I’m Laurent VINIKOFF, born in 1964 in misty, humid Lorraine, a Doctor of Medicine from the Faculty of Nancy and a neurosurgeon since 1996.

Ever since I was a child, I’ve been curious about nature and the relationship between our environment and mankind. As an amateur astronomer, the sight of the stars through the naked eye or telescope left me dreaming and wanting to discover the secret of the origin of the universe. But what fascinated me most was the workings of the human body and how to cure it of the illnesses that could plague it, and ward off the spectre of death.

That’s why I decided, after having hesitated between astronaut, footballer, actor and a short musical career, to go into medicine and choose one of the most difficult specialties: Neurosurgery.

Neurosurgeon specializing in pain, spine and cranial neurosurgery

Being a specialist forces us to focus solely on the pathology and the means to overcome it, but not always to take into account the patient’s globality. We listen to what we want to hear. We apply recipes learned at university and during our training, without taking into account the patient’s individuality. We have too little time to explain what is happening to the patient and the treatment strategy, because other patients are waiting in the waiting room, reading magazines. We can be compared to police detectives looking for clues to “nail” the culprit within the patient.

It’s frustrating not to be able to discuss anything other than illness. Perhaps this illness or condition is just the tip of an iceberg, or the result of a more complex process involving the patient’s social and professional life and history. We could mention the family, one of the children’s difficulties at school, or the joy of going to a music concert, and so on. I know what I’m talking about, because in addition to being a spinal surgeon, I was also a patient who underwent surgery for a paralyzing herniated lumbar disc. So I know all about suffering, anxiety, the loneliness of a hospital room, a long and difficult convalescence, the uncertainty of tomorrow and the risk of it happening again.

My career

Neurosurgery internship

Eastern Inter-Region (Nancy)

1995 – Inter CHU internship

Necker Hospital Paris

1997 –

Doctor of Medicine and Neurosurgeon with university diploma in Neuroanatomy

1997 – 1998: Assistant Specialist

Center Hospitalier Sud Réunion (Isautier Hospital, Saint Pierre de la Réunion)

1998 – Assistant Senior Registrar

Tours University Hospital (Bretonneau, Trousseau and Clocheville)

1999 – Assistant Registrar at Paris Hospitals

Hôpital Lariboisière Paris: Skull base surgery / Neuroendoscopy

2001 – Setting up in a private clinic

Clinique Velpeau then Clinique Alliance

2011 – Expert in neurosurgeon accreditation

French Health Authority

2013 – Humanitarian mission in pediatric neurosurgery

Burkina Faso (Association Téo Touraine)

2015 – Attached researcher at Tours hospitals

Chronic pain management service (Spinal cord neurostimulation)

Neurosurgery in Andorra: Patient education and support