Dr. Djunga: First Congolese Neurosurgeon

Abstract

Antoine Shako Hiango Omokanda Djunga was the pioneer of neurosurgery in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), a country located in Central Africa. He was born in 1938 in Sankuru, a province of the DRC. He graduated from the Free University of Brussels medical school and later trained there in neurosurgery. Thereafter, he completed a fellowship at Bellevue Hospital in New York. As a neurosurgeon, he worked at the Kinshasa University Clinic of Lovanium School of Medicine in the DRC, where he introduced neurosurgery and advocated for the construction of the first dedicated neurosurgical operating room. His leadership helped ensure sustainability in the field in the DRC. He died at the age of 48, leaving a void in neurosurgery and an unfulfilled mission of advocating for the construction of an independent neurosurgery hospital in the DRC.

Keywords: Democratic republic of Congo; History of neurosurgery; Kinshasa University Clinic; Lovanium School of Medicine; Medical education; Shako Djunga.