The history of neurosurgery in Bolivia and pediatric neurosurgery in Santa Cruz de la Sierra

The practice of neurosurgery in Bolivia began thousands of years ago with skull trepanation. This procedure dates from the earliest period of the Tiwanaku culture, a preInca civilization. Neurosurgical development in Bolivia has its origins in the late 19(th) century and can be divided in two stages. At the beginning, before the advent of neurosurgery as a discipline, some general surgeons performed procedures on the skull and brain. Formal neurosurgery in Bolivia was developed with the arrival of neurosurgeons trained in the United States and some countries of South America. The Bolivian Neurosurgical Society was created in 1975. Nowadays, our national society has 74 members. It is affiliated with the World Federation of Neurosurgical Societies and the Latin American Federation of Neurosurgical Societies. Presently, neurosurgery in Bolivia is similar to that seen in developed countries. In this sense, government programs should dedicate more financial support to establish specialized healthcare centers where the management of complex central nervous system lesions could be offered. In contrast, we believe that encouraging the local training of young neurosurgeons is one of the most important factors in the development of neurosurgery in Bolivia or any other country.