Currently, President Trump’s renewed push to acquire Greenland dominates the headlines. Though many dismiss the President’s statements are merely diplomatic trolling, it brings new attention to the challenges faced by this Arctic territory. Specific to this website, those in Greenland face real medical challenges related to brain injury that deserve attention.

Of Greenland’s 56,500 residents, it is reported that 10-20 suffer severe traumatic brain injuries annually, with falls and snowmobile accidents being primary causes. (The territory also holds the world’s highest rate of fall-related spinal cord injuries.) Although this is a statistically small number, the healthcare reality is stark. Queen Ingrid’s Hospital in Nuuk, the country’s capital and largest city, remains the only facility with CT and MRI scanners, and no neurosurgeons practice in Greenland. Patients requiring brain surgery generally face evacuation to Copenhagen, Denmark, for which minimum transport time exceeds seven hours.

A 2025 study available to view on the NIH database offers hope with the introduction of teleneurosurgery. As of recently, the Department of Neurosurgery at the University Hospital of Copenhagen, Rigshospitalet has the ability to provide, “training [to] local [Greenland] surgeons to perform cranial neurosurgical procedures using smart glasses, enabling real-time supervision from neurosurgeons in Copenhagen.” Since May 2024, it is reported that multiple successful operations have been performed. Unfortunately, while the Danish publicly funded healthcare system may cover all residents, geographic isolation has created life-threatening delays.