Neurosurgery in Hong Kong had its origins as a division of General Surgery and became a subspecialty only 46 years ago with the arrival of Hsiang-Lai Wen. For well over a decade, Wen would be the only neurosurgeon in the colony. His contributions to neurosurgery included the ventriculosuperior sagittal sinus shunt and the application of acupuncture in anesthesia, pain ablation, and drug detoxification. A pilot with the China National Aviation Corporation during World War II, he played an active part in the Allied war effort. As a diplomate of the American Board of Neurological Surgery, Wen sought to improve the standard of neurosurgery in Hong Kong and southern China with the establishment of the Hong Kong Neurosurgical Society in 1981 and the Research Institute of Neurosciences in Guangzhou in 1988. Wen was acknowledged as Hong Kong's "father of neurosurgery," and his work paved the way for the development of modern neurosurgery in the region.