Pioneer neurosurgeon still probing brain's secrets

Reform and opening-up provided impetus for celebrated career. Quan Xiaoshu, Qu Ting and Li Bin report for Xinhua.

Li Yongjie can still vividly recall the details of the first brain operation he conducted to treat Parkinson's disease after he returned from the United States 20 years ago.

"It was the first microelectrode-guided stereotactic surgery ever conducted in China. Although there was an assisting team, no one actually knew how to do it except me," said Li, director of the Beijing Institute of Functional Neurosurgery at Xuanwu Hospital, who is a pioneer in the field.