Neurosurgery Residency

In May 2024, Dr. Mark Witcher, MD, PhD, FAANS our Neurological Surgery Residency Program Director, and a team of our Carilion Clinic Neurosurgery Residents, traveled to Nepal to offer a multi-surgical procedure workshop to 50 local Nepalese neurosurgeons and trainees. Carilion's team consulted with over 100 patients and performed surgery on six patients who had excellent outcomes for Parkinson's Disease and epilepsy. The Government of Nepal accepted surgical technology and donations valued at $60,000 on behalf of Carilion Clinic. The equipment and funds are intended to treat hundreds of future patients. After receiving the donation, The National Minister of Health agreed to cover epilepsy surgical expenses including expenses for the underserved. The successful collaboration and surgical outcomes will be published in upcoming editions of several international surgical journals. 

In September 2025, an approved Observership elective was offered to our faculty neurosurgeon colleagues in Nepal. Dr. Namrata Khadka, MBBS, MS, MCh was the very first physician to take full advantage of this opportunity. While she was here, she was able to visit and hike McAfee's Knob and even our very own Roanoke, VA star. She was also named our Visiting Professor and participated in our mobile spinal cadaver lab training with the neurosurgery faculty and residents. We hope that she will return for an even longer rotation in the near future!