There is a lot of overlap between neurosurgery and hiking. The grueling hours of training and study required to become a neurosurgeon is extremely challenging and requires a high amount of discipline, not to mention the patience and skill required to operate on someone’s brain. For many neurosurgeons, this is not unlike training to scale Mount Everest.

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According to Professor Jha, “For neurosurgeons globally, and especially in developing countries, we have so many challenges and difficulties in our career. It is not easier than climbing Mount Everest. So that is where the idea came to mind – climbing is difficult, but the challenge is not insurmountable. And neither is growing neurosurgical programs in Nepal.”

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Through the partnership between Drs. Witcher and Adhikari at the Carilion Clinic and Professor Jha and Dr. Khadka at Bir Hospital, the idea for the Everest Conference was born. Taking place in April 2027, the conference will provide networking opportunities for the international neurosurgery community, discuss current research in neurosurgery, and to highlight the Nepali neurosurgery community and local culture.

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Fostering a healthy global community of neurosurgeons is a key aim for Dr. Witcher.  As he sees it, “bringing people together to share knowledge on how we serve the populations we treat, including in resource poor environments, is an opportunity to form better relationships and be part of creating a more healthy global medical industry. Exchanging views between international neurosurgeons is great opportunity to help people stay focused on why they're here in medicine and doing what they're doing.”

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While the focus of the partnership to-date has been on functional neurosurgery, the conference will focus beyond it. It will look into a variety of sub-specialties, and what neurosurgeons from the United States and elsewhere can bring to those from low-income countries and vice versa. Innovations from practicing both in high and low resource environments will be shared, as well as the challenges neurosurgeons are seeing across a variety of contexts. Practitioners from both contexts have a lot to learn from each other.

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The conference venue will also provide the opportunity for international neurosurgeons to visit Nepal, see Everest, and get to know the local Sherpa culture. It will also introduce Nepali neurosurgery to the world. 

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“I think that the conference will put Nepalese neurosurgery and neurosurgeons, as well as the kind of care that they provide in Nepal, on display for people around the world,” said Dr. Adhikari. “Building on what we’ve started, it’s going to build more momentum for others to join or replicate in their own countries. We’re hoping this has a multiplying effect.”