 He likened the technique he developed to removing lead from a pencil, the pencil being the spinal cord.He founded the division of pediatric neurosurgery at New York University Medical Center, and he was the founding director of the Institute for Neurology and Neurosurgery (INN) at Beth Israel Hospital in New York City.He was president of the International Society of Pediatric Neurosurgery and the American Society of Pediatric Neurosurgery.