The initial on-site trainings led by Drs. Witcher and Adhikari, along with selected faculty, residents and students in Nepal have built a strong foundation for success over the years. This consists of didactic subject-specific seminars hosted at Bir Hospital in Kathmandu, typically co-sponsored by the Nepalese Society of Neurosurgeons (NESON). These are paired with hands-on demonstrations using supplies donated by Carilion Clinic, Dr. Witcher and NESON, including complex spine and functional neurosurgery workshops. 

 

During on-site visits, Dr. Witcher and faculty see a high volume of clinic patients (Parkinson's Disease and complex spinal deformity) and select patients for operative intervention. They then lead operations at Bir Hospital, along with senior and junior Nepali faculty, to demonstrate the technique and directly serve the selected patients. In these surgeries, patient costs are partially sponsored, though implant costs (for example deep brain stimulation hardware) are the patient’s individual responsibility. As this is an indigent care facility, many of the patients cannot afford this treatment and must be turned away. Dr. Witcher and the team at VTCNN strive to expand the treatment option though direct sponsorship of hardware costs, so that, as more patients are directly served, local faculty develop expertise. This skill can then be taught to trainees, thus transferring the knowledge base to rising faculty and practitioners.

 

​Building the reputation of Nepal neurosurgeons would also help those patients choose to stay and become walking testimony to the quality of care that can be provided in Nepal. Partnerships with American universities such as Virginia Tech are a way of strengthening the reputation and brand of Nepalese neurosurgery, in addition to supporting knowledge transfer and the building of their skillsets. 

 

Dr. Witcher is already starting to see the benefits of training the project has provided. “The core faculty I’ve been working with, including Professor Jha and Dr. Khadka, have already started teaching people in other centers to do the work.”

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VTCNN is founded upon the principle of doing right by patients without question.  We strive to provide as much free and reduced cost care as possible in Nepal, helping Nepal's neurosurgical ecosystem cope with its considerable needs.  Finances are an issue for many patients, and we strive to help sponsor as many patients as possible who may otherwise have been turned away.  We also fundraise to provide critical specialized neurosurgery equipment that the hospital is unable to afford on its own.