Dr. Wilson Asfora, MD

Expert Publications

• A modified technique to treat subdural hematomas: the subdural evacuating port system.
• A modified technique to treat chronic and subacute subdural hematoma: technical note.
• A brief history of aneurysm clips.
• Deep brain stimulation for Dejerine-Roussy syndrome: case report.
• Case report: treatment of subdural hematoma in the emergency department utilizing the Subdural Evacuating Port System.
• Cerebellar venous angioma associated with angiographically occult brain stem vascular malformation. Report of two cases.
• Successful fusion of remote type II odontoid fracture using anterior screw fixation of the odontoid and rhBMP-2: report of two cases.
• Extreme multi-level anterior cervical discectomy and fusion.
• Case report: treatment of subdural hematoma in the emergency department utilizing the subdural evacuating port system.
• 8-year-old patient with multiple large cerebral abscesses successfully treated with stereotactic aspiration: case report and literature review.
• The Asfora Bullet Cage System Shows Comparable Fusion Rate Success Versus Control Cage in Posterior Lumbar Interbody Fusion in a Randomized Clinical Trial.
• Is the syndrome of pathological laughing and crying a manifestation of pseudobulbar palsy?
• Transposition of target information from the magnetic resonance and computed tomography scan images to conventional X-ray stereotactic space.
• Angiography of encephalomyosynangiosis and superficial temporal artery to middle cerebral artery anastomosis in moyamoya disease.

Media Releases

Get to know Neurosurgeon Dr. Wilson Asfora, who serves patients in South Dakota, Florida, and Brazil.

A talented, highly trained neurosurgeon, Dr. Asfora specializes in brain tumors, pituitary tumors, orbital tumors, brain stem tumors, cerebrovascular surgery, peripheral nerve surgery, spine surgery, radiosurgery, and functional neurosurgery including deep brain stimulation for movement disorders.

Arriving in Sioux Falls, South Dakota in 1991, he was an independent neurosurgeon until 2007, when he joined the staff at Sanford Neurosurgery and Spine Clinic until 2020. He has also practiced at the physician-owned Sioux Falls Specialty Hospital, and has served as a Clinical Professor of Adult and Pediatric Neurosurgery in the United States and Canada.

A native of Brazil, Dr. Asfora graduated with his medical degree from Federal University of Pernambuco in 1977. He then went on to perform his residency in general surgery at Matarazzo Hospital, and his residency in neurosurgery at the University of São Paulo. After relocating to the United States, he completed a straight surgical internship at Yale New Haven Hospital – Saint Raphael Campus, a residency in neurological surgery at the University of Ottawa & the University of Manitoba, a general neurosurgical fellowship at UCSF Medical Center, and a fellowship in radiosurgery at Harvard University.

The doctor is board-certified through the American Board of Neurological Surgery, whose broad aim is to encourage the study, improve the practice, elevate the standards and advance the science of neurological surgery and thereby serve the cause of public health.

In good standing with a number of professional organizations, he is a member of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons, the American College of Surgeons, the Royal College of Surgeons of Canada, and the American Association of Neurological Surgeons. 

Throughout his line of work, Dr. Asfora has authored dozens of publications on issues related to neurosurgery, including contribution to a book chapter on Spine Biomechanics. In addition, he holds numerous patents and has developed numerous medical devices in use at hospitals around the world including: The Subdural Evacuating Port System (SEPS), The Dakota Knife, and The Odontoid Curved Drill Guide.

Neurosurgery is the medical specialty concerned with the prevention, diagnosis, surgical treatment, and rehabilitation of disorders which affect any portion of the nervous system including the brain, spinal cord, peripheral nerves, and extra-cranial cerebrovascular system. Neurosurgeons are doctors who diagnose and treat problems with the nervous system, often by performing surgery on the brain or spine. They treat strokes, tumors, certain types of birth defects, infections, and head or spinal cord injuries.

Over his nearly three decades in Sioux Falls, Dr. Asfora has owned a number of other businesses.

Having published numerous YouTube videos of his surgical technique and music compositions, he appears in a number of other videos which are not included in his YouTube channel. He has recorded a CD as a solo guitarist playing only original music with the South Dakota Symphony Orchestra. 

Married with two children, Dr. Asfora speaks English, Portuguese, Spanish, and French. 

Recommended Articles

• The History of Lobotomy

  Lobotomy is now considered an inhumane and obsolete procedure that no one would ever want to be subjected to. However, at the time of its advent, it was not the primitive and brutal surgery we view it as today. In a time where medications to treat psychological and emotional conditions were...

• Everything You Need to Know About a Laminectomy

  What Is a Laminectomy?The lamina is the back part of your vertebra covering the spinal canal. Your doctor could decide to eliminate your lamina or the bone spurs around it when either causes compression of your spinal cord or the roots of your nerves. Pressure on the roots of your nerves can cause:...

• Doctors and Specialists for Patients with Muscular Dystrophy

  Everyone is susceptible to Muscular Dystrophy, especially if it runs in your family. This disease involves the diminishing and weakening of muscles. It is also a progressive condition, meaning, it can get worse and worse if left untreated. Hence, health professionals highly recommend that you see...

• Scoliosis Symptoms and Causes

  Scoliosis often occurs in kids below the age of puberty. Some of the most common signs of scoliosis happen to be the following:...

• Lobotomies in Other Countries

  What is a lobotomy and why was it used?A lobotomy is a neurosurgical procedure used for the treatment of various psychological conditions, such as severe depression, mania, schizophrenia, etc. It was even used for the treatment of homosexuality.The idea of brain surgery started around 1890, when a...

• What Is a Transorbital Lobotomy?

  Transorbital LobotomyTransorbital lobotomy was once considered as a form of neurosurgery that was labeled as "insane". A pioneer in this field was a Portuguese doctor named António Egas Moniz. He introduced frontal lobotomy in 1935 for certain cases of psychosis and won a Nobel Prize because of...