Neurologists have a long history of involvement in cerebral angiography; however, the roots of neurologist involvement in therapeutic endovascular procedures have not been previously documented. As outlined in this article, it has taken the efforts of several early pioneers to lay the ground work for interventional neurology, a specialty that has become one of the fastest growing neurological subspecialties. The ground work, along with a great clinical need, has allowed the modern interventional neurologist to tackle some of the most intractable diseases, especially those affecting the cerebral vasculature. The institutionalization of interventional neurology as a subspecialty was first advocated in 1995 in an article entitled, "Interventional Neurology, a subspecialty whose time has come." The institutions created in the wake of this article have provided the framework that has allowed interventional neurology to transition from "a subspecialty whose time has come" to a subspecialty that is here to stay and thrive.
Copyright © 2010 by the American Society of Neuroimaging.