Neurosurgery societies around the world: A study and discussion about its importance

BACKGROUND: Harvey Cushing and collaborators created the first society of neurosurgeons in 1920, in the United States of America, the Society of Neurological Surgeons. In 1955, the World Federation of Neurosurgical Societies (WFNS) was created in Switzerland to improve neurosurgical care globally through the scientific cooperation of members. The performance of neurosurgical associations today is fundamental to discuss diagnostic methods and therapeutic approaches, transforming modern medicine. Although most neurosurgical associations are recognized worldwide, there are some societies that are not recognized internationally due to a lack of regulatory bodies and lack of official digital channels, among other reasons. The main objective of the article is to list the neurosurgical societies and to provide a more integrated view of the interactions between neurosurgical societies in different countries. METHODS: We developed a table summarizing the countries recognized by the United Nations, the continents, capitals, name of the present societies, and social networks. We utilized “Country AND (Neurosurgery OR Neurological Surgery) AND (Society OR Association),” in English, and in the native language of the country. Our search included: PubMed, Scopus, Google, Google Scholar, and the WFNS website, without filters. RESULTS: We found 189 neurosurgery associations, from 131 countries and territories; 77 countries did not have their own neurosurgical societies. CONCLUSION: There is a difference between the number of internationally recognized societies, and the number of societies found in this study. In the future, we should better organize neurosurgical societies in countries that have neurosurgical activity with those without such resources.