The paper entitled « The Surgery of Meningiomas: a review of 215 cases » by R.F. Ruberti, Nairobi, Kenya which appeared in a recent issue of « The African Journal of Neurological Sciences », (volime 14, January 1995, pages 10 – 13) makes fascinating reading and represents an invaluable contribution to our knowledge of meningiomas seen in our part of the world of neurosurgery.

At a personal level, Professor Ruberti deserves special commendation for his efforts and congratulations on forty years of sustained, active and productive service in the demanding field of neurological surgery in Italy and Africa. His present series compares favourably with those giant past masters of the neurological art such as Cushing, Olivecrona and Zulch as shown in his Table 2 and

The review is based on materials collected from fifteen years of practice in Padua, Italy and of a quarter of a century in Nairobi, Kenya. Readers will be better informed if the author can separate the Italian material from that of Africa and subject both the concise clear analysis he has presented for his corporate experience from the cities of Padua and Nairobi. That accomplished, his work can become an authoritative addition to the literature and useful reference on meningiomas in Italy as well as in Africa. Such a contribution will be particularly appreciated and relevant in Africa, where hitherto the extant publications on meningiomas are generally few and relatively old and some made up of inadequatly studied, isolated case reports.

Adeloye, 1989.