment of the domestic neurosurgical system in 1971 and continued externalization of complex neurosurgical procedures to neighboring nations and neurosurgeons.
A narrative review was conducted.
This article provides the first-ever examination of neurosurgery in Iceland. We discussed the history and the social, political, and economical contexts in Iceland. We examined the history of neurosurgery in Iceland, which provided brief biographic sketches of pioneers who have catalyzed the establishment of neurosurgical care and training in Iceland, and characterize the current state of neurosurgery in Iceland.
Recommendations derived from the experiences of Icelandic neurosurgeons may guide the international community in future initiatives.
尽管手术条件占全球疾病负担的 32%，但全球仍有大约 50 亿人无法及时获得负担得起的手术和麻醉服务。在中低收入国家，手术服务的可及性存在明显差异，这主要是由于缺乏手术基础设施。然而，由于高成本在较少的人群中分摊，即使在收入分类较低的国家，建立手术基础设施，特别是包括神经外科在内的专科手术服务的基础设施，也具有挑战性。冰岛就是这样一个国家。尽管冰岛收入高、生活质量高、识字率和教育程度高，但由于国内神经外科系统于 1971 年建立，且复杂神经外科手术继续向邻国和神经外科医生进行外部化，该国人口经常无法获得当地神经外科护理。
进行了叙述性评论。
本文首次对冰岛的神经外科进行了考察。我们讨论了冰岛的历史以及社会、政治和经济背景。我们考察了冰岛神经外科的历史，简要介绍了推动神经外科护理和培训在冰岛建立的先驱者的生平，以及描述了冰岛神经外科的现状。
冰岛神经外科医生的经验中得出的建议可能会为国际社会未来的举措提供指导。
