Article Text
Abstract
Objective Outline the career of neurointerventional radiology pioneer Dr. Gerard Debrun while highlighting his accomplishments and contributions to the field of neurointerventional surgery.
Methods Our team selected relevant articles from PubMed authored or co-authored by Dr. Debrun between 1941 and 2023. All included articles discuss the accomplishments and contributions of Dr. Gerard Debrun to the neurointerventional surgical communities. Dr. Gerard Debrun had a prominent career responsible for numerous contributions to the neurointerventional surgical community.
Results Dr. Gerard Debrun is well known for pioneering the development and use of balloon catheterization for treatment of various cerebrovascular pathologies. Dr. Debrun was educated in France and began his career at the Hôpital Universitaire Henri-Mondor in Paris, France where he investigated numerous interventional radiology procedures and techniques, most notably, the development of the intravascular detachable balloon catheter in the late 1960’s. In 1979, his work would become recognized by renowned neurosurgeon Dr. Charles Drake who recruited him to London, Ontario where he became the Director of Neuroradiology - marking the start to Dr. Debrun’s career in North America where he would stay for the remainder of his career. During that period Dr Debrun created the foundation for homemade manufacturing of detachable balloons, building on one of the largest world series for use of detachable balloons in cerebrovascular diseases. Dr. Debrun went on to become the chairman of the department of radiology at Massachusetts General Hospital in 1982, director of interventional neuroradiology at Johns Hopkins Hospital in 1986, before arriving at the University of Illinois Chicago where he remained until his retirement in 2001. Dr Debrun’s subsequent notable contributions included the calibrated-leak balloon catheter, initial pioneering of glue embolization, setting the foundation for the field of preoperative AVM embolization, and as an early adopter of the Guglielmi detachable coil. During his time at the University of Illinois Chicago, he established the first integrated Neurointerventional surgery program in the USA between Neurosurgery and Radiology, establishing a well sought fellowship program, and was succeeded by the late Dr. Victor Aletich.
Conclusion Dr. Debrun lectured extensively and wrote hundreds of articles on neurointerventional surgery throughout this career. His contributions established the foundation for several techniques which have since become standard practice in present-day neurosurgery.
Disclosures A. Madapoosi: None. A. Sanchez-Forteza: None. T. Abou Mrad: None. L. Stone McGuire: None. P. Theiss: None. M. Tshibangu: None. F. Charbel: None. A. Alaraj: None.