History

About Us

CEANNE is a group of neurologists and neurosurgeons working in several Brazilian cities who share in a mission to provide the highest quality care to patients with neurological and neurosurgical diseases, both within the national healthcare system and in private hospitals and clinics.

CEANNE began in 2005 when Dr. Gustavo Isolan was doing his post-doctorate in microneurosurgery at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences under the guidance of two of the biggest names in the neurosurgery world, Professors Al-Mefty and Yasargil. When another physician from southern Brazil, Dr. Leandro Dini, began his fellowship at the school the two neurosurgeons began to sketch the outlines of a practice that would extend the highest quality neurosurgical care to national healthcare patients well beyond the reach of major medical centers.

Upon their return to Brazil, both physicians took on a large number of patients in both public and private practice, however, they were often frustrated by the management of national healthcare patients and the condition of hospitals in smaller cities. This gap in healthcare led them to launch CEANNE, the Advanced Center for Neurology and Neurosurgery, in 2011. They began by establishing the High Complexity Neurosurgery Program at Hospital Centenário, which later became CEANNE Centenário. A team of 29 healthcare professionals were hired including physiotherapists, a neurointensivist, a speech therapist, a neuropsychologist, a social worker, nurses and nurse technicians, in addition to a team of neurosurgery specialists for the spine, tumors, vascular cases, and the skull base, among others. The hospital’s surgical center was outfitted with the most up-to-date neurosurgical equipment and thousands of consultations and complex neurosurgeries were performed there over the following 7 years. This new program had an enormous impact on the support, recovery, and satisfaction of patients in this previously underserved region of more than 1 million inhabitants.

Building on its success and effectiveness, CEANNE Centenário provided the model when the organization was invited to provide similar services at other public healthcare hospitals in small cities around the region. By 2020, CEANNE physicians had treated tens of thousands of patients and operated on more than 5000 in the national healthcare system alone, with several thousand more private patients either directly or via private health insurance. This model has been recognized for its noteworthy management of brain tumors by the International Brain Tumor Alliance magazine based in the UK.

What we believe

With regard to doctors and healthcare collaborators:

Bringing together the most qualified neurosurgeons and neurologists and allowing them to develop their science and their medical skills using cutting-edge technology in the treatment of patients.

Forming neurosurgical and neurological teams with subspecialists in which everyone is united by bonds of respect, ethical behavior, and mutual assistance.

Constantly advancing medical science and providing training.

Transparently and reasonably representing the interests of neurologists and neurosurgeons to hospital managers, public authorities, and the broader community.

With regard to patients:

State-of-the-art management of every type of neurological and neurosurgical symptom and disease in a manner that is quick, well-considered, and responsive.

Treatment decisions generated in multidisciplinary meetings which include subspecialists for complex and difficult symptoms or diseases, and ultimately placing the patient’s case in the hands of the most renowned specialists.

Conservative, non-invasive, or minimally invasive treatment whenever possible.

With regard to the community and public authorities:

Contributing to prevention campaigns and educational lectures on neuroscience and disease prevention for the general public.

Zealously maintaining cost-effective examination and treatment, and just as zealously avoiding the abuse of the national healthcare system through the courts.

Fostering partnerships with non-profits for the support and inclusion of underserved youth through effective projects.