Dr. Mohamed Lotfy Shehata died on September 15, 2021 (Figure 1 ), after a brief struggle with a COVID-19 infection. The world neurosurgical community, particularly Egypt and the Middle East, has lost a skillful, brilliant, and innovative neurosurgeon.
Figure 1.
Dr. Mohamed Lotfy Shehata.
Dr. Lofty served as Chairman and Professor of Neurosurgery at Cairo University and Editor-in-Chief of the Egyptian Journal of Neurosurgery. He fundamentally restructured the neurosurgery undergraduate and postgraduate curriculums and examinations. Furthermore, he renovated and expanded the neurotrauma unit, pediatric neurosurgery unit, and neurosurgery operating rooms to be one of the largest neurosurgery departments in the world with a capacity of more than 180 beds and 6 neurosurgery operating rooms.
He had a marked impact on the neurosurgery specialty all over Egypt and in the Middle East. His efforts led to the establishment and development of neurosurgery department at 4 other Egyptian universities. His trainees populated many universities around the country and other Middle Eastern countries, who became leaders in their departments.
His enthusiasm had no boundaries, which led him to be the first neurosurgeon in the world to successfully separate a craniopagus parasiticus in humans.1 This relentless enthusiasm was not limited to the humans; he was the first to successfully separate craniopagus parasiticus in a buffalo.2 This had a prosperous impact on the field to the extent that it was featured on the Oprah Winfrey TV show.3 Furthermore, he was the first to reconstruct the skull base defects in sphenoid dysplasia using titanium mesh.4
During his esteemed career, Dr. Lotfy held many positions within the local and international neurosurgery societies, such as serving as president of the Egyptian Society of Neurosurgery, president of the training committee of the Pan Arab Neurosurgical Society, member of the executive committee of the Pan Arab Neurosurgical Society, and member of the nominating committee of the World Federation of Neurosurgical Societies. He also founded the Egyptian Society of Neurosurgery, Skull Base, and Vertebrae. His commitment and passion for academics led him to publish more than 60 research articles in national and international journals.1 , 2 , 4, 5, 6 He received many national and international awards and shields for his efforts, such as the University of Florida Shield.
He had many distinguished services to raise the neurosurgery awareness of the Arabs, such as a TV channel production that explained many neurosurgical diseases and its treatment and supervising the translation of the Neurosurgical Atlas videos by Aaron Cohen-Gadol to Arabic. Finally, he was an active member in the Arabic Writers Union with more than 5 authored books on neurosurgery.
He was physically and mentally active and working to the end. He is a role model for young neurosurgeons and will remain in the memories of his students, colleagues, friends, and family forever.
Footnotes
Conflict of interest statement: The authors declare that the article content was composed in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.
References
- 1.Lotfy M., Sakr S.A., Ayoub B.M. Successful separation of craniopagus parasiticus. Neurosurgery. 2006;59:E1150. doi: 10.1227/01.NEU.0000245587.23710.A6. discussion: E1150. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
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- 4.Lotfy M., Xu R., McGirt M., Sakr S., Ayoub B., Bydon A. Reconstruction of skull base defects in sphenoid wing dysplasia associated with neurofibromatosis I with titanium mesh. Clin Neurol Neurosurg. 2010;112:909–914. doi: 10.1016/j.clineuro.2010.07.007. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
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