Interview with Dr John Duff Neurosurgery

Born in Dublin, Dr. John Duff studied medicine at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland before moving to the United States to specialize in neurosurgery. Nearly twelve years that led him to practice in Baltimore, Rochester and Washington DC then to teach in the Department of Neurosurgery at Tufts University in Boston. Asked to return to Switzerland, he later worked at the CHUV in Lausanne as a specialist in neurosurgery of the spine and surgery of the base of the skull and developed minimally invasive surgery as well as image-guided spinal surgery.

You recently left the CHUV to join Clinique de Genolier. What was your motivation?

After 15 years at the CHUV, I decided to join the Genolier Clinic in January. This is is another way of practicing medicine and I am delighted to have the opportunity to develop spinal surgery. I am surrounded by colleagues with whom I have built strong friendly and professional relations at the CHUV and new doctors in a very stimulating environment.

What types of pathologies do you treat as a specialist in neurosurgery and what are the provided treatments ?

I specialize in neurosurgery with a sub-specialization in spinal surgery and surgery of the base of the skull. Neurosurgery treats diseases that affect the brain, the spinal cord, the peripheral nerves and the spine. Modern neurosurgery involves close collaboration with other specialties such as oncology, rheumatology, orthopedics, neurology and even general medicine. Neurosurgery of the spine involving decompressive surgery of the nerves and spinal cord is often associated with techniques mainly borrowed from orthopedics (stabilization of vertebrae by implant placement). In practice, neurosurgeons and orthopedic surgeons of the spine have a fairly similar surgical activity for certain pathologies such as herniated discs, tumors of the spine or intradural tumors. For these pathologies, the surgical solutions are evolving, with improving results and sharply decreasing complications. This aspect is fascinating and interesting for both physicians and patients.

What is new in neurosurgery at Clinique de Genolier?

I found an advanced technical platform within the facility, including the O-ARM imaging system designed to meet the demands of neurology. I would like to go further and develop minimally invasive surgery because the benefits for patients are already well established. We have already tested several robotic devices that increase the precision of the surgery and optimize its ergonomics.

What is your goal in the long term within the Clinique de Genolier?

The project would be to create a spinal center of multidisciplinary excellence with an increase in surgical and non-surgical activity to treat our patients affected by these pathologies, which are sometimes very complex.