ABOUT GEORGE
SAMANDOURAS
Appointments and training
2009 - Present
Consultant Neurosurgeon
Victor Horsley Department of Neurosurgery
The National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery
Queen Square, London, UK
2010 - Present
Honorary Senior Clinical Lecturer
Institute of Neurology
University College London
2014 - Present
Consultant Neurosurgeon
Cromwell Hospital
Cromwell Road, London
2008
Neurosurgery Fellow
Department of Neurosurgery
Lariboisier Hospital
Paris, France
2001 - 2007
Specialist Registrar in Neurosurgery
Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust
Oxford, UK
Selected Publications and Courses
The Neurosurgeon's Handbook
Oxford University Press, 2010
Amazon bestseller in UK, USA, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Japan
The Neurosurgeon's Handbook
Chinese translation, Human Science and Technology Press, 2015
Amazon bestseller in China
Brain Tumour Course Director (2012 - Present)
Annual World Course in Advanced Techniques in Neurosurgical Oncology
Wellcome Collection, London, June 22-26, 2016
Mr Samandouras runs the world's best and most famous course on brain tumour surgery attended by international senior neurosurgeons, Professors of Neurosurgery
and Department Chiefs. The aim of the course is
to teach experienced neurosurgeons advanced techniques of safe and maximum brain tumour removal.
Selected invited lectures (2014-2018)
Invited Speaker
Policy Involvement Group Meeting
The Brain Tumour Charity
London Marriott County Hall
London, 16 November 2018
Invited Faculty
2018 Congress of Neurological Surgeons Annual Meeting
"Surgical Management of Eloquent Area Tumors"
October 7 - 10, 2018 Houston, USA
Guest speaker
Second International Brain Mapping Course
American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS) Research and Education Foundation (NREF)
“Cortical Stimulation Mapping: How I do it”
27 April 2018, New Orleans, USA
Invited Guest Speaker
Huashan International Neurosurgical Conference 2017
"Surgical techniques in awake glioma surgery"
November 2017, Shanghai, China
Invited Faculty
2017 Congress of Neurological Surgeons Annual Meeting
"Surgical Management of Eloquent Area Tumors: Functional Mapping and/or Navigation"
October 7 - 11, 2017 Boston, USA
Invited Congress Faculty
XVI World Congress of Neurosurgery
"Surgical Mapping Techniques for Inoperable Brain Tumours
Istanbul, Turkey
20-25 August 2017
Invited Congress Faculty
XVI World Congress of Neurosurgery
"Brain Mapping for Surgery in Eloquent Parts of the Brain"
Istanbul, Turkey
20-25 August 2017
Invited Guest Speaker
Neurosurgery Update Course, University of California, San Francisco
"Mapping paradigms and surgical techniques in low grade glioma surgery"
Napa Valley, CA, USA
4 August 2017 2017
Invited Faculty
Leaping Forward Oncology; International Clinical Congress
Round-Table; new concepts in the management of low-grade gliomas
Lisbon, Portugal
13 May 2017
Invited Faculty
Leaping Forward Oncology; International Clinical Congress
“Surgical treatment of diffuse low-grade gliomas”
Lisbon, Portugal
13 May 2017
Mr Samandouras Group invited presentation
Intraoperative MRI user group meeting" Awake craniotomies on iMRI; our group’s experience"
Liverpool, UK
17 March 2017
Honoured Guest Lecturer
KEM Live Neurosurgery Workshop and Symposium
“Techniques for intra-axial tumours”
Mumbai, India
9 January 2017
Invited Speaker
Carolyn Frye-Halloran Symposium
Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School
Boston, MA, USA
"Intraoperative MRI-guided glioma resection"
October 6, 2016
Visiting Professor of Neurosurgery
Department of Neurological Surgery
Saint Louis Univerisity School of Medicine, St Louis, USA
“Tumour surgery in and around eloquent parts of the brain; techniques, technologies and lessons learnt”
September 22, 2016
Invited Faculty
2016 Congress of Neurological Surgeons Annual Meeting,
24-28 September 2016, San Diego, CA, USA
“Surgical Management of Eloquent Area Tumours: Functional Mapping and/or Navigation”
24 September 2016
Guest speaker
First International Brain Mapping Course
American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS) & Neurosurgery Research and Education Foundation (NREF)
“Cortical Stimulation Mapping: How I do it”
29 April 2016, Hyatt Regency, Chicago, USA
Invited Faculty
84th Annual Meeting of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons, Chicago, IL, USA
“Intraoperative MRI in glioma surgery”
1 May 2016
Invited Faculty
84th Annual Meeting of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons, Chicago, IL, USA
“Standardising mapping techniques in LGG surgery”
4 May 2016
Invited Speaker
Turkish Neurosurgical Society 30th Annual Scientific Congress
Antalya, Turkey
“Awake craniotomies in intraoperative MRI with tri-modality functional monitoring”
April 8-12, 2016
Invited Speaker
83rd Annual Scientific Meeting of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS)
Washington, USA
Lectures on brain tumour surgery
May 2 - May 6, 2015
Invited Speaker
5th International Update Course in Neurosurgery
Mumbai, India
Lectures on brain tumour surgery
June 6-7, 2015
Invited Speaker
82nd Annual Scientific Meeting of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS)
San Fransisco, USA
Lectures on brain tumour surgery
April 5 - 9, 2014
Selected Clinical and Educational Awards
2020
NHS Clinical Excellence Award
2017
NHS Clinical Excellence Award
2015
NHS Clinical Excellence Award
2013
NHS Clinical Excellence Award
January - February 2006
Teacher of the Month
Medical School, University of Oxford
April - May 2005
Teacher of the Month
Medical School, University of Oxford
August - September 2004
Teacher of the Month
Medical School, University of Oxford
Summer 2003
Teacher of the Month
Medical School, University of Oxford
My philosophy in treating patients
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Always try to be the very best at what you do. Never become complacent, no matter how much you have achieved. Try not to do this for personal ambition but for the benefit of your patients.
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Surround yourself with exceptional people and teams: anaesthetists, oncologists, neuro-radiologists, researchers, specialized nurses, support teams. Be thankful to them.
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See patients as people not as cases, they are someone’s son or daughter, someone’s mother or father, someones wife or husband, or a dear friend.
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Never recommend an operation that you would not recommend to a close relative or friend.
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Take time to talk to patients and to their relatives, these conversations can relieve as much pain and discomfort as long operations.
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Study each case individually, spend as much time as possible to understand and predict potential difficulties and how to overcome them. In challenging cases always get the opinion of trusted colleagues.
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During each surgery the time stops, and everything around you fades away, nothing else matters than to remove the tumour completely and safely, no matter how difficult it is and how long it will take.
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Commit to your patients that you will fight for them even if all odds are against them. Stick to your promise no matter what happens.
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There are a few fights that you will loose in the end. Some of the most horrible types of cancer attack the human brain and few are not curable at present. Patients and family will find comfort in the thought that they have been treated by the best and everyhting that could have been done has been done, over and above. Use this as a powerful motivation to think of new techniques and treatments.
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Don't be afraid to be friendly and approachable, this will not reduce your value as a renowed surgeon. Patients will trust you more if they see that you are a normal person with emotions and feelings.
George Samandouras with (right to left) Prof Berger USA, Prof Duffau, France, Prof von Diemling, Germany
Planning a surgical approach before a brain tumour excision
A thank you postcard I received from a young patient who had awake craniotomy for tumour
George Samandouras with (right to left) Prof Berger USA, Prof Duffau, France, Prof von Diemling, Germany