L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2016 www.italoamericano.org L'Italo-Americano 5 NEWS & FEATURES TOP STORIES PEOPLE EVENTS w e l l a s D i r e c t o r o f t h e Microneurosurgery Skull Base a n d S u r g i c a l I n n o v a t i o n Laboratory at the University. "Sharing my knowledge with young neurosurgeons is what continues to inspire me most," writes the luminary during our email interview. "Passing on our knowledge is the best way to contribute to the improvement of health care." Dr. Bernardo likes to give back. This comes from the expe- rience he had in 1999 volunteer- ing, for 14 months, in Peru for the Foundation for International E d u c a t i o n i n N e u r o s u r g e r y (FIENS). "I was so enriched by t h e w h o l e e x p e r i e n c e t h a t I decided to spend most of my future career in providing surgi- cal care, hands-on training and education to neurosurgeons from around the world," he writes. A f t e r h a v i n g t r a i n e d o v e r 5,000 students and 55 dedicated fellows in his skull base and m i n i m a l l y i n v a s i v e s u r g e r y courses, Dr. Bernardo remained faithful to his intentions. This without even mentioning the numerous international courses and meetings he is invited to attend as a guest, or honor speak- er. His story is impressive and I w a s c u r i o u s t o k n o w w h a t inspired him to start. As a young boy trying to better understand his science classes, Dr. Bernardo devoured his father's extensive collection of neurological books. The anatomy professors during medical school also played an important rule. This all led Dr. Bernardo to become a master in skull base and vascular surgery. The tech- nical challenges in accessing lesions in the areas at the base of the skull are no barrier for "Dr. Skull," who not only does the best to cure his patients, but also takes great care of what they become. "[…] Well-executed skull base surgical approach allows for resecting a benign skull base lesion without causing any fur- ther neurological damage and without affecting the cognitive function of the patient," writes Dr. Bernardo. "Dr. Skull" received an MD f r o m U n i v e r s i t y o f N a p l e s " F e d e r i c o I I " w i t h S u m m a c u m L a u d e . H e c o m p l e t e d Neurosurgery residency at the W e s t e r n G e n e r a l H o s p i t a l / U n i v e r s i t y o f E d i n b u r g h , Scotland. Then followed serving as scholar at the University of California, Irvine. Before join- ing Weill Cornell in New York, he was doing his fellowship under Dr. Robert Spetzler at the Barrow's Neurological Institute in Phoenix, Arizona. Lavinia Pisani: What do y o u m i s s t h e m o s t a b o u t Napoli? Antonio Bernardo: The ideal society is a harmonic balance of m a n y d i f f e r e n t c o m p o n e n t s . Some of these traits abound in N a p l e s a n d I m i s s t h e m t h e most. Neapolitan people are spontaneous, simple, friendly, funny, talkative, adventurous, and feisty. They are rebellions with a subtle irony and always w e a r a s m i l e o n t h e i r f a c e s . D r a m a i s n o t n e c e s s a r i l y a defeat but the main ingredient to spice up their life. Naples is per- meated by a boiling joy, which I identify with greatly but the Neapolitan epicurean approach to life unfortunately does not provide a proper ground for con- structive planning. L.P: What was the main challenge for you to face as an Italian in America? A.B: As have many others, I had to face the many cultural differences, which pose a con- stant challenge for new Italians w h o c o m e t o A m e r i c a . Adjusting to and embracing the Anglo-Saxon mentality is the key to succeeding in this coun- try. I soon realized that the ulti- mate reward of succeeding in such a prosperous and functional c o u n t r y w a s v e r y w o r t h t h e effort. I have to admit that my ability to prosper in the US was facilitated by spending my entire surgical training in UK before I landed here. Besides the obvious and well-known diversities in social habits, the main adjust- ment I had to face, particularly in my work environment, was to u n d e r s t a n d a n d e m b r a c e t h e A n g l o - S a x o n p r a g m a t i s m , which is essential to the func- tionality of this country. "Facts speak louder than words" is the constant message you receive from American society and I was surprised on how fast and happy I was to learn it. I also learnt that constructive criticism, as opposed to arrogance, can only enrich one's personality. L.P: What does it mean for you to be in New York? A.B: Being in New York and at the Weill Medical College of Cornell University means to be able to work in a very stimulat- ing and challenging environ- ment, which attracts the bright- est individuals from all over the w o r l d . T h e D e p a r t m e n t o f Neurological Surgery at Weill C o r n e l l M e d i c a l C e n t e r i s a world-class provider of minimal- ly invasive surgical techniques for the treatment of neurological diseases. In the last 10 years the d e p a r t m e n t h a s a c h i e v e d remarkable breakthroughs in research. In such a stimulating environment I was able to per- sonally design the Skull Base a n d S u r g i c a l I n n o v a t i o n s Laboratory, which is a state of the art facility where neurosurgi- cal fellows from all over the world are trained. The laboratory integrates exquisite cadaveric dissections, 3-D visualization, virtual reality, and computerized simulation for training of surgi- cal procedures and visuospatial skills, and investigates new sur- gical routes to intracranial tar- gets. L.P: What are the biggest differences, you have encoun- t e r e d , b e t w e e n w o r k i n g i n Italy and the United States? A.B: There are many differ- ences between these two pro- foundly different societies, but I can synthesize them in 3 main aspects, which highly influence the working environment: prag- matism, constructive competi- tiveness, and meritocracy. A pragmatic society where the best and brightest can fully express t h e i r p o t e n t i a l s a n d w h e r e healthy competition inspires cre- ativity and productivity is the perfect ground for progress and function. L.P: What is the #1 lesson you teach to your students? A.B: Work hard and don't waste innate talent. Talent alone d o e s n ' t s h a p e e x c e l l e n t s u r - geons. Passion, empathy, com- petence, and hard work com- bined with talent can produce o u t s t a n d i n g n e u r o s u r g e o n s . A p p l y t h e b i g g e s t e f f o r t t o achieve the best possible train- ing. A profound understanding of the intricacy of intracranial anatomy is crucial in the forma- tion of excellent neurosurgeons and can only be acquired with meticulous and painstaking work in a surgical training laboratory. To attend courses and major m e e t i n g s , k e e p a b r e a s t w i t h technological advancements, visit other institutions to learn how others do things, and, most importantly, to seek constant inspiration to continuously ignite their passion and enthusiasm for neurosurgery. Never fall into the deleterious flatness of a sterile routine. L.P: I have read Italy is leading in cancer research. As an acclaimed Neurosurgeon, specializing in brain and vas- cular tumors, what can you tell us about the developments that both Italy and the U.S. are working on? And where do you see the cancer treatment going 5 years from now? A.B: Italy is at the forefront of medical research. There are many promising fields in which Italian and American scientists a r e w o r k i n g o n a n d t h a t a r e transforming the way we think a b o u t c a n c e r a n d d e l i v e r i n g treatment. "Precision medicine" is based on "custom tailored" therapeutic procedures based on s p e c i f i c g e n o m i c p a t t e r n . "Immunotherapy" relies on a century-old idea but with new techniques where a person's o w n i m m u n e s y s t e m c a n b e s t i m u l a t e d t o f i g h t c a n c e r . "Epigenetic therapy" is an intri- cate system where cancer could be treated in a different way, by transforming cancer cells back t o n o r m a l c e l l s r a t h e r t h a n destroying them. Also surgical procedures are changing dramat- ically with the recent develop- ment and refinement of new minimally invasive techniques. There are many reasons to be hopeful about the future of can- cer care and research. L.P: After having had so many international experi- ences, what country/ies do you think Italy could look up to improve its medical system? And why? A.B: I strongly believe that the American model is the gold standard for the quality of the medical care and assistance. Socialized medicine is an ideal and noble concept as long as it is able to guarantee an optimal standard of care. Regrettably in many national healthcare mod- els where medical assistance is publicly available to everybody at no cost, the quality of care is often inadequate. Unfortunately, incentive still represents the driving force for many individuals whereas pure passion and altruistic attitudes should suffice to inspire to pro- vide the best effort in medical assistance. After having been exposed to the surgical training programs in many countries, I find the training model in US to be the most effective and meri- tocratic. The American medical training system produces overall excellent doctors which ulti- mately translates into an excel- lent quality of medical care. L . P : W h a t i s y o u r n e x t goal? A . B : I o f t e n f i n d m y s e l f reflecting on what contributions I made and what I can still do for the care of those in need. My future goals are equally divided i n t o c l i n i c a l c a r e , r e s e a r c h development, and surgical edu- cation. I am fully committed to contributing to the advancement of the art and science of neuro- logical surgery through research, education, and the maintenance of scientific and clinical scholar- ship. Teaching new complex neurosurgical procedures to an international audience of neurosurgeons, 2015 The pioneer of the use of 3D Technology in Neurosurger y is Italian Continued from page 1

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