Remembering Alexander Ivanovich Panyushkin: the first neurosurgeon at the Lenringad Road Hospital, successor of the neurosurgical school of the Military Medical Academy named after S.M. Kirov

Abstract

This article focuses on the life and professional achievements of Alexander Ivanovich Panyushkin (19332022), who served as the first neurosurgeon at the Oktyabrskaya Railway Road Hospital and later became its chief physician from 1974 to 1999. Panyushkin obtained his neurosurgical specialization at the Department of Neurosurgery of the Military Medical Academy named after S.M. Kirov, studying under renowned academic neurosurgeons such as V.A. Shustin, V.A. Grebenyuk, and B.A. Samotokin. In the 1960s, Panyushkin studied under renowned academic neurosurgeons such as Associate Professor V.A. Shustin (a specialist in treating discogenic radiculitis), Professor V.A. Grebenyuk, and Professor B.A. Samotokin (head of the department) and other figures and doctors of the academy. The article highlights the establishment of the neurosurgical department of the Road Hospital, which served as the base of the Department of Neuro surgery of the Military Medical Academy named after S.M. Kirov, as well as the close relationship between the hospital and the academy for many years. It also explores Panyushkins significant contributions to the diagnosis and surgical treatment of discogenic lumbosacral radiculomyeloishemia, as reflected in his well-known monographs. The article provides insights into Panyushkins remarkable career journey from a young surgeon to the head physician of a renowned spinal neurosurgical department in Leningrad. Under Panyushkins leadership, the hospital witnessed substantial development, including the construction and equipping of new buildings between 1976 and 1985, where the main capacities of the hospital are concentrated today. The authors draw on Panyushkins memoir to shed light on the history of the Road Hospital, its doctors from different generations, and the experiences of Soviet medicine during the 1960s to 1990s. The authors of this article constantly refer to the materials of this book, which may be useful to clinicians as well as those who are interested in the history of domestic medicine.