WFNS President Servadei - Skull-Base Surgery Committee

I met Professor Franco while participating in the many meetings all over the world, but our talks were simply compliments – never a stop to drink a coffee or something like that. One day, close to his taking place as President of the WFNS, he invited me to become a co-chair of the Skull-Base Surgery Committee together with my friend Sebastien Froelich. In the four years since, because of the pandemic, we have had few contacts – but one was memorable:

He invited me to a cadaver lab course in Milano some months before, and immediately I bought my tickets. Two or three weeks earlier, the class was canceled. Did I ask him? “Franco, I already have a ticket!” He said: “I reimburse you.” I asked him: “Please, don’t worry – I am going to Milano. You just pay for dinner - it will be a good time for talking!”

That was a wonderful time. Franco prepared a small meeting together with colleagues from Humanitas. I visited the University research center, and we had a fantastic dinner with the group and Prof Fornari. After that, we had an appointment in China during the Interim Meeting. We promised to have dinner after we finished our mandate – at that time we will be prohibited from talking about neurosurgery, only about the new times. Hopefully, the day will be possible soon.

They were a very productive four years. Thirty-two courses were performed under the Committee’s supervision despite the pandemic, and I would like to send big hugs to Franco.